With the government seeking to juggle major figures as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu seeks to cut NIS 2 billion in state spending, opposition parties are calling to eliminate the ministries of nothing, the ministers-without-portfolio who hold their posts in the name of stabilizing the coalition.

While the opposition today exhibits an air of righteous indignation, one must be aware that the ministers-without-portfolio are not a new entity created by the Netanyahu cabinet, but they existed in the previous Kadima-led government, and the Sharon government that preceded and in many other governments headed by many a prime minister – but in smaller numbers, with the current administration holding the record for the largest cabinet.

Education officials lament the priorities of recent administrations, stating that since 2001, NIS 5 billion has been chopped away from education spending, adding the decline in the educational standard is evident. They add that at present, the education budget is as low as it may be permitted to go and any additional cuts will have a devastating impact on the education system.

Welfare Minister Yitzchak Herzog responded with outrage over the talk of additional cuts in his ministry, which is compelled to address mounting poverty, unemployment and pressing social issues.

Kadima officials accuse the prime minister of spitting in the face of voters, adding he prefers to cut education rather than gamble on eliminating the offices that simply do nothing, at the expense of taxpayers.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)