The Supreme Court in a petition filed by Yesh Atid ruled on Tuesday, 20 Tammuz that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu cannot continue serving as a full time minister of a number of ministries while serving as prime minister. The nation’s highest court explained this is in contradiction to the nation’s Basic Law.
The petition was filed by the Yesh Atid party towards compelling Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman to assume the role of minister or in turn, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is the Health Minister, appoints someone else. Litzman maintains ministerial authority, but Yesh Atid insists this is insufficient and the ministry, like all others, must be run by a full time minister, not a deputy minister.
The court stated PM Netanyahu current serves as Health, Foreign and Communications Minister, and he must assign these cabinet posts to others if he wishes to continue serviing as prime minister.
The question now remains is if the Moetzas Gedolei Hatorah of Agudas Yisrael will break from the long-standing minhag and permit Litzman to become a cabinet minister. Another question is if PM Netanyahu will appoint a new foreign minister or simply promote Deputy Foreign Minister (Likud) Tzipi Hotevely to the post.
Mr. Netanyahu did not wish to fill the post amid the awareness if Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party at some point wish to enter the coalition, he wants to have Lieberman’s old post available to him.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
1. The custom of the Prime Minister “holding” multiple ministries goes back to Ben Gurioun (i.e. has existed since the beginning of the medinah – it is not a new idea).
2. It wouldn’t be hard to change a “Basic law”, though most members of the Kenesset probably prefer to “spread the wealth”, as being a ministers pay much better than being a regular parlementarian.