The High Court of Justice has accepted a petition from the Yesh Atid opposition party which challenges the validity of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu serving as the nation’s Minister of Health.
When filing the petition party leader MK Yair Lapid stressed the petition is not aimed at Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman, but against the prime minister serving in a number of cabinet posts. Because of the position of Gedolei Yisrael Shlita, Litzman does not accept a cabinet post but only a deputy ministerial post, albeit with ministerial authority. Lapid feels that the acting minister must be an actual cabinet minister and take part in weekly cabinet meetings and this is the motivation for his petition. As stated in the petition, the prime minister also serves as foreign minister and communication minister.
In the ruling released on Sunday, 8 Elul, the court ruled the prime minister cannot continue serving in several cabinet posts, giving Mr. Netanyahu 60 days to appoint a health minister. It now remains to be seen if the Moetzas Gedolei Hatorah of Agudas Yisrael will permit Litzman to become a minister due to the new reality compelled by the High Court.
Interestingly, Ynet reported not long after the court’s announced ruling the Torah Council is going to permit Litzman to become a minister, quoting unnamed “senior sources close to Litzman”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
The situation is one of having someone serve as de facto health minister while not being health minister because his party, in theory, doesn’t approved of the state, and therefore he doesn’t want his name on the door, but does want the power and patronage. It’s not corrupt, but hypocritical and looks ridiculous.