Finance Minister and Religious Zionist party chairman Betzalel Smotrich submitted his resignation on Sunday morning to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana within the framework of the Norwegian law.
Tzvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionist party will be sworn in as a Knesset member this week as Smotrich’s replacement.
“The Knesset is very dear to my heart and I promise the Knesset Speaker and the citizens of Israel that I will continue to respect the Knesset and its members and come to the Knesset at every opportunity,” Smotrich said. “I am resigning from the Knesset and will continue to dedicate my days and nights to work for the citizens of Israel in the Finance and Defense Ministries.”
“I would like to wish great success to Tzvi Sukkot who will enter as a member of the Knesset as part of the Religious Zionist party. I have no doubt that Tzvi will do a lot of good for the people of Israel and the State of Israel together with all the members of the best party in the Knesset.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
This Norwegian law seems quite Norwegian to me! It’s hard to comprehend! As long as it works positively, hey, go for it! The problem is when it gets into the wrong hands!
I don’t get it, the Norwegian law makes the Knesset into a card game that needs to be shuffled?
Anyone know and understand the polotics behind this? it looks fishy and underhanded. What was the reason for this? I am asking out of plain curiosity and pure ignorence.
fake news, I just say on the Israeli government site that he’s still currently the finance minister in the Knesset
a peaceful journey……
The norwegian law allows cabinet ministers to resign from their position in the knesset (but remain in th cabinet), and their vacated seat goes to the next person on their party’s ballot.
Norwegian? Nor Veigan Voos?
What’s hard to understand about it? It simply separates the executive from the legislature; not entirely, as in the USA where ministers are not allowed to be in congress, and when a congressman is appointed to a ministry he is automatically and permanently kicked out of the congress, but it encourages the separation by allowing ministers to leave the Knesset and yet have security in case they lose their ministry.
Before this new law, ministers could and sometimes did resign from the Knesset, but they could not go back, so they risked losing their ministry and being קרח מזה ומזה; the new law encourages them by preventing this. For instance if Smotrich loses his ministry he will automatically get his seat back and Sukkot will be out.
Get it straight, the finance minister is NOT A POSITION IN THE KNESSET. It’s a ministry, which is in the executive branch, not the legislature.
Traditionally most ministers have also been members of knesset, but those are two separate jobs. In the USA this is not allowed; you can’t do both things at once. But in most countries it is allowed, and in many countries it’s required; if a minister is appointed who’s not a legislator he has a certain period in which he must be elected to the legislature, or he loses his ministry.
In Israel it’s always been optional; most ministers have been members of knesset, but some haven’t been. And a knesset member who became a minister could resign from the knesset to concentrate on his ministry, but then he couldn’t go back, so if he lost the ministry he’d be stuck. Now they can leave the knesset, and if they lose their ministry they can come back, so they don’t have to be afraid.