Israel’s 37th government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is being presented to the Knesset this afternoon, prior to being sworn in. Netanyahu named Amir Ohana as the new Knesset speaker and made a point of congratulating his partner Alon Hadad, who was present, in a gesture to the LGBT community, was is concerned about some of the anti-gay members of the new coalition.
Speaking to the Knesset, Netanyahu was cheered by his coalition partners but heckled by opposition MKs some of whom were ejected from the plenum for persistent disruptions. More than 1,000 protestors gathered outside of the Knesset to demonstrate against the new government.
Netanyahu said, “”There is broad agreement between us on most of the challenges that lie ahead of us, although by definition not on all of them. I hear the opposition’s constant laments about the ‘end of the state’ and the ‘end of democracy’. Members of the opposition, losing the elections is not the end of democracy – this is the essence of democracy. A democratic regime is tested first of all by the willingness of the losing side to accept the majority decision.
“In an orderly democracy, the rules of the game are respected. We saw this just now in a different setting, in the World Cup games: the French fans were as disappointed as you, but they accepted the result. They even applauded the Argentinean team. I know you will not applaud, but I do expect you to respect the voter’s decision and that you stop rebelling against the elected government.”
Netanyahu has had to overcome fierce criticism within his own Likud party over the distribution of ministerial portfolios. Eli Cohen will serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs in rotation with Israel Katz. Cohen will serve for the first and fourth years and Katz for the second and third years. Yoav Galant will be Minister of Defense, Yariv Levin Minister of Justice, Ron Dermer Minister of Strategic Affairs, Yoav Kirsch Minister of Education, Nir Barkat Minister of Economy and Industry, Israel Katz Minister of Energy, Miri Regev Minister of Transport, Miki Zohar Minister of Culture and Sport, Amichai Chikli Minister of the Diaspora, Shlomo Karhi Minister of Communications, Avi Dichter Minister of Agriculture, Idit Silman Minister of Environmental Protection, Ofir Akunis Minister of Science and Technology, and Galit Distel-Atbaryan, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.
From outside the Likud, Aryeh Deri will serve as Minister of the Interior and Minister of Health, Yaakov Margi and Yoav Ben Tzur will rotate as Minister of Welfare, Michael Malkieli as Minister of Religious Affairs, Haim Biton as a minister in the Ministry of education, Yitzhak Goldknop as Minister of Construction and Housing, Itamar Ben-Gvir Minister for National Security, Bezalel Smotrich Minister of Finance, Ofir Sofer Minister for Aliya and Integration, and Orit Strock as Minister for National Missions.
Lapid: With an uneasy heart
Outgoing Prime Minister and incoming Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid said, “With an uneasy heart we are handing the country over to the elected government. It is appropriate at a moment like this to give the Knesset of Israel and the citizens of Israel an orderly report on the state of the country.”
Lapid detailed the actions of the outgoing government, revealed secret talks with Saudi Arabia that he said could lead to an agreement, and said that he would pass the information on to his successor, Netanyahu.
Lapid added, “We have laid the foundations for full Saudi accession to the ‘Abraham Accords’. The confidential details will of course be passed on to the incoming prime minister. If the new government continues on the path we have carved out, it is possible to reach full normalization with the Saudis within a short period of time.”
He also mentioned the signing of the maritime border agreement with Lebanon, which he says guarantees Israel’s security and energy interests in the north and cited the recent ranking by “The Economist” as the fourth best performing economy in the OECD.
Incoming Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said that despite the huge challenges in the post-Covid, crisis-ridden global economy, Israel would be an island of stability.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on December 29, 2022.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.
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