Netanyahu temporarily appoints Levin and Katz to key ministries amid haredi resignations - Eliav Breuer

 

by Eliav Breuer

The fact that the ministries were given to just Levin and Katz indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to “safeguard” them for the eventual possibility of Shas’s return.

 

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Minister of Tourism Haim Katz during a discussion and a vote in the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on February 22, 2023.

(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

 

The government voted on Tuesday to temporarily appoint Justice Minister Yariv Levin as interior minister, labor minister, and religious affairs minister. Concurrently, he temporarily appointed Tourism Minister Haim Katz, who is also interim housing minister, as temporary welfare minister and health minister.

These positions were previously held by members of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Shas party, which left the government on July 17 after negotiations over a bill proposal intended to exempt over half the eligible haredi men from IDF service fell through.

However, the fact that the ministries were given to only Levin and Katz indicates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to safeguard them for the possibility of Shas’s eventual return. Similarly, when Otzma Yehudit resigned from the government in January in opposition to the hostage deal struck with Hamas, the prime minister gave its three ministries to Haim Katz for safekeeping. The ministries were returned to Otzma Yehudit when it rejoined the government in March, after Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza.

In a statement following the approval, Levin said, “I am accepting these portfolios as a temporary deposit, with the belief that the Shas movement will soon return to the government. We have many tasks to complete in the coming year, and it is essential that we are able to do so with a broad and stable coalition.”

Katz has served as tourism minister since the government began its term in late 2022. He became housing minister on July 15, following the resignation of UTJ chairman MK Yizhak Goldknopf from the government, for the same reasons as Shas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at a Knesset debate, July 14, 2025; illustrative. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

United Right ministers Gideon Sa’ar and Ze’ev Elkin opposed Tuesday’s appointments. Sa’ar’s spokesperson wrote in a statement, “The minister respects and is on friendly terms with ministers Levin and Katz. However, it is not appropriate to burden ministers heading executive offices with multiple portfolios – this would reduce their ability to effectively address the affairs of the additional ministries.”

Another vacant ministry is the Jerusalem and Tradition Ministry, due to the resignation of UTJ MK Meir Porush.

Netanyahu is not allowed to hold any ministerial positions other than PM

Technically, when ministers resign, the position becomes the prime minister’s until a new minister is appointed. According to Israeli legal precedent, ministers who were criminally indicted cannot serve as ministers, and thus Netanyahu is legally barred from holding any ministerial positions other than that of the prime minister.

Until the appointments of Levin and Katz on Tuesday, the prime minister’s holding of the ministries was in violation of the law, as was his continued holding of the Jerusalem and Tradition Ministry.

All of the appointments were designated “temporary,” and therefore did not require approval in the Knesset. This was important, since the governing coalition currently does not have a majority in the Knesset (60 MKs) and the appointments might not have passed. Temporary ministers can serve in the position for a maximum of three months.

Eliav Breuer

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-862623

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