The cabinet on Sunday approved the appointment of Justice Minister Yariv Levin to lead several ministries whose helms were vacated after ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew from the coalition this summer.
In addition to Levin taking over the Labor, Religious Services and Jerusalem portfolios, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was temporarily given a number of powers usually assigned to the interior minister. Netanyahu cannot take over the ministry himself because, by law, a minister cannot serve while under indictment.
The appointments will require ratification by the Knesset.
While Levin’s appointment significantly reduces the number of ministries without full-time ministers, it is unclear how he will be able to deal with the responsibilities of four distinct portfolios.
As justice minister, Levin is involved in a high-profile effort to overhaul the judiciary and weaken the Attorney General’s Office as well as helming a ministerial panel to determine the mandate of the government’s controversial commission of inquiry into failures surrounding the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.
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A spokesman for Levin did not respond when asked how he would handle his newly increased workload, telling The Times of Israel only that the minister will remain in charge of these additional files “until Shas returns to the government.”
Shas leader Aryeh Deri (C) confers with Justice Minister Yariv Levin (L) as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a vote in the Knesset in Jerusalem, on March 27, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Shas quit the government in July to protest the coalition’s failure to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from mandatory military conscription. While the ultra-Orthodox party has remained a member of Netanyahu’s coalition, it withdrew from all coalition roles it held in the Knesset last month in a further act of protest. Despite these moves, the party has reportedly worked to maintain de facto control of the ministries it has given up.
Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service but have not enlisted. Despite the IDF stating that it urgently needs 12,000 recruits, Netanyahu is currently seeking to advance a bill exempting most Haredim from enlistment in order to bring Shas back into the fold.
According to several reports, the ultra-Orthodox parties have indicated that they will support Levin’s new roles due to recent progress being made in passing the conscription bill. Speaking with The Times of Israel last week, a senior Shas official stated that his party had “signaled a long time ago that it is in favor” of the bill.
In July, the government voted to appoint Levin to temporarily take over the interior, religious affairs and labor ministries in an acting capacity following Shas’s exit from the government. The welfare and health ministries were transferred to Tourism Minister Haim Katz (Likud), who was already serving as interim housing minister after United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf resigned from the post prior to leaving the government.
Tourism Minister Haim Katz attends a conference at the Histadrut Union in Tel Aviv on September 5, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
These temporary appointments ended after three months, leaving multiple ministries without ministers, although Katz was appointed as permanent housing minister in September.
The cabinet has also yet to appoint a replacement for Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who stepped down from his post this month. Seen as Netanyahu’s closest adviser, Dermer had handled a wide range of diplomatic matters, including ties with Washington, the hostage negotiations during the Gaza war, and Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors.
Last week, national broadcaster Kan reported that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara had written to Netanyahu insisting that replacement ministers “must be appointed immediately in order to reduce the harm to important public interests.”
The fact that multiple ministries were functioning without ministers damaged their ability to provide services, she argued.
Kan has also reported that despite Shas leaving the government, party chairman Aryeh Deri, who held no ministerial position even before bolting — due to court orders in light of previous criminal convictions — was still attending meetings of the security cabinet.
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