Israel’s 34th government was sworn in yesterday, after the Knesset approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet in a narrow vote of 61-59.
Prime Minister Netanyahu had convened the Knesset on Thursday morning in order to present the government, and followed a stormy day of negotiations and disagreements within the ruling party Likud over the ministerial positions.
During the raucous Knesset session which featured constant heckling, Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed his ministerial appointments, announcing that MK Silvan Shalom would be Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, MK Benny Begin and MK Ofir Akunis would be Ministers-Without-Portfolio, and MK Yariv Levin would hold both the Public Security and Tourism Ministries.
Netanyahu also announced the ministerial roles of his coalition partners, which include Kulanu head Moshe Kahlon to serve as the new Finance Minister and colleague Yoav Galant as Housing Minister. Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett was appointed to serve as Education Minister, and Ayelet Shaked as Justice Minister. Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri was appointed to fill the post of Economy Minister and Yaakov Litzman United Torah Judaism MK as deputy health minister.
Israel’s new coalition government includes centrist party Kulanu, the far-right Jewish Home party, and religious parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, as well as Netanyahu’s own Likud party.
