The 61st finger? The 'joint' party refused to support the appointment of Matan Kahane as minister

May 17, 2022   

The political drama continues: The coalition turned to the Joint List with a request to abstain or support the vote on the reappointment of Matan Kahane as Minister of Religious Services, after he resigned from the government and returned to the Knesset - but the Arab party refused. Can you keep a secret? Solve an issue? We are looking for you for a prestigious position A reappointment to the position of Minister of Religious Services requires a majority of 61 supporters, which the coalition currently does not have. United Torah Judaism Chairman, MK Moshe Gafni, said last night at a meeting of opposition leaders that he heard that MK Ahmed Tibi in the coalition had approached them and asked for assistance in the Knesset vote on Kahane's reappointment. In a joint list, they said in response: "The coalition asked us to support or abstain and we refused, so the issue did not come up." The coalition also hoped that MK Idit Silman would support the vote, but according to estimates, it appears that she does not intend to vote in favor. According to a report in Israel Hayom, Shmulik Silman spoke with government officials and criticized the government for being bad, and also said that his wife, MK Idit Silman, would not support the appointment of Matan Kahane as minister. Israel Hayom contacted Shmulik Silman for a comment, but the latter did not respond. Last night, Minister Ze'ev Elkin made an announcement in the Knesset plenum about Kahane's appointment as Deputy Minister for Religious Services, after the appointment was approved by a telephonic vote in the government.