The Knesset on Monday evening voted 48-42 in back-to-back votes to ratify the government’s nominations of Tourism Minister Haim Katz and Justice Minister Yariv Levin to head five ministries that have been leaderless since ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew from the government this past summer.

Levin will take over the labor, religious services, and Jerusalem portfolios, while Katz is to head the health and welfare ministries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will temporarily be granted a number of powers usually assigned to the interior minister.

Due to his graft trial, Netanyahu cannot take over the Interior Ministry himself, as the law bars ministers from serving in such a role while under criminal indictment, and the ministry will continue to operate without a minister.

Coalition members dismissed criticism of the arrangement, with Regional Cooperation Minister Dudi Amsalem joking that he did not know how many total ministries Levin and Katz were being assigned to run.

“I haven’t counted yet,” he told the plenum, in response to questions from opposition lawmakers.

While Levin and Katz’s appointments significantly reduce the number of ministries without full-time ministers, it is unclear how they will be able to deal with the responsibilities of multiple 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.

A spokesman for Levin did not respond when asked how he would handle his newly increased workload, telling The Times of Israel on........

© The Times of Israel