Ministries previously held by Shas transferred to pair of Likud ministers

The government approved, by telephone vote on Tuesday, the temporary redistribution of ministerial portfolios previously held by Shas lawmakers after the ultra-Orthodox party quit the government earlier this month over its failure to codify the Haredi community’s exemption from military service.

Shas, which resigned from the government along with fellow Haredi party United Torah Judaism, held the health, interior, labor, welfare and religious services portfolios. Politicians from UTJ were serving as ministers for Jerusalem affairs and deputy transportation when the party quit the government.

Under the arrangement approved on Tuesday, Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) will take over the interior, religious affairs and labor ministries in an acting capacity. The welfare and health ministries will be transferred to Tourism Minister Haim Katz (Likud), who is already serving as interim housing minister after UTJ leader Haim Goldknopf resigned from the post prior to leaving the government.

The decision to divide up the portfolios in this manner was opposed by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, and cabinet member Ze’ev Elkin, all of whom voted against the appointments.

The three were said to have warned that the move was effectively piling too many responsibilities onto ministers who already hold key portfolios, potentially weakening their ability to govern effectively.

Shas was previously reported to have been opposed to Katz taking over any of its portfolios, as it fears he will oust Shas-appointed bureaucrats, thus preventing the ultra-Orthodox party from maintaining de facto control over the ministries from afar.

The party was reportedly happy with handing off several ministries to Levin. Unnamed Shas sources told the Walla news site last week that they suspect “it will be very easy to work with him.”

“If he promises something, he delivers on it. If the portfolios are with him, [we] can sleep peacefully,” they said of the justice minister.

In a statement confirming that he would be taking over the interior, religious affairs, and labor ministries temporarily, Levin thanked his Shas predecessors “for the dedicated and important work they have done in their ministries.”

“I accept their portfolios as a temporary charge, believing that Shas will return to government as soon as possible,” Levin added. “We have many tasks to complete in the coming year, and it is essential that we can do so with a broad and stable coalition.”

The vote on temporarily redistributing the Shas portfolios came after the Kan public broadcaster reported on Monday that Netanyahu was holding onto the ministries himself for the time being, in a move that violated a law prohibiting those under indictment from serving in a ministerial capacity.

However, the decision to hand them off to existing ministers, rather than to lawmakers outside of the cabinet, was likely a sign that Netanyahu was still holding out hope that Shas would return to the government, as doing so would ease the process of reappointing them to their former positions.

But it was not clear when, or if, Shas will agree to rejoin the government.

Speaking with the Times of Israel last week, a spokesman for Shas said the party would only return to government if a viable Haredi enlistment bill is advanced.

“There must be a law on the table that is agreed upon by us and has a majority,” said Asher Medina, when asked about his party’s preconditions for returning.

While the issue of redistributing Shas’s portfolios appeared to have been resolved, reports made no mention of the positions left vacant by UTJ’s departure from government.

Members of the United Torah Judaism party’s Degel Hatorah faction write letters of resignation in Knesset Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni’s office, July 14, 2025. (Courtesy)

According to Kan, Netanyahu was considering the far-right Otzma Yehudit party as a candidate to take on the Jerusalem Affairs Ministry, while Religious Zionism would be given control over several Knesset committee chairmanships vacated by UTJ.

The Knesset House Committee met earlier on Tuesday to approve the appointment of Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky in place of former Knesset Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni. The appointment has been a controversial one, as Milwidsky is currently under investigation on suspicion of rape and witness tampering.

The committee also discussed appointing a replacement for Shas MK Avraham Betzalel as chair of the Knesset Special Committee for Bridging Social Gaps in the Periphery. Betzalel recently resigned from the Knesset, reportedly over allegations of “inappropriate acts,” although he disputes this characterization of his motives.

Lawmakers still need to appoint new chairpeople for the ethics, labor, and interior committees, as well as the powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, whose chairman, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, is being pushed out over his role in blocking the pblockage of a Haredi exemption bill.

Edelstein is slated to be replaced by fellow Likud lawmaker Boaz Bismuth, whose appointment must be approved by members of both the House Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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