The 37th government of the State of Israel was sworn in on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, and will include 29 ministers in total. The new governing coalition is the most far-right in history and includes six parties: Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu; the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism, led by Yitzhak Goldknopf; the ultra-Orthodox Shas, led by Aryeh Deri; the radical right-wing Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich; the fascist, Jewish supremacist Jewish Power, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir; and the far-right Orthodox Jewish Noam party, led by Dror Aryeh. As the government was sworn in, thousands were protesting in opposition to it outside the Knesset walls.
After announcing last week to President Isaac Herzog that he was able to form a government, the 73-year-old Netanyahu will lead his sixth government. Netanyahu was first elected to serve as Prime Minister in 1996 until 1999 then again from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history.
According to the coalition agreements, the priorities for the incoming government include limiting judicial power over the legislative and executive branches, bolstering settlement activity in the West Bank, considering West Bank annexation, and expanding Orthodox control over state Jewish services.
The following is a list of the various positions that will be held by the coalition members:
Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud)- Prime Minister
Amir Ohana (Likud) – Speaker of the Knesset
Yoav Galant (Likud) – Minister of Defense
Itamar Ben-Gvir (Jewish Power) – Minister of National Security (formerly Minister of Internal Security)
Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) – Minister of Finance, Minister in the Ministry of Defense
Yariv Levin (Likud) – Minister of Justice, Deputy Prime Minister
Eli Cohen (Likud) – Ministers of Foreign Affairs (in rotation with Israel Katz)
Yoav Kisch (Likud) – Minister of Education, Minister of Regional Cooperation
Aryeh Deri (Shas) – Minister of Health, Minister of the Interior and Periphery
Nir Barkat (Likud) – Minister of Economy
Yitzhak Wasserlauf (Jewish Power) – Minister for the Development of the Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience
Israel Katz (Likud) – Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water (in rotation with Eli Cohen)
Michael Malchieli (Shas) – Minister of Religious Affairs
Avi Dichter (Likud) – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Ofir Sofer (Religious Zionism) – Minister of Aliyah and Integration
Shlomo Karhi (Likud) – Minister of Communications
Yistzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) – Minister of Housing and Construction, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office
Miki Zohar (Likud) – Minister of Culture and Sports
Amichai Chikli (Likud) – Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Minister for Social Equality
Haim Biton (Shas) – Minister in the Education Ministry
Idit Silman (Likud) – Minister of Environmental Protection
Amihai Eliyahu (Jewish Power) – Minister of Heritage
Gila Gamliel (Likud) – Minister of Intelligence
Ya’akov Margi (Shas) – Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, and Social Services
Yoav Ben-Tzur (Shas) – Minister in the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Social Services
Orit Strook (Religious Zionism) – Minister of National Missions
Ofir Akunis (Likud) – Minister of Science and Technology
Ron Dermer (Likud) – Minister of Strategic Affairs
Haim Katz (Likud) – Minister of Tourism
Miri Regev (Likud) – Minister of Transportation
Galit Distel-Atbaryan (Likud) – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office
