Premier David Ben Gurion and members of the central committee of his Mapai Party, major group in the coalition government, feel that it has become necessary to reorganize and enlarge the Cabinet, it was learned today in government circles.
The Laborites feel that enlargement of the Cabinet would ease the burden of the overworked ministers by dividing certain of the ministries such as Communications, Finance, Commerce and Industry. This would also make for more efficient administration of these departments. It is also felt that such reorganization would leave open the way for more parties to join the government.
Although no contact has yet been made by the Premier with leaders of the Poale Agudah, one of the two religious parties which recently walked out of the Cabinet, it is expected that a meeting will be held scon. The Mapai is reported to be hopeful that the Agudah workers will return and that the Premier is willing to compromise on the issue of conscription of Orthodox women and is prepared to postpone for another year a solution of the problem of the “independent” educational systems.
In an apparent effort to reach a satisfactory compromise on the conscription issue, Mr. Ben Gurion today went to Ramath Gan to call on Rabbi Karelitz, 90-year-old sage, to seek advice on Torah interpretation in reference to the conscription of Orthodox women. Rabbi Karelitz, who does not participate in politics, is respected by Jews throughout Israel and abroad as an authority on religious matters.
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