Israel President Appoints Ben-gurion to Form a New Government

President Ben-Zvi formally entrusted Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion today with the task of forming a new government after the President completed the required consultations with all parties winning in the November 3 elections for the fourth Knesset, Israel’s Parliament.

The President went to the Prime Minister’s home for the action because the Prime Minister has been immured with a fever since yesterday and was expected to remain in bed for the next two or three days. He will continue his efforts to form a new Government from his home.

All parties, in their talks with the President, agreed that the Mapai candidate for Prime Minister should be given the task of forming a new government. The President received representatives of the three Arab parties and the Communists.

Agudat Israel representatives told the President that they were forbidden to participate in the Government by their rabbinical advisors, the Gedolei Hatorah, because their minimum demands on religious matters had been opposed by Mapai.

Since the General Zionists previously had indicated unreadiness to join the projected Government, all indications pointed to a renewal of the last previous coalition, as it was constituted before the defection of the National Religious party on the “Who is a Jew” controversy.

It was reported that an agreement with the Religious party was imminent and that the two leftist parties, Mapam and Achdut Avodab were prepared to agree to legislation on collective Cabinet responsibility. It was the refusal of the two left-wing parties to accept this doctrine in their fight against the Israel sale of arms to Germany last summer which caused Mr. Ben-Gurion to resign and end the coalition.