Premier Golda Meir announced the make-up of her new Cabinet last night after receiving assurances from the National Religious Party that it will join the government The NRP executive committee voted 30-17 to enter the government despite a ban by the Chief Rabbinate and bitter opposition from the party’s "young guard." There were four abstentions. This afternoon the NRP leadership received a narrow majority, five percent, from the party’s enlarged executive to support its decision to join the government. However, opponents within the party moved immediately to delay the NRP’s joining. (See separate story.)
The NRP’s executive committee’s actions give Mrs. Meir a majority government of 68 seats–Labor Alignment, 51; Independent Liberal Party, 4; Progress and Development and Bed ouin and Villagers (the Labor-affiliated Arab lists). 3; and the NRP. 10.
The news was relayed to the Premier by telephone from NRP headquarters here shortly before Mrs. Meir presented her slate to President Ephraim Katzir in Jerusalem. The NRP’s decision is subject to confirmation by the party’s central committee. Mrs. Meir presented Katzir with a slate of 17 ministers-designate in what will be a 23-member Cabinet. She left five seats vacant; four will be filled by the NRP and one, the Transport Ministry, by a Laborite. Mrs. Meir was granted additional time–until Sunday to complete her Cabinet.
The new Cabinet will closely resemble the outgoing one though it will be slightly larger and will contain at least five new faces, probably more. The newcomers are Haim Zadok who was named Minister of Justice to replace Yaacov Shimshon Shapiro who resigned several months ago; Shlomo Rosen, who will replace Natan Peled as Absorption Minister; Yitzhak Rabin, replacing Yosef Almogi as Minister of Labor; Aharon Uzzan, Communications Minister; and Yehoshua Rabinowitz who replaces Zeev Sharef as Housing Minister. The Independent Liberal Party will receive a second Cabinet seat, though without portfolio, which is going to Gideon Hausner.
Among the incumbents who will sit in the new Cabinet. Shimon Peres has been switched from Transport Minister to the newly created post of Minister of Information. The others will retain their present portfolios. They are: Golda Meir, Premier; Yigal Allon. Deputy Premier and Minister of Education; Moshe Dayan, Defense Minister, Abba Eban. Foreign Minister; Pinhas Sapir. Finance Minister; Victor Shemtov, Minister of Health: Haim Gvati. Minister of Agriculture; Haim Barlev. Minister of Commerce and. Industry; Shlomo Hillel, Minister of Police; Moshe Kol, Minister of Tourism; and Israel Gal in, Minister-Without-Portfolio.
NRP’S ACTION REBUFF TO ITS MILITANTS
It was not certain today whether the NRP line-up will be the same as in the present government. The NRP traditionally holds the ministries of religious affairs, interior and social welfare. It will receive an additional ministry without portfolio in the new government.
Most Labor Party members were jubilant last night over Mrs. Meir’s success in overcoming the worst political crisis in Israel’s history, But there was unhappiness and no small amount of bitterness in the party’s Jerusalem branch, whose leader Moshe Baram was passed over for a Cabinet seat. Baram a veteran Labor stalwart perennially loyal to Mrs. Meir and the party establishment, had expected to be designated Minister of Labor. But the Premier selected Rabin, the popular former Ambassador to the U.S., instead.
The NRP’s 11th hour decision to join the new government represented a defeat for the party’s militant faction and, more significantly, a rebuff of the Orthodox religious establishment. The Chief Rabbinate Council, headed by Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, had prohibited the NRP from joining a government that refused to amend the Law of Return so as to invalidate conversions performed by non-Orthodox rabbis.
The NRP, however, apparently agreed to a Labor-proposed compromise that will defer the controversial Who is a Jew issue for one year. The party acted despite a warning yesterday by the NRP’s spiritual authority. Rabbi Tzvi Kook. that he would dissociate himself from the party if it entered the government.
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