Following are the ministers (with their party affiliation) who were confirmed by the Knesset on Tuesday to become the 28th government of Israel:
Ehud Barak (One Israel) — Prime Minister and Defense Minister
David Levy (One Israel) — Foreign Minister
Avraham Shochat (One Israel) — Finance Minister
Yossi Beilin (One Israel) — Justice Minister
Shlomo Ben-Ami (One Israel) — Public Security Minister
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer (One Israel) — Communications Minister, Deputy Prime Minister
Dalia Itzik (One Israel) — Environment Minister
Shimon Peres (One Israel) — Regional Cooperation Minister
Haim Ramon (One Israel) — Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, responsible for Jerusalem Affairs
Eliyahu Yishai (Shas) — Labor and Social Affairs Minister
Eli Suissa (Shas) — National Infrastructure Minister
Shlomo Benizri (Shas) — Health Minister
Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) — Religious Affairs Minister
Yossi Sarid (Meretz) — Education Minister
Ran Cohen (Meretz) — Industry and Trade Minister
Natan Sharansky (Yisrael Ba’Aliyah) — Interior Minister
Yitzhak Mordechai (Center) — Transportation Minister
Yitzhak Levy (NRP) — Housing Minister
Barak is retaining control over four ministerial portfolios that he may distribute when and if he expands his Cabinet, as he is expected to do. The portfolios are: Immigrant Absorption, Agriculture, Science and Tourism.
Six of the 18 ministers were also Cabinet members at one time or another in the outgoing government of Benjamin Netanyahu: Yishai, Suissa, Sharansky, Mordechai, David Levy and Yitzhak Levy.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
