i24 News – Rebel Yamina parliamentarian Idit Silman, ostensibly a member of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s party, voted against reappointing her running mate Matan Kahana as Israel’s Minister of Religious Affairs.
With Silman voting against it, Kahana’s reappointment only received a tie vote (55-55), bringing the coalition its second defeat in a day. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had stressed that the ballot was a vote of confidence in the government in an attempt to convince Silman to vote with her party.
After the voting result, Opposition Leader Bibi Netanyahu praised Idit Silman, calling her a “champion,” while Kahana, a former pilot, commented that this setback was only a “little blow to the wing.”
It was, however, another defeat on a single evening after two coalition lawmakers voted against legislation to renew the application of Israeli criminal law and certain civil laws to Israelis living in the West Bank.
Earlier in May, Matan Kahana resigned from his ministerial position, planning to return as a member of Knesset under the Norwegian law to “strengthen the coalition.” The law allows ministers to resign temporarily from the legislative chamber in order for other candidates from the party list to fill a seat.
Kahana carried on with his responsibilities as he was appointed deputy minister by the cabinet, which doesn’t require the Knesset’s approval. However, a ministerial appointment needs the parliament’s approval with a simple majority, which Kahana didn’t get missing Silman’s vote.
Idit Silman is now at risk of being ousted from the ruling party as MK Amichai Chikli was in April. In this case she would be banned from running for any existing faction of the Knesset in the next elections, and therefore would not be able to join Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, which would have offered her a place at the top of its list.
Source: Matzav & i24News
