One minister wearing five hats: Yariv Levin's positions harm Israeli public interest - opinion

In July, after Shas withdrew from the government, Levin had already been appointed acting interior, religious affairs, as well as labor minister. Given that the Basic Law: The Government limits an acting minister to serving three months in place of a departing minister, Levin is expected to hold these four additional portfolios until October 17.

Having someone simultaneously serving as minister of multiple ministries is harmful to the public interest and should concern us all, especially when it comes to as many as four or five portfolios. It is clear that a minister heading a single major ministry cannot possibly devote the full energy and attention required to manage additional ministries.

This means that for months there will be no one to formulate policy, supervise its implementation, promote legislation in the ministry’s areas of operations, or advance reforms and appointments. Essential decisions will be delayed, and the harm will ultimately fall on the Israeli citizens, who depend on the services provided by the ministries.

This is always problematic, but all the more so now, amid an ongoing war that challenges every sphere of life, such as security, diplomacy, the economy, education, health, and welfare. The need for full-time ministers could not be more vital. As they say, “Jack of all trades is master of none.” Ministries are left with no one taking true ownership, which weakens oversight of the professional echelon of that ministry, reduces effectiveness, and undermines public trust.

For example, a finance minister also heading another ministry might give preferential treatment to that ministry in budget allocations. While the current appointments are technically temporary, three months is hardly a negligible period of time.

The legal picture is also complex. The Basic Law does not prohibit one minister from holding multiple portfolios, even on an acting basis. Still, such arrangements may be deemed unreasonable.

The Supreme Court addressed a closely related question about a decade ago in the Yesh Atid case, which examined whether the prime minister may also serve concurrently as a minister. The court affirmed that the prime minister may assume additional portfolios, but stressed that not every such arrangement would be reasonable. It depends on how many ministries are involved, their size, and the scope of their activity.

Moreover, in deliberations, ministers vote as individuals, not as portfolios. A minister holding five portfolios still casts only one vote. This means that the “voices” of the other ministries currently led by Levin and Katz in an acting capacity effectively disappear. That is a serious problem, since a minister is expected to represent the specific interests of the ministry he or she heads.

The simultaneous tenure of a minister in several ministries, certainly on this scale, raises serious doubts about its reasonableness. It would be wise to consider legislative reforms that impose a limitation on the number of portfolios a minister may hold, whether permanently or in an acting capacity.

Until then, there should be a more even distribution of acting roles among different members of the government – and, for that matter, between men and women. At the end of the day, it’s the people of Israel who suffer when their leaders are spread too thin.