Minister: PM’s handling of the communications portfolio ‘unfriendly’

While insisting he was not interested in heading the ministry long-term, Tzachi Hanegbi says he took issue with not being kept in the loop

By Jacob Magid

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29 May 2017, 5:38 pm

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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Former interim communications minister Tzachi Hanegbi speaks at a stamp issuance for Etzel fighters at the Prime Minister Office in Jerusalem on May 17, 2017. (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)

Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi on Monday criticized the manner in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went about appointing a communications minister as “illogical and unfriendly.”

Hanegbi, considered a close confidant of Netanyahu, had been acting communications minister for the last three months since the prime minister had been forced to cede the post, but said he had not been consulted or even kept in the loop on the appointment of Ayoub Kara to the position.

Hanegbi, who did not express an objection to the appointment of Kara per se, said he took issue with the way it was made. He said he heard the news that Netanyahu had offered the portfolio to fellow Likud lawmaker Tourism Minister Yariv Levin from the media on Saturday night. Netanyahu then made a surprise announcement that Kara would get the job.

“I can’t say that the conduct was appropriate given my relationship with the prime minister and due to the fact that I am currently holding this portfolio. The prime minister understood this and apologized,” Hanegbi told Army Radio.

Cabinet ministers on Sunday voted to approve the appointment of Kara on the same morning that Netanyahu’s office made the announcement.

Communications Minister Ayoub Kara attends a ceremony for fallen ultra-Orthodox soldiers at a cemetery in Bnei Brak on May 1, 2017. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Netanyahu resigned from the position three months ago amid a High Court petition and an ongoing criminal investigation into alleged collusion with a major newspaper. He appointed Hanegbi to the post for a three-month period.

The appointment of Kara, who for several months has served as a minister-without-portfolio, was taken by commentators as a sign the prime minister was looking for some one who would do his bidding in the ministry.

In the Army Radio interview, Hanegbi insisted that he was never interested in remaining in the position long-term, referring to his agreement to take on the job for three months as a “gesture to the prime minister.” Hanegbi said he preferred to focus more on issues related to his regional cooperation portfolio.

Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.