Health czar said weighing stepping down as Treasury chief announces resignation

Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, who has led much of Israel’s efforts against the coronavirus pandemic, is considering stepping down from the post, according to a report Monday.

Meanwhile Finance Ministry Director-General Shai Babad, who has also been a central figure in financial policy throughout the crisis, said he intends to step down with the swearing-in of a new government.

According to a Ynet report Monday, Bar Siman-Tov’s decision will depend largely on who is appointed health minister in the next government, which is set to be sworn in Thursday.

While sources close to Bar Siman-Tov were quoted saying that the identity of the next health minister would be “critical,” they did not name anyone specific who would influence his decision.

The report also noted that the next health minister can appoint a new ministry director-general, with Bar Siman-Tov not guaranteed the position. A source in the health system suggested that this detail factored into Bar Siman-Tov’s thinking.

“If the next minister doesn’t want him, he’ll say he wanted to quit,” the unnamed source said.

While one official said it was “very sad that a person is considering stepping down from such an important and central ministry,” another said that Bar Siman-Tov was taking full responsibility for the handling of the pandemic.

“He didn’t try to be popular and in some cases made the right decision,” the official told Ynet, adding it was “reasonable” for Bar Siman-Tov to wait to see who the next health minister is before deciding whether to stick around.

Bar Siman-Tov has been one of the most prominent figures leading Israel’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, frequently giving media interviews and appearing alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during televised statements to announce new government directives — while the presence of outgoing health minister, Yaakov Litzman, was hardly felt, leading to accusations the latter was missing in action in the fight against the virus.

As the Health Ministry’s top bureaucrat, he was responsible for leading many of the tough early steps to restrict Israel’s public life, and was initially credited in spearheading the country’s efficient response that prevented mass infection.

Lately, he has come under fire for what critics inside and outside the government have said was an overly restrictive approach to ease restrictions and salvage the economy as infection numbers ebbed. He has been a target of criticism from unnamed ministers.

Bar Siman-Tov has reportedly feuded with outgoing Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who unsuccessfully pushed throughout the crisis for his ministry to lead the fight against the virus and is now eyeing the Health Ministry.

Litzman announced last month that he would not continue in the post in the next government, and instead move to the Housing Ministry, opening up the position to a new minister.

The announcement from Litzman, head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, came after he faced criticism over his response to the coronavirus pandemic and a TV report alleged that he took part in group prayer that violated his own ministry’s directives days before he was infected with COVID-19, as well as for reportedly resisting the closure of synagogues and other religious institutions.

As for Babad, he and Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who is set to become finance minister, agreed to decide later when exactly Babad will step down, a statement from the Finance Ministry said.

Babad ran in the 2015 elections with Kulanu, but failed to enter the Knesset and was later tapped by party leader Moshe Kahlon as director-general, after the latter’s appointment as finance minister.

Kahlon announced in January that he was leaving politics, though he has stayed on as finance minister until a new government is formed.