‘Haredim out, settlers in’ — that’s the catchphrase

The plenum is filling up. An awkward handshake between Netanyahu and Shas leader Aryeh Deri, who has been outspokenly bitter about being excluded from the government.

Meretz’s Zahava Gal-on says today’s a “celebratory affair,” but that this government is very hardline — “a government of the settlements,” she calls it.

Haredim out, settlers in — that’s the catchphrase in the Knesset corridors.

It’s also a smaller government, with 22 ministers compared to 30 last time — requiring carpentry in the Knesset for a smaller government table. But there’s no shortage of deputyships and committee head roles to keep many MKs employed and happy.

The event is to include a minute’s silence for former MK Marina Solodkin, who died suddenly of a stroke over the weekend while attending an anti-facism conference in Latvia.

Acting speaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer is overseeing the gathering at this stage, soon to hand over to Edelstein, who was backed for the post over the well-liked and widely respected speaker of the last Knesset Reuven Rivlin. Rivlin, who has his sights set on succeeding Shimon Peres at president, is fuming over his exclusion.