Health Minister Yaakov Litzman is considering moving to the Housing Ministry in the next government, Hebrew media reports say.
According to Channel 12 news, Litzman was instructed by Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, the head of the Gur Hasidic sect to change ministries. He met with Prime Minister Netanyahu today and asked to move ministries, the report says.
“There’s still a possibility that Litzman could leave the Health Ministry,” the network quotes coalition sources as saying.
His office says it isn’t familiar with the matter.
Litzman, who leads the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, has been the de facto head of the Health Ministry since 2009, except for an over two-year period between 2013 and 2015 when he was out of government.
He recently came under heavy criticism when a recent television report said he took part in group prayers in violation of his own ministry’s guidelines shortly before he was infected with coronavirus.
He has also faced criticism for allegedly using his position to aid an accused pedophile, which police have recommended he face charges over.
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on March 12, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90
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