From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 1, 2019
Netanyahu appoints loyalist David Amsalem as communications minister
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces he is appointing Likud MK David Amsalem as communications minister.
Amsalem, coalition chairman in the last Knesset, is a veteran Likud party operative who was a leader in the party’s Jerusalem branch. As an MK, he was an outspoken backer of Netanyahu.
The appointment follows the resignation earlier this week of Ayoub Kara, former Likud MK and the party’s top-ranked Druze, over his disappointment at what he called Netanyahu’s failure to support his reelection bid. Kara did not make it into the 21st Knesset in the Likud primaries ahead of the April 9 elections.
Netanyahu is thought to be prohibited from serving as acting communications minister because he is the subject of a criminal investigation into allegations that he used his position as communications minister in the past to attempt to exchange positive media coverage for regulatory decisions.
