No plan to install new Jerusalem affairs minister, source says

The government has “no plan at the moment” to name a replacement for Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush, despite the fact that he resigned over two weeks ago when his ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party bolted the coalition, a coalition source tells The Times of Israel.

“By law [Netanyahu] really should appoint someone, but I don’t think Porush is cool with any current Likud minister having it,” the source states. “This whole thing is a pretty big joke,” the source adds, saying UTJ is not really part of the opposition.

Earlier this month, UTJ quit the coalition after being presented with a copy of a proposed enlistment bill prepared by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s then-chairman, Yuli Edelstein, which it said violated agreements arrived at the month before regarding legislation on military draft exemptions. It was quickly followed by Shas, which, while quitting the government, has remained part of the coalition.

Politicians from UTJ were serving as minister for Jerusalem affairs and deputy minister for transportation when the party quit the government, while Shas held the health, interior, labor, welfare and religious services portfolios. Those have been handed to Likud ministers on an interim basis.

Porush’s Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition Ministry was one of 10 superfluous government ministries that the Finance Ministry reportedly recommended closing down in late 2023. It handles, among other things, annual pilgrimages to Uman, Ukraine, and Meron in northern Israel.

During his tenure as minister, Porush came under fire for stepping in to help convicted sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland to try beat a visa ban on entering Ukraine and arranging for his wife and three adult children to accompany him on a pilgrimage to Mount Meron last May, even as entry to the northern Israel holy site was restricted over security concerns.

A spokesman for Porush does not reply to a request for comment.