From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
With elections ahead, cabinet ministers handing out jobs to associates — report
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
With elections due to take place by October, members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet are looking to appoint their associates to top government positions, Channel 12 reports.
According to the network, this week Transportation Minister Miri Regev appointed former Hatzor HaGlilit Regional Council chief Shimon Suissa (Likud) to a senior ministry role where he will control budgets of tens of billions of shekels. The appointment was made even though 10 years ago, police recommended prosecuting Suissa for fraud.
Channel 12 also states that the politically connected Israel Railways board chairman, Moshe Shimoni, will be tapped as the new chairman of the Israel Electric Corporation while Yigal Amadi will take over Shimoni’s position despite allegedly attempting to give a job to a relative of a prominent pro-Netanyahu journalist while in charge of the National Transport Infrastructure Company.
Netanyahu associate and Israeli ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Yossi Shelly is also due to be given a plum job, the network reports.
“All appointments made in the Transportation Ministry and government companies are professional, high-quality appointments of individuals who have proven themselves in the field. All appointments are made in accordance with procedures, under legal supervision by the Civil Service Commission, and according to the required criteria,” Regev’s office tells the network in a statement.
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