New Cabinet members assume ministerial responsibilities

A day after being sworn into office, Israel’s incoming ministers on Tuesday celebrated a series of changing-of-the-guard ceremonies at their respective ministries, ushering in Israel’s 33rd government.

Head of the newly named Ministry of Economics and Trade (formerly the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor) Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) began his remarks at the ministry’s ceremony by explaining the name change, saying that people had not grasped the old name — Industry, Trade and Labor — which was commonly known by an ill-understood acronym.

Bennett went on to briefly address the economic hardships Israelis face in their daily lives, voicing the sentiment that launched the 2011 social protest movement.

“I would not be exaggerating if I said that everyone’s focus will be on this office. The whole social protest that we saw in recent years, all the difficulties accumulate here,” said Bennett. “It’s just too difficult here and it’s becoming more difficult — the salaries are too low and the cost of living is too high.”

Over at the Education Ministry, Minister Shai Piron (Yesh Atid) began by calling his ministerial mission “sacred,” and saying that he wanted to see changes in the approach to education.

Taking over from Gideon Sa’ar (Likud), who was heading over to the Interior Ministry, Piron said society must acknowledge the importance of teachers.

“This experience of the child always being right is bizarre and it threatens society,” remarked Piron, noting, though, that he doesn’t want to tell children to sit down and be quiet. “I want them loud, thriving, full of energy, curious and asking questions.”

Piron promised to “deepen education with Jewish, democratic and universal values.”

The first ceremony of the day took place at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, where Moshe Ya’alon replaced Ehud Barak at the helm.

“This morning I am feeling a sense of awe,” Ya’alon said at the ceremony. Reminiscing about the relief he felt upon completing his role as IDF chief of staff, he added that he was fully aware of the “heavy burden” his new job entailed.

Barak praised Ya’alon as a “man who knows where he stands, whether in or out of uniform… He says what he thinks and does what he says.”

The outgoing minister told Ya’alon he was inheriting a “good, conscientious and professional” ministry, and warned his successor that “it is an enormous job to consolidate and strengthen the security of the State of Israel.”

Ya’alon congratulated Barak for his achievements as defense minister over the last six years.

In a ceremony at the Finance Ministry, outgoing minister Yuval Steinitz expressed a sense of satisfaction in the role he had fulfilled for four years. Acknowledging that the job was far from easy, and “I’m not a magician,” Steinitz said, “I came here during a time of upheaval… We made good progress, achieved reasonable results, and Israel has been ranked first in growth among Western nations for three years.”

In handing over the reins of the ministry, Steinitz told incoming Finance Minister Yair Lapid, “I am handing you the state and the economy in better condition than I received it.”

Lapid praised Steinitz for his accomplishments as finance minster and said, “I have not yet gotten used to speaking on behalf of the State of Israel but, on behalf of the State of Israel, we all thank you.”

At the Interior Ministry, incoming minister Gideon Sa’ar (Likud) thanked outgoing minister Eli Yishai (Shas) and said that he intends to “lead reforms and big changes” in the ministry. Yishai told Sa’ar that he is moving into “a good ministry, a strong ministry with dear people.” The outgoing minister said that, among his own achievements, he considers the fight against illegal African migrants to have been the primary mission of his administration. “I knew that if I did not work fast,” Yishai said, “today we would have 200,000 infiltrators here.”

Tzipi Livni (Hatnua), the incoming justice minister, said she saw her role as “protecting the courts and the law… The Justice Ministry is at the forefront of that struggle.” Livni added. “I’m going to fight racism and ensure that people pay the price for committing ‘price tag’ attacks.” She further promised to fight for a “State of Israel that is Jewish and democratic” as well as to establish a constitution.

Outgoing justice minister Yaakov Neeman said Livni’s first order of business should be to streamline the judicial process, which currently suffers from what he called “a world record in delays.”