Vexed ministers complain Health Ministry chief ‘serving as the acting PM’

Ministers are becoming increasingly irritated at what they see as the outsized power wielded by Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov during the campaign against the coronavirus outbreak, with one cabinet member saying Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not even bothering including ministers in the decision-making process anymore.

Bar Siman-Tov was “serving as the acting prime minister,” an unnamed minister told Channel 12 news. “He lays down the rules, what he says goes.”

The complaints came after Netanyahu and Bar Siman-Tov announced Saturday night an easing of lockdown orders, and the Health Ministry issued them to the public, before the cabinet had even approved the measures. The cabinet was eventually asked to vote on them overnight, but was given very little say.

“What ministers have to say doesn’t matter except on the issue of prayer,” the minister told the network. “There, Bar Siman-Tov doesn’t want to get into complications with the minister,” he said, apparently referring to Health Minister Yaakov Litzman who is ultra-Orthodox. One of the limitations eased Saturday night was a ban on holding prayer meetings out in the open with the requisite quorum of 10 men, in accordance with Jewish law.

The ministerial source complained to Channel 12 that Netanyahu was working closely with Bar Siman-Tov, without consulting the cabinet.

“The prime minister doesn’t tell us, the ministers, and lets Bar Siman-Tov lead,” the source said.

Sources close to the prime minister rejected the claims, saying Netanyahu listens to his ministers and includes them in the decision-making process. The sources noted that the campaign against the coronavirus was being lead by the National Security Institute Director Meir Ben-Shabbat and that Bar Siman-Tov was only an adviser, with no authority to make decisions.

Earlier, Bar Siman-Tov admitted to Channel 12 news in an interview that there were issues with the way the changes in lockdown measures were rolled out.

“We made a mistake and we apologized to the ministers,” he said. “It was because the regulations came into affect at 6:15 a.m. [Sunday], and we wanted to notify the public.”

The Channel 12 anchor noted that the government had had weeks to prepare for the eventual easing of restrictions, and the decisions did not need to be delayed until the very last moment. Bar Siman-Tov did not respond on the matter.

Also Sunday, the Kan public broadcaster reported that Netanyhau was furious at the persistent leaks to media from cabinet meetings, some of which he said were happening even before meetings ended.

Kan said Netanyahu had asked Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman to rein in ministers. In a missive to ministers over the weekend Baverman wrote; “I reiterate that the recurrence of this phenomenon will lead to measures being taken against the violators.”

Netanyahu on Saturday evening announced the removal of some of the restrictions on industries, commerce, and personal freedoms starting Sunday, as part of what he said was a careful and gradual process.

The premier said the new guidelines would include a return to work of some employees in the manufacturing and service industries, albeit under various restrictions, as well as the reopening of certain stores.

However, ministers only began a telephone meeting to discuss and approve the measures at around 2 a.m. Sunday, and there was reported bickering on a number of rollback measures.

Shortly after Netanyahu’s announcement, the Health Ministry sent out guidelines laid out by him, but quickly pulled them after ministers angrily complained that they had not yet been given a chance to discuss the measures.

Kan news reported that Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin wrote on a WhatsApp group shared by ministers that “the Health Ministry is making a mockery of the cabinet.”

Several outlets, including Channel 12 and the Ynet news site, published angry messages posted in the group chat, which were apparently leaked to journalists.

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich commented: “I’m not even sure why we need a cabinet meeting if everything’s been decided and released.” He went on: “We’re not obligated by what the Health Ministry published. That’s their suggestion, but the authority and the responsibility is ours.”