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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement early Wednesday morning inviting potential coalition partners to immediately enter talks for the swift formation of what is expected to be a religious-nationalist government in Jerusalem. "The reality isn't waiting on us," Netanyahu said just hours after it became clear that his Likud party had scored a decisive victory over Zionist Union in Tuesday's poll. "Reality isn't taking a break. The citizens of Israel expect us to quickly put together a leadership that will work for the sake of the country's security, economy, and society as we promised to do, and that is...

May. 17, 2006 0:44 | Updated May. 17, 2006 5:48 Olmert promises UTJ 5-year extension of Tal Law By ANSHEL PFEFFER Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised United Torah Judaism that the coalition will support a five-year extension of the Tal Law. Although the law, which allows yeshiva students to defer their army service, was not canceled by the Supreme Court in its ruling last Thursday, the court stressed that the law ran against civil equality and may be considered unconstitutional in the future. While official coalition talks between UTJ and Kadima are to resume only in a couple of...

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 You could be a minister too Netanyahu's government had 18 ministers. Sharon's began with 25 and waxed on to 28. Ehud Olmert's administration is set to kick off the new season with a record 27-29 posts. Many people seem bothered by this, but I say, the more the merrier. There's plenty of important work to be done in this country, and why should any elected official be left feeling inconsequential? I would suggest increasing the number of ministers as much as possible. There's no reason why every member of the Knesset can't have his very own...

Apr. 25, 2006 1:43 | Updated Apr. 25, 2006 19:12 Peretz, Olmert meet on ministers By SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL AND JPOST STAFF Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz and Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the proposed reduction of ministers and the elimination of deputy ministers in the new coalition government. Senior Kadima officials said that they expected Olmert to reduce the number of Kadima ministers by one, for a total of 11 Kadima ministers in the government. Kadima sources saw the move as a way of encouraging the rest of the coalition partners to make...

Apr. 12, 2006 1:25 | Updated Apr. 12, 2006 5:14 Kadima to give Labor draft deal By GIL HOFFMAN Kadima representatives will present Labor's negotiating team with a rough draft for a coalition agreement on Wednesday after both sides reported progress in negotiations at Ramat Gan's Kfar Hamacabiah Hotel on Tuesday night. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Kadima ministers on Tuesday and told them that he wanted the coalition-building process completed by the end of the month. Members of Kadima's team said negotiations over the coalition guidelines would be completed by the end of the holiday, allowing for...

Apr. 8, 2006 19:14 | Updated Apr. 9, 2006 1:06 Lieberman mulls joining coalition By JPOST.COM STAFFIsrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman Photo: Ariel JerozolimskiThe price of Israel Beiteinu's entry into the coalition is the Internal Security portfolio, Avigdor Lieberman told Channel 2 on Saturday night. "We won't give up on the Internal Security portfolio. We ran on this point in the elections, we received the voters trust and we have no intention of violating that trust," he said. Calling himself a member of the "pragmatic right" rather then the "fanatic right," Lieberman said he believed his party would enter the...

Apr. 5, 2006 14:39 | Updated Apr. 5, 2006 19:08 Acting PM Olmert: 'Elections became a referendum' By JPOST.COM STAFF The election vote was in fact a national referendum on the diplomatic issues that face Israel today, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday during a meeting of the Kadima Knesset faction. "Fortunately, the election campaign became, with the consent of all parties, a referendum," Olmert said. The Kadima leader estimated that coalition talks wound end by the end of April or the beginning of May. "I will make every effort to conclude coalition negotiations as soon as possible," he...

Apr. 2, 2006 3:02 | Updated Apr. 2, 2006 9:10 President Katsav to kick off coalition talks By GIL HOFFMAN AND JPOST STAFF President Moshe Katsav will begin holding consultations with party representatives on Sunday ahead of his decision this week on whom he should ask to form Israel's next government. The consultations will kick off at noon when Kadima representatives Haim Ramon, Avraham Hirchson, Roni Bar-On, Dalia Itzik, Avigdor Yitzhaki and Marina Solodkin visit Beit Hanassi. They will be followed by MKs from Labor, Shas, Israel Beiteinu and the Likud. Katsav will meet Monday with representatives from the National...

Mar. 30, 2006 13:12 | Updated Mar. 30, 2006 13:18 Q&A with David Horovitz Susan Blatt, Portland, Oregon: Did Israelis vote Kadima because of what it is, or what it isn't? Can Kadima lead an effective government with less than a quarter of the seats? David Horovitz: It seems that many people voted for the party or leader they least disliked, rather than most admired. With Kadima, they certainly knew what they were voting for more clearly than they would have done had Sharon led the party into the elections. Sharon was insisting he had no plans for further disengagement,...

Jan. 5, 2005 17:43 | Updated Jan. 5, 2005 18:51 Rabbi Elyashiv gives UTJ green light to join coalition By GIL HOFFMAN United Torah Judaism spiritual mentor Rabbi Shalom Yosef Elyashiv on Wednesday bestowed his approval for the haredi party to join the coalition, allowing a Likud-Labor-UTJ government to be formed, UTJ MK Avraham Ravitz said. The Ultra-Orthodox party's inclusion into the coalition is conditional however on a three-month "wait-and-see" approach relating to the Likud negotiating team's promise to provide funding to haredi educational institutions. UTJ MKs Avraham Ravitz and Moshe Gafni will not fill any positions in the government...

Dec. 19, 2004 23:40 | Updated Dec. 20, 2004 17:32 Sharon, Peres push for coalition deal By GIL HOFFMAN The Shas party decided Monday evening to support a bill to amend Basic Law which would allow two vice premiers premiere' in the government, providing the bill with majority support in the Knesset. Shas' decision came as a sign of recognition to Labor leader Shimon Peres for his good relationship with the party over many years, Army Radio reported. With Shas' backing, the Knesset committee approved the vote on the bill by 15 to 5, and the preliminary vote is set...

Dec. 15, 2004 8:29 | Updated Dec. 15, 2004 19:01 PM, Peres try to end coalition crisis By GIL HOFFMAN Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke to Labor chairman Shimon Peres on Wednesday evening in an attempt to solve the crisis in coalition talks between Likud and Labor. Senior members of the Likud party fumed over Sharon's offer Tuesday night of the Interior and Communications Ministries portfolios to the Labor party as part of coalition negotiations. In a bid to solve the stalled coalitions talks, Sharon called Peres and offered Labor the Interior Ministry and the Communication portfolio, making it clear...

Dec. 13, 2004 20:32 | Updated Dec. 13, 2004 20:35 Likud, Shas divided on disengagement By GIL HOFFMAN Coalition talks between Likud and Shas broke down on Monday over Shas's continued opposition to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. The Likud team asked Shas chairman Eli Yishai to endorse the plan, but Yishai said Shas mentor Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's ruling against disengagement will not change, despite the death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. He asked for Shas to be given freedom to vote its conscience when the issue of disengagement is raised. Shas rejected Likud efforts to reach a...

Yishai says “Lapid needs a psychiatrist” Shas opens new front against Shinui head, accuses him of racism. Denies campaign related to coalition talks and fact Lapid agreed to serve with UTJ.Yifat Zohar Shas Chairman MK Eli Yishai. Shas Chairman MK Eli Yishai has declared a concerted campaign against Shinui Chairman and Justice Minister Yossef Lapid. “I recommend that the minister of health send the chief psychiatrist to examine the chairman of Shinui, Minister Yossef Lapid “, Yishai declared on Tuesday. At a meeting of Shas activists, Yishai said that the campaign would begin in the coming days and continue until...

Aug. 1, 2004 20:10 | Updated Aug. 2, 2004 17:45 Shinui reverses objections to coalition with Haredim By GIL HOFMAN AND NINA GILBERT Avraham Ravitz: "kick them in some sensitive spot" Photo: Knesset Lapid: "Sometimes you need to risk being asked 'why did you promise'." Photo: AP "There is a moment when you need to give up a bit of your ego and risk being asked 'why did you promise'," Shinui leader Yossef Lapid told reporters Monday after his Shinui faction voted overwhelmingly to consider staying in the government if United Torah Judaism becomes a supporter as long as the...