MINISTERS OF ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY,

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000825

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL FULTON
AMMAN FOR BHALLA
HHS FOR INTERNATIONAL COURY
EEB FOR JON MUDGE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: IS PGOV PREL SENV OECD
SUBJECT: MINISTERS OF ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY,
AND HEALTH: NEW FACES ON ISRAEL,S ESTH SCENE


1. (SBU) Summary. Israel's new government under Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was sworn in last week with the
largest cabinet in Israel's history. Gilad Erdan of Likud
was appointed to the Ministry of Environmental Protection,
and he appears to be taking an activist stance early in his
tenure. Technion Professor Daniel Hershkowitz, Chairman of
the Jewish Home Party, was named head of the new Ministry of
Science and Technology, which was split off from the former
Ministry of Science, Culture, and Sport. No Minister of
Health was named; instead Ya'acov Litzman of United Torah
Judaism (UTJ) was appointed Deputy Minister of Health with
most of the authority of a full-fledged minister, but he will
not sit in the prime minister's cabinet. The Israel Medical
Association has appealed this decision to the High Court of
Justice. End Summary.

HIGH HOPES FOR NEW ENVIRONMENT MINISTER


2. (SBU) MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) was appointed to head the
Ministry of Environmental Protection with widespread approval
from Knesset members and environmentalists alike. Erdan has
previously received recognition from the Israel Union for
Environmental Defense, and was co-recipient of a Green Globe
Award from Life and Environment, Israel's umbrella
organization of environmental NGOs, for his support for
"green" legislation. At 38, Erdan is a young minister and is
expected to inject some youthful energy into the ministry as
he tries to effect a "green revolution". A Knesset member
since 2003, he served in the environmental lobby of the 16th
Knesset and as member of the social-environmental lobby in
the 17th. He is a lawyer by profession, and has spent most
of his career in government service. In the past Erdan
supported legislation to fight air pollution, build bicycle
paths along roadways, impose helmet regulations, and promote
alternative energy. His strong position within Likud--he
earned the third slot on the party's list in the February
2009 elections--will help him fight for the budget required
to achieve his Ministry's goals. The Ministry of
Environmental Protection has historically been hamstrung by
budget constraints, and Erdan may face challenges in
narrowing his focus to a subset of achievable goals rather
than attempting to tackle all of the environmental issues in
Israel.


3. (U) Erdan's first major act as environment minister was to
issue a detailed objection to the planned construction of a
new coal power plant in his hometown of Ashkelon, a port city
south of Tel Aviv. He has called for the cabinet to
immediately freeze the plans for the power plant, stating
that it is unnecessary and counterproductive due to the
recent discovery of a natural gas off of Israel's coast and
the likelihood that Israel will have to abide by a post-Kyoto
protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2012.
(Note: About 70 percent of Israel's electricity still comes
from coal-fired plants, which constitute some of the
country's major CO2 emissions sources.)

NEW SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MINISTRY-A SIGN OF THE TIMES?


4. (SBU) The Science and Technology Ministry was separated
from a larger ministry comprised of largely unrelated
components, formerly known as the Ministry of Science,
Culture, and Sport. Professor Daniel Hershkowitz, elected to
the Knesset in February 2009 as Chairman of the Jewish Home
Party, will head the new ministry. As a newcomer to the
political scene, little is known about his plans or his
readiness to serve as a minister. He is, however, a
well-regarded professor of mathematics at the Technion, and
is viewed as knowledgeable in the subject area if not as a
seasoned politician. Although the splitting of this ministry
probably was done to create more cabinet ministers for
Netanyahu's coalition partners, it also could engender a
commitment on the part of the incoming prime minister to the
advancement of science and technology and bring welcome
visibility to S&T issues in the new government.

UTJ TAKES THE HEALTH PORTFOLIO


5. (U) After a few days of back and forth over whether there
would or would not be a full-fledged Minister of Health, and
some additional political infighting in UTJ, MK Ya'acov
Litzman has been appointed Deputy Minister of Health with no
minister above him. This is the first time in Israel's
61-year history that the health portfolio will go without a

minister. UTJ has a policy dating back to 1953 of not
serving in the cabinet because it does not want to
participate in any decisions that contravene halacha, or
Jewish religious law. According to the agreement, Litzman
will have most of the authority of a full minister but will
not be a member of the cabinet. The Israeli Medical
Association (IMA) has opposed this decision and filed a
petition to the High Court of Justice against the prime
minister and his government. IMA maintains that the failure
to appoint a cabinet-level person is "illegal and
unreasonable" due to the size and complexity of Israel's
third largest ministry. Their lawyers state that a deputy
minister does not have the power to carry out major reforms,
sign important regulations, sit on the ministerial committee
for legislation, or present private bills. The High Court
has agreed to hear the case by the end of the month but will
not impose a temporary injunction as requested by IMA.


6. (U) Ya'acov Litzman has been a member of the Knesset since
1999, where he has twice been Chairman of the Finance
Committee in addition to being a member of various other
committees including Labor, Welfare, and Health; Internal
Affairs and Environment; Joint Committee for the Defense
Budget; State Control; and Science and Technology. He, along
with many others, considered himself more suited to assume
the role of Deputy Minister of Finance. However, that
designation was already allotted to Ya'acov Cohen of Shas,
and Litzman was unable to broker a deal with the prime
minister to swap portfolios. He is highly regarded in the
political establishment and is considered to have great
organizational and managerial abilities. He announced that
he agreed to accept the position because doctors and health
officials pressured him to accept it, believing his
experience as former head of the Finance Committee has given
him the experience necessary to help stabilize the health
system while dealing with cost overruns.

********************************************* ********************
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv
********************************************* ********************
CUNNINGHAM