Following a series of debates, the special committee headed by MK Miki Zohar (Likud) approved in second and third readings a bill proposing to lift the limit on the number of ministers and deputy ministers the prime minister is allowed to appoint.
Should the proposed amendment no. 8 to “Basic Law: the Government” pass, it would annul the 2013 law limiting the number of government ministers to 18 (not including the prime minister) and the number of deputy ministers to four.
The law has already been suspended after the 2015 election, when the government passed a temporary measure allowing three more ministers to be appointed. The proposed amendment would fully annul the law. PM Netanyahu’s most recent government employed 21 ministers.
Eight MKs voted for the measure, six voted against.
Israel’s annual Gross National Product as of 2017 was $331.6 billion.
The United States government has 22 cabinet positions.
The United States’ annual Gross National Product as of 2017 was $19.61 trillion.
No wonder the Americans have one more cabinet position than Israel.