The Media Line: MK Mazarsky Blasts Israel’s Consolidation of 8 Ministries Under 2 Ministers 

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MK Mazarsky Blasts Israel’s Consolidation of 8 Ministries Under 2 Ministers 

Israel’s winter surge in health and welfare demands exposes gaps created by overloaded ministries and stalled parliamentary committees 

By Gabriel Colodro / The Media Line 

Israel heads into the winter months with its major civilian ministries operating under an unusual configuration that opposition lawmakers say has sharply reduced the government’s ability to respond to urgent public needs. After the Knesset approved permanent appointments placing eight ministries in the hands of two senior ministers, Yesh Atid lawmaker Tatiana Mazarsky described a system “running on minimal power,” with both political leadership and parliamentary oversight stretched thinner than at any point in recent years. 

The arrangement, which the coalition says is temporary, emerged after ultra-Orthodox parties resigned their ministerial posts over the stalled conscription bill earlier this year. Their departure left several ministries without a political head for nearly four months. To prevent a continued vacuum, the coalition appointed Minister Yariv Levin to lead the Labor, Religious Services, Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition, and Justice ministries, while Minister Haim Katz was assigned to Health, Welfare, Tourism, and Housing. The Interior Ministry, still without a minister, has had several statutory authorities transferred to the prime minister. 

According to the government, the appointments were necessary to maintain continuity. Mazarsky rejected that framing. “You cannot manage four ministries,” she told The Media Line. “A minister becomes someone who signs whatever is placed in front of him. That is not the way an elected government is supposed to function.” Her critique focused not on political maneuvering but on the practical impact across public systems that require sustained decision-making, coordination, and oversight. 

She said the timing of the reshuffle, occurring as Israel’s public health system braces for winter illnesses, has left critical issues unattended. “Ministries must be led by someone who understands their agenda and can set priorities,” she said. “When you overload a minister with multiple portfolios, you guarantee that urgent matters are pushed aside.” 

Mazarsky pointed to the measles outbreak, which has spread in communities with lower vaccination rates. “A coordinated campaign needs to be approved, budgeted and implemented,” she said. “That coordination is not happening because the minister responsible is also dealing with three other portfolios. In public health, delay always has consequences.” 

Another concern is mental-health infrastructure. According to Mazarsky, the national suicide-prevention framework has been unable to secure the budget expansion originally planned, despite a documented rise in demand for mental-health services. “There is no momentum behind the program,” she said. “Requests for action sit unanswered. The system is overloaded and understaffed, yet decisions that should be immediate are postponed for weeks or months.” 

She said she raised the issue directly in writing to the relevant minister but never received a reply. “It was not ignored maliciously,” she said. “It was ignored because the minister simply does not have time to read the material, let alone act on it. That is what happens when one person is asked to run four ministries.” 

Mazarsky also cited an incident involving Israel’s central water-quality laboratory, which she said had been operating only partially due to gaps in its operational budget. When she brought it up in the plenum, she said ministers seemed unaware of the situation. “This is a basic public-safety function,” she said. “If the minister responsible is occupied with multiple portfolios, he may not even know that a critical facility is not functioning.” 

Her concerns extend beyond the ministries themselves. For months, several Knesset committees have not convened. Among them is the Health Committee, which Mazarsky describes as “completely inactive.” The committee is responsible for holding hearings, examining regulations, questioning officials, and reviewing emerging risks within the health system. “There are no discussions and no protocols,” she said. “Entire areas of parliamentary oversight are simply absent.” 

To compensate, she and a group of opposition lawmakers have begun organizing alternative committee meetings with civil-society groups, medical professionals, and advocacy organizations. “It is not formal oversight, but at least it allows us to understand what is happening on the ground,” she said. “Doctors, nurses, parents’ associations, they have nowhere else to raise their concerns. Someone has to listen.” 

Israel has previously experienced periods in which multiple ministries were concentrated under a single figure. Past governments led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw occasions when he simultaneously held portfolios such as Foreign Affairs, Health, Communications, and Defense. What distinguishes the current moment, Mazarsky said, is the combination of overloaded ministers and nonfunctioning parliamentary committees. “In earlier periods, the committees were active,” she said. “Now we have ministries without full-time ministers and committees without meetings. That combination is what makes the situation dangerous.” 

Governance analysts have echoed this concern. The Israel Democracy Institute warned that assigning several full-scale ministries to one minister exceeds reasonable administrative capacity, noting that these ministries are not symbolic; they involve complex regulatory responsibilities, large budgets, and constant operational adjustments. Without dedicated ministers, the institute cautioned, policy decisions may lag or stall altogether. 

Mazarsky said that even opponents of the coalition should be concerned about the long-term impact. “This is not only about politics,” she said. “These ministries are responsible for issues that affect every household. Health, welfare, housing, these are not empty titles. They need leadership.” 

She stressed that relying on civil servants to fill the gap is not a sustainable solution. “Officials can maintain routine operations,” she said, “but they cannot set national priorities or respond to emerging problems. That requires political leadership. And right now, large parts of the system are functioning without it.” 

The coalition has argued that the arrangement is temporary and that once the conscription bill passes, the ultra-Orthodox parties may return to their ministries. Mazarsky warned that the transition itself is already costly. “Winter has begun,” she said. “Hospitals are under pressure. Infectious diseases are rising. Mental-health needs are escalating. These systems require ministers who are present and engaged.” 

Asked whether she believes the government will alter course in the near future, she hesitated. “Critical systems are on minimal power,” she said. “Ministers cannot manage four portfolios effectively. Committees are not meeting. Decisions are delayed. The public deserves a government that is fully functioning, not one that drifts through the winter without clear leadership.” 

She said she and her colleagues will continue pressing for full restoration of both ministerial functions and parliamentary oversight. “Oversight cannot wait for political convenience,” she said. “The country needs decisions, not placeholders.”