Jerusalem and Heritage Minister Meir Porush informed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that he is resigning from his position as minister in charge of the Lag B’Omer event at Meron in 2023. Porush wrote in a letter to Netanyahu: “When I took office, it was brought to my attention about a month after the elections, even before the Minister of Religious Services was appointed, and when it was already widely known that the responsibility for the Lag B’Omer event was being transferred to the Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry, the Center for the Holy Places rushed to sign an agreement with the production company that managed the Lag B’Omer event in 2022, in complete contradiction to what is stated in the report of lessons learned from the 2022 event, and without any update or coordination with me.” Porush continued by explaining that he considered using a different production company and he also received legal advice that if he did decide to use the same production company, he has the right to negotiate a new contract. However, in a meeting on Monday, it was made clear to him by representatives of the Religious Services Ministry and the Center for Holy Places that they are determined to adhere to the pre-existing contract and furthermore, will not allow Porush to be the one calling the shots with the production company. “Apart from the fact that they are trying to force me to accept a production company that was chosen without my knowledge, there’s now another absurdity in the unambiguous message conveyed to us that the production company will be subject to the Center for Holy Places and not to me, as the minister in charge of the Lag B’Omer event at Meron,” Porush wrote. “In such a state of affairs, where I am given responsibility without authority, and where the authority is split between me and the National Center for Holy Places and the Ministry of Religious Services, and the National Center strongly opposes the removal of its authority over the Lag B’Omer event, it is clear that I will not be able to fulfill my duties and fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to me by the government. It is also important to note that this is not consistent with the interim recommendations of the state commission of inquiry into the Meron disaster, according to which the government must appoint one minister responsible for managing, organizing and producing the event. It should be noted that what is described above is contrary to the coalition agreement between the Likud party under your leadership and the UTJ party.” According to a Kikar H’Shabbat report, Porush is considering resigning from the government due to the fact that the only reason he agreed to serve as a minister was in order to take responsibility for the Lag B’Omer event. Porush’s move follows the resignation of Noam chairman Avi Maoz from his position as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday evening due to the fact that the conditions of his coalition deal with the Likud are not being honored. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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