
The resignation of Israeli Housing Minister Yitzchok Goldknopf officially took effect this morning, 48 hours after he submitted his letter of resignation, in accordance with Israeli law (excluding Shabbos from the count). Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has announced that Minister Chaim Katz will temporarily assume the role, despite Katz currently being stranded in the United States and unable to return to Israel due to the war with Iran.
Goldknopf, head of the United Torah Judaism party, resigned on Thursday morning following dramatic political developments the previous night. His resignation came under the directive of the Gerrer Rebbe, who objected to the recent understandings reached between other chareidi parties and MK Yuli Edelstein regarding the stalled draft law.
Though there was speculation that Deputy Minister Uri Maklev or MK Yisrael Eichler might be tapped to replace Goldknopf, Netanyahu ultimately chose Minister of Tourism Chaim Katz to serve as interim housing minister, likely due to wartime urgency. Katz has previously filled in for other ministers who resigned and later returned to office.
Katz is currently in New York and, like thousands of Israelis stuck abroad since the outbreak of Operation KeLavi, is unable to return.
Goldknopf submitted a formal letter to Netanyahu stating that the government’s repeated failure to fulfill its promise to pass a new draft law left him no choice but to resign. In his letter, he wrote: “Since entering office, I’ve done everything in my power to promote quality and dignified housing for all citizens of Israel, especially for the chareidi community. Unfortunately, in light of the agreements reached and the promises made regarding the draft law—and the fact that the law has not progressed—I cannot continue to bear responsibility and remain in this position.”
He referred to the coalition understandings signed on December 28, 2022, in which the government pledged to pass a consensus draft bill by the end of the Knesset’s summer session in 2023, or at the latest, by the approval of the 2024 budget. Goldknopf noted that these promises were broken multiple times, even after a draft law had been prepared in coordination with the Defense Ministry.
He also accused the government of deliberately stalling efforts to move forward on the issue despite persistent appeals from nearly all chareidi factions and direct conversations with the prime minister, defense minister, and other officials.
“This behavior undermines the foundation of the coalition agreements and erodes the trust of the chareidi public,” he wrote.
While Goldknopf has stepped down from the cabinet, he has not resigned from the Knesset. Under the Norwegian Law, he now returns as a full member of the Knesset, forcing MK Eliyahu Baruchi of Degel HaTorah to vacate his seat.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Goldknopf dogged a bullet. When the war with Iran ends, there will be unrealistic expectations that the housing minister can quickly solve the housing crisis created by the destruction of homes caused by the Iranian missiles. A Charedi housing minister would have become a target for secularists who would have vilified him for not miraculously finding an instantaneous solution. They would have accused him of corruption etc. Goldknop’s predecessor Yaakov Litzman worked around the clock as health minister for all segments of Israeli society and they still pounced on him at the very first opportunity. The last thing Goldknopf needed was to be the housing minister at a time like this!