The Likud-Blue and White unity government is slated to be sworn in on Thursday and is set to become the largest government in Israel's history.
Barring last-minute changes, Likud ministers will include, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yariv Levin as Knesset speaker, Israel Katz as finance minister, Yuli Edelstein (health), Amir Ohana (public security), Miri Regev (transportation), Yoav Gallant (intelligent services), Ze'ev Elkin (environmental protection), Tzipi Hotovely (Jerusalem affairs and heritage) Ofir Akunis (regional cooperation), and Yuval Steinitz (energy).
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Netanyahu has yet to assign the Education portfolio, perhaps in hope that national-religious faction Yamina will walk-back its decision to join the opposition. Yamina head Naftali Bennett served as education minister from 2015 to 2019.
Likud partners Aryeh Deri (Shas), Yakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism), and Orly Levy-Abekasis (Gesher) are slated to be named interior, construction, and social equality ministers, respectively.
Over at Blue and White, party leader Benny Gantz will serve as defense minister and former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi will be named foreign minister.
Other ministerial appointments include Avi Nissenkorn (justice), Yoaz Hendel (communications), Yehiel Tropper (tourism), Orit Farkash-Hacohen (science), Alon Schuster (agriculture), Pnina Tamano-Shata (immigration absorption), Omer Yankelevitch (Diaspora affairs), Meirav Cohen (social equality), and Michael Biton (minority affairs).
Blue and White partners Labor leader Amir Peretz and MK Itzik Shmuli will be named the economy and welfare ministers, respectively.
The new ministers will have to face the challenges of the post-corona era, as well as a myriad of issues stemming from the military, economic, and social challenges Israel faces after 18 months of the political logjam that crippled the government's work.
The Defense Ministry is looking forward to again being headed by military officials. Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff will have to find ways to balance the military's budgetary needs with the economic crunch hitting Israel over the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus crisis.
Over at the Foreign Ministry, Israel's new top diplomat, also a former military chief, faces two Herculean tasks: The first is "selling" Israel's plan to annex parts of Judea and Samaria to an international community that has already signaled it would not take kindly to the idea.
The second is rehabilitating the ministry's status. After years without a full-time minister, the Foreign Ministry's budgets and prestige have been eroded to the point of irrelevance. Ashkenazi was the one to rehabilitate the IDF following the Second Lebanon War, so he just might be the right man for the job.
