Coalition Chairwoman and Yamina MK Idit Silman has confirmed she will resign from the coalition over a dispute with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz on the entry of leavened bread and goods known as chametz into hospitals during the Passover holiday.
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Silman has called for the establishment of a right-wing government.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Silman said, "Unfortunately, I cannot anymore. I have tried unity. As someone who comes from the world of common good, I worked very hard for the current coalition. Regrettably, I cannot lend a hand to the blow to the State of Israel's and Jewish people's Jewish identity.
"You do not know everything because I tried [to effect change] quietly. I can no longer continue on this path due to the values and the place I come from. I am halting my membership in the coalition and will continue to try and convince my friends to come home and establish a right-wing government. I know I am not the only one who feels this way. The State of Israel's Jewish identity is our right to exist here. It is our heart. It is our essence. Damage, without any consideration for the public and the values I represent, is a red line to me. Another government can be established in this Knesset."
According to Israeli media reports, following her resignation, Silman is reportedly set to join the Likud party and take on the role of health minister in a potential future coalition government.
Silman's announcement took coalition members by surprise as she had not spoken of her plans to anyone in the government, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett or Foreign Minister and Prime Minister-designate Yair Lapid.
The Knesset is now in recess and will return in another five weeks.
Coalition members asserted Silman's resignation would not topple the government. They said that "in a 60-60 situation, we will hang on until the end of March [20]23. If there's another resignation, that'll be another story."
Yisrael Beytenu MK Eli Avidar tweeted that he had warned of the threat posed by the Yamina party for months. "We rolled out a red carpet for them, we walk on eggshells with them, avoid advancing laws we promised our voters to advance, and then the 'change' camp gets spit in the face."
Meretz MK Moshe Raz called for the Joint Arab List to join the coalition. He said such a move was necessary to contend with the "threat" posed to the state b Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Religious Zionism Party head Bezalel Smotrich and his fellow party member Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Responding to the news, Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Silman "back home to the nationalist camp."
Likud officials said Silman's resignation was the result of their party's efforts in recent days. They said they preferred for Israel to hold another round of elections over a vote of no confidence that would see the appointment of a prime minister-designate. They said the next lawmaker to resign from the coalition and topple the government would be guaranteed a spot in the Likud party Knesset list.
Earlier this week, Silman lashed out at Horowitz upon learning he had demanded hospital directors uphold a High Court of Justice ruling permitting the entry of chametz into hospitals over Passover.
After the coalition chairwoman said they would not be able to allow Horowitz to be a minister if chametz was allowed in hospitals, her husband, Shmulik Silman, told Israel Radio that right-wing lawmakers should apologize for lying to their voters. "I expect the health minister to respect the public and the coalition he is in and the places where there is a veto on issues of religion and state – and to take the sensitivities of the traditional public into consideration."
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