Ami Ayalon Named New Gov't Minister

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B”H

More debauchery from the Olmert government . . . paying off Labor so he can destroy Israel.

I swear the man would sell his own grandmother to stay in power.

M
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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123677
by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) Ami Ayalon, who lost to Ehud Barak in the race to become Labor Party Chairman in June, has been named a Minister Without Portfolio in the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - despite Ayalon's previous protests that such a post is "immoral."

The government approved the appointment Sunday morning, bringing the number of Cabinet ministers to 26. Ayalon will also serve on the government's mini-security cabinet, replacing another Labor member.

Minister Ayalon has been widely criticized for his zig-zag opinions and stances. He originally objected strongly to Labor's remaining in the Olmert government, and has called for PM Olmert's resignation in light of the failures of the Second Lebanon War. Now, however, Ayalon says he wishes to "be a partner to decisions during these times of security tensions and opportunities for peace."

An Ayalon supporter said last week that Ayalon will be a "minister of microphones... He'll get interviewed a lot and build himself up politically."

Ungainfully Employed?
Another abrupt shift in Ayalon's opinions has apparently occurred regarding the very position he now fulfills. He has come out in the past very strongly against the idea of a minister without portfolio. "This position is unnecessary," he told Ynet last year. "It would be immoral for a party that waves the banner of public integrity to take a minister without portfolio position. He has no ministerial responsibility, and works one day a week; what does he do the rest of the week? He gets a Volvo and aides. It's not ethical, and to make this clear, I, Ami Ayalon, am not a minister without portfolio."

Ayalon has said in the past, "It's the circumstances that zig-zag, not me."

Pines and Cabel
At least two of his senior party colleagues, ex-Minister Ophir Pines and Labor Director-General MK Eitan Cabel, look askance on Ayalon's decision. Speaking with Army Radio, Pines said it was a "grave error," that it does not jibe with the party's "agreed-upon direction out of the government," and that it strengthens Olmert.

Cabel, too, said that Labor should be taking more active steps to quit the government.

Ayalon commanded the Israeli navy, and later the Shabak (General Security Service). In June 2003, he and Palestinian Authority Professor Sari Nusseibeh promoted a peace plan calling for a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria.