Israel’s Dothan Committee for senior appointments in state companies approved on Monday an extension for Zvika Cohen as acting director general of the National Insurance Institute until January 31, 2027. The panel had been asked to approve only a three-month extension, but lengthened it further because of the upcoming elections.
According to estimates, a new government will not be formed until late December or early January, which means the institute is unlikely to have a permanent chief before mid-2027. The next labor minister will first need to establish a new search committee and set the criteria for choosing a director general. The National Insurance Institute has been operating without a permanent CEO since November 2022.
The Ministry of Labor, now under Yariv Levin, set up a search committee about five months ago. It is headed by Itzik Lari, chairman of Mifal HaPais, and includes Employment Service director general Inbal Meshash, Jerusalem municipality comptroller Ofra Barakha, ministry representative Rivka Varner, and Prof. Itamar Raz. Last month, Calcalist reported that the committee had drafted qualification requirements and sent them to the Justice Ministry, but they have still not been approved, so no public call for candidates has been issued.
The lack of a permanent head is seen as significant because the institute is one of Israel’s largest statutory bodies, with about 5,000 employees. Its operating budget for 2026 is set at 19.6 billion shekels, while government grants and support total 63.6 billion shekels, mostly for paying National Insurance benefits. The last permanent director general, Meir Spiegler, left in November 2022 for the Israel Electric Corporation. Since then, several candidates have been rejected, including Yirona Shalom, Yinon Aharnoni, and Ariel Meshel, while Cohen has remained in the acting role since March 2023.
In a separate decision, the committee also rejected Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s request to appoint accountant Ita Koldetsky to the board of the Israel Securities Authority, citing potential conflicts of interest from her business activities.
