Jüdische AllgemeinePolitics12:39

Opposition Unites Behind Matan Kahana as New Knesset Speaker

By Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland K.d.ö.R.

Translated & summarized from Jüdische Allgemeine by baba

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Opposition leaders in Israel have agreed to nominate Matan Kahana as the next Speaker of the Knesset. The 54-year-old former minister from the Yashar party is expected to succeed Amir Ohana. The agreement, announced Tuesday, also places Avigdor Lieberman in charge of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The Knesset is expected to vote on the committee compositions by Wednesday.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Matan Kahana has been nominated by opposition leaders to become the next Speaker of the Knesset.
The agreement was announced Tuesday by the heads of the main opposition parties in Israel.
Avigdor Lieberman will reportedly chair the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The Knesset is expected to vote on committee compositions by Wednesday.
Kahana previously served as Minister of Religious Services and spent 25 years in the IDF.

Opposition Unites Behind Matan Kahana as New Knesset Speaker — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Matan Kahana is slated to become the next Speaker of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, following an agreement among the leaders of the main opposition parties. The decision was announced Tuesday in a joint statement by Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Lapid. If confirmed by the Knesset, the 54-year-old Kahana, a former minister from the Yashar party, would succeed Amir Ohana of the Likud party. Kahana, a lawyer and father of four, previously served 25 years in the Israel Defense Forces, entered the Knesset in 2019, and served as Minister of Religious Services in Bennett's cabinet before joining Eisenkot's Yashar party. The opposition leaders also announced that former Foreign and Defense Minister Lieberman will chair the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The final composition of the committees is expected to be approved by the Knesset on Wednesday. Initially, Bennett and Lieberman had proposed former Prime Minister Yair Lapid for the Speaker role. However, Gadi Eisenkot, who recently received a mandate from President Isaac Herzog to form a new government, had claimed the position for his Yashar party.