Health Min. Litzman resigns

Health Minister Yaakov Litzman has turned in his letter of resignation.

Litzman had announced he would resign on Friday, following the government's decision to continue with necessary train work on Shabbat, and following the High Court of Justice's decision that he must serve as a full-fledged minister, and not continue as a deputy minister who in actuality acts as the minister.

While Sephardic Haredi goverments members, such as Shas's Aryeh Deri and Moshe Gafni, have and do serve as ministers over the years, there has not been an Ashkenazi minister for decades, until Litzman's recent tenior. This was due to a religious decree by leading Ashkenazi rabbis that forbade its leaders from accepting a ministerial position, as this would formally mean that they would support and take responsibility for all the government's decisions—including such decisions that go against Haredi beliefs, such as train work on Shabbat.