At the beginning of the week, the head of the information system decided to appoint the Ministry of Diaspora to be responsible for the information activities of the State of Israel in the international arena alongside the current activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I respect this decision.
The Ministry of Diaspora has much more resources, personnel, powers and support units than the Ministry of Information which received its initial budget only 17 weeks ago and is still in the stages of establishment.
Ego aside - the good of Israel comes first, certainly during such a difficult war.
The Ministry of Information was assigned the task of strengthening national resilience.
But there is already a very talented minister for national security affairs, there is the Home Front Command, there are civil organizations that do sacred work, and to be honest - I can't find any justification for this doubling of powers.
Running a government office is an expensive matter and the people of Israel need every shekel. And when I see the ministry of information that has been emptied of the powers it was given in the first place - I can only honestly admit that every day it is operated from now on is a waste of public funds.
In the current constellation, this office cannot make a significant contribution to the country and the good of the country is more important to me than anything else. Due to all these, I decided to resign from my position as Minister of Information. I wish my good friend Amichai Shikli great success in explaining the State of Israel to the world and am convinced that he will continue to do an excellent job.
I thank the Prime Minister for the trust he placed in me and implore him to grant the entire ministry's budget directly to citizens in the south.
Finally, it is important for me to mention the limited team in my office that opened HML as early as Saturday morning and worked day and night creating videos, establishing groups of influencers while echoing the Israeli narrative in strategic destinations around the world.
They did a quiet, effective and efficient job behind the scenes. A thousand thousand thanks.
Returning to serve you from the Knesset.
Israel Lives.