Eisenkot names Matan Kahana as change bloc's pick for Knesset speaker

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar! party, told his partners in what Israeli media call the change bloc that Matan Kahana will be their candidate for speaker of the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Ynet, which said it was first to report the decision, wrote that Eisenkot briefed the bloc hours before the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset. According to Ynet, Eisenkot had wanted to keep the speakership for himself but settled on Kahana, who would hold the post at least temporarily while negotiations to form a government continue.

The same round of appointments covers two of parliament's most powerful committees. N12 political correspondent Dafna Liel reported that Avigdor Liberman, who leads the Yisrael Beytenu party, is set to chair the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and that Liran Avisar Ben Horin of the Beyachad party is to chair the Finance Committee. News.co.il reported the same allocation and added that MK Roi Folkman is designated to chair the Arranging Committee, and that the Arab parties currently have no role in the division of posts.

What the Knesset speaker does

The speaker presides over sessions of the Knesset plenum, controls the parliamentary agenda in practice and represents the legislature. The post is filled by a vote of the members of the new Knesset, so naming a candidate is a statement of who a group of parties intends to back, not an appointment in itself. The reports describe Kahana as the bloc's candidate; none of them reports the outcome of a vote.

Ynet's framing that Kahana would serve "at least temporarily" ties the choice to the coalition talks. Senior posts at the opening of a new parliament are often used as bargaining chips between parties negotiating a government, and the speakership can be reassigned once a coalition agreement is reached.

The committees in question

The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is the Knesset body that oversees the military, the intelligence services and foreign policy. Much of its work takes place in closed subcommittees with access to classified material, which makes its chairmanship one of the most sought after positions for a member of parliament outside the cabinet.

The Finance Committee handles the state budget, taxation and economic legislation, and must approve many transfers of public funds. Its chair has significant influence over how government spending moves through parliament.

The Arranging Committee (in Hebrew, the Va'ada Mesaderet) is a temporary body set up at the start of each new Knesset. Until the permanent committees are formed, it deals with organisational matters such as the makeup of committees and urgent legislation, so its chair plays a central role in the first weeks of a parliamentary term.

The parties and people named

Yashar! is the party headed by Eisenkot, and N12 identified Kahana as a member of it. Yisrael Beytenu, which Liberman chairs, is a long established party. Beyachad, whose name means "together", is the party N12 attributed to Avisar Ben Horin. The term change bloc, used by Ynet, refers to the grouping of parties that Eisenkot is coordinating with as they seek to form a government. News.co.il described the same grouping as the left bloc.

Where the reports differ

The accounts were published within minutes of each other and do not fully line up. In an earlier update, N12's Liel described Kahana as one of the candidates for speaker and said Yashar! had not yet reached a final decision on whom to put forward. Ynet, publishing shortly afterwards, presented the choice of Kahana as decided and communicated to the bloc. N12's later updates on the committee posts did not revisit the speaker question.

The Arranging Committee appointment and the statement about the Arab parties appear only in the News.co.il report and were not mentioned by Ynet or N12. In that report the name of the Finance Committee designate appears in garbled form, while N12 gave it in full as Liran Avisar Ben Horin.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports carries a statement from Eisenkot, Kahana, Liberman or Avisar Ben Horin, or any response from parties outside the bloc. They do not say whether the bloc has the votes to elect Kahana as speaker, how long his tenure would last if the coalition talks produce a different arrangement, or why the Arab parties were left without a post.