Israeli culture minister to move offices to Jerusalem

I24news

Israel’s newly appointed minister of culture and sports, Miri Regev, has decided to move the ministry from Israel’s cultural hub in Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, Ynet has learned.

Regev has already approached Finance Ministry officials with a funding request for the move to Jerusalem, which Israel regards as its capital but most countries in the world do not recognize the city as such and maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.

The city’s controversial status stems from Israel’s annexation of predominantly Arab East Jerusalem after taking it over from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war.

Regev, an outspoken right-winger, has already decided that Sunday’s official ceremony marking her move into the new job will not take place at the Tel Aviv office, but rather in the ministry’s less used branch in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

In May 2007, the government decided to move all of the offices operating outside Jerusalem to the capital within eight years. But the implementation of this decision has lagged.

Last year, an amendment to the government decision was approved, extending the deadline for completion of the move by three years.

Regev’s appointment has been met with harsh criticism from leading artists. Actor Gavri Banai called her a “behema,” Hebrew for “behemoth” and slang for “vulgar”.

“I’m sorry to hear these comments,” she said in response. “Those who expect us to be tolerant should be tolerant themselves. I would be happy to meet with him and he will be pleasantly surprised.” When asked whether she will censor art that she considers to be inappropriate, Regev told Ynet: “Limits must be set in movies. I won’t shut mouths, but if we need to censor – I will.”