(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday, 25 May 2014):

1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks:

"We welcome the arrival of Pope Francis to the Land of Israel, the Holy Land. His visit here is an opportunity to show the world the true Israel, the advanced, modern and tolerant Israel, in effect, the only country in the Middle East that ensures complete freedom of worship to those of all faiths, guards the holy places and ensures the rights of all – Jews, Muslims, Christians, everybody.

We appreciate the Pope's strong stand against anti-Semitism, especially in light of the surging Jew hatred that we have witnessed in recent days. Last night's murder in Brussels is the result of constant incitement against the State of Israel by various elements in the Middle East and in Europe itself. There are elements in Europe that rush to condemn the construction of a flat in Jerusalem but do not rush to condemn – or offer only weak condemnations of – the murder of Jews here or in Europe itself and, even worse, welcome unity with a terrorist element such as Hamas, which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. We oppose such hypocrisy, we protest against it, we will continue to always state the truth, we will continue to fight terrorism and we will continue to build up our state.

Today, we will submit to the Cabinet a proposal to integrate the ultra-orthodox in the public workplace, in the public economy. We do this, the Economy Minister and I, for the benefit of the ultra-orthodox community and to integrate it into the general labor market. I think that this is the right step in the right direction and there will be other steps."

2. Pursuant to Article 12 of the 1959 State Service Law (Appointments), the Cabinet decided to appoint Shuki Amrani as Director General of the Interior Ministry.

3. Pursuant to Article 23 of the 1959 State Service Law (Appointments), and in accordance with the proposal of Finance Minister Yair Lapid, the Cabinet decided to appoint Yoel Naveh as Finance Ministry Director of Economics and State Revenue, instead of Michael Sarel.

4. The Cabinet decided to establish a Government Medical Centers Authority, under the auspices of the Health Minister, to manage and supervise government general hospitals.

5. Health Minister Yael German briefed ministers on the recovery plan for the Hadassah hospitals.

6. The Cabinet decided to establish a ministerial committee on the non-Jewish sector, to be chaired by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

7. Pursuant to its decisions of 15 July 2000 and 28 July 2013, and in order to advance the integration of the ultra-orthodox population into the workforce and thus improve the growth potential of the economy as a whole, while leading to a reduction in the level of inequality and social gaps, the Cabinet decided to empower a team chaired by Prime Minister's Office Director General Harel Locker and composed of the Civil Service Commissioner, the Finance Ministry Budget Director, the Economy Ministry Director General, the Science, Technology and Space Ministry Director General, the National Economic Committee Chairman and the Deputy Attorney General for Legislation, to formulate – within 60 days – recommendations on integrating the ultra-orthodox population in the civil service, including by means of legislation.