​(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday, 31 July 2016):
 
1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks:
 
"We were all shocked by the vicious terrorist attack in France last week. I have heard about a French government discussion on preventing the foreign financing of bodies that harm the security of French citizens. This sounds familiar to us. We are also disturbed by such donations to organizations that deny the State of Israel's right to exist. I have requested a preliminary inquiry. In this inquiry we found support from European countries, including France, for several organizations that engage in incitement, call for a boycott of Israel and do not recognize the State of Israel's right to exist. Soon, we will complete the inquiry and submit the findings to the French government. We will discuss this with them because terror is terror everywhere and incitement is incitement which, apparently, encompasses the world, governments must be as united as possible in dealing with them.
 
Today the Cabinet will discuss a proposed decision to aid in the continued growth of the high-tech sector in Israel. The demand is enormous and the supply of workers is small. We are using various means to increase the supply of trained high-tech workers. We have turned to populations that have not been involved in high-tech until now, such as the ultra-orthodox and – of course – our Arab citizens. We are also trying various means to train our young people, also in mathematics, computer and science studies – this will take time. In the meantime, we are interested in assisting the absorption of a limited number of expert workers, who could help in the interim. In order to ease the absorption of workers with unique know-how, today, the Cabinet will make it possible for their spouses to stay in Israel and work here legally. This is what is being done in the Silicon Valley in the United States, and this is giving them considerable strength and, of course, it doubles employment for the local population in the United States. We will do this here as well."
 
2. Pursuant to Article 31A of Basic Law: The Government, the Cabinet decided as follows:
 
Minister Moshe Kahlon will serve as Minister of Economy and Industry, in place of Prime Minister Netanyahu, in addition to his position as Finance Minister;
 
Minister Zeev Elkin  will serve as Environmental Protection Minister, in place of Minister Kahlon, in addition to his position as Minister for Jerusalem and Heritage.
 
3. Pursuant to Article 31D of Basic Law: The Government, the Cabinet decided to transfer the Government Advertising Agency http://www.lapam.gov.il/about-us/?lang=en from the Communications Ministry to the Culture and Sports Ministry.
 
4. Pursuant to Article 31C of Basic Law: The Government, the Cabinet decided to transfer responsibility for employment from the Economy and Industry Ministry to the Social Affairs and Social Services Ministry, which shall henceforth be known as the Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Ministry.
 
5. Pursuant to Article 23 of the 1959 State Service Law (Appointments), the Cabinet decided to appoint Shabtai Tzur as Ambassador to Georgia in place of Yuval Fuchs, who is concluding his duties.

6. The Cabinet decided to approve the following Foreign Service appointments:
 
- Tibor Shalev-Shlosser (based in Israel) as non-resident Ambassador to the Pacific Islands;

- Eyal Sela (based in Israel) as non-resident Ambassador to Malta;

- Rafael Singer as Ambassador to Peru;

- Yosef Amrani as Ambassador to Hungary;

- Dr. Eliyahu Ben-Tura as Ambassador to Ivory Coast and non-resident Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo;

- Gadi Harpaz as Ambassador to Eritrea; and

- Paul Hirschson (currently serving as Ambassador to Senegal and non-resident Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde) as non-resident Ambassador to Guinea.
 
7. The Cabinet discussed and approved extending the term of Planning Authority Director Binat Schwartz by three months.

8. The Cabinet discussed and approved a plan to provide for the employment of the spouses of foreign lecturers on tracks for tenure in the relevant professions in the high-tech industry.

9. The Cabinet discussed and approved amendments to legislation regarding the sale of residential housing units.

10. The Cabinet discussed and approved additional amendments to legislation regarding the sale of residential housing units.

11. The Cabinet discussed and approved amendments to legislation regarding investment in renewable energy sources.

12. The Cabinet discussed and approved amendments to the 2016 Public Broadcasting Law.

13. The Cabinet discussed and approved amendments to legislation regarding the reduction of cartelization in the banking sector.

14. The Cabinet discussed and approved draft legislation regarding assistance to needy Torah students.