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Why secular Israelis love an ultra-Orthodox minister

Ultra-Orthodox Health Minister Yaakov Litzman might not have Facebook or Twitter accounts, but through a series of nonpartisan reforms in the health system, he has managed to capture the hearts of both religious and secular Israelis.
Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman speaks during a briefing to members of the media on the medical condition of former Israeli President Shimon Peres a day after he suffered a stroke, at a hospital near Tel Aviv, Israel September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSNPU9
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For yet another year, Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, of the ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah, has surpassed all the other government ministers in the various popularity polls conducted by the major media outlets in their review of the Jewish year 5776.

In a survey released on Channel 2’s show “People,” respondents were asked to rank the performances of Israeli ministers on a scale of 1-10. Politicians with high public and political profiles like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shas chairman and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Culture Minister Miri Regev and Kulanu chairman and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon found themselves at the bottom of the list, with scores ranging from 3.9 (Netanyahu and Deri) to 4.9 for Regev. Meanwhile, the ultra-Orthodox politician outshone them with 6.3, the highest score of all. By way of comparison, Likud Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz came in second with 5.9.

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