# Seventeenth government of Israel

The seventeenth government of Israel was formed by Yitzhak Rabin on 3 June 1974, following the resignation of Prime Minister Golda Meir on 11 April and Rabin's election as Labor Party leader on 26 April. It was the first time an Israeli government had been led by a native-born Israeli (although Rabin was born in the British Mandate for Palestine prior to independence).
As well as the 54-seat Alignment (of which the Labor Party was the largest faction, alongside Mapam and the two Labor-affiliated Israeli Arab parties, Progress and Development and the Arab List for Bedouin and Villagers, which merged into the United Arab List towards the end of the Knesset term), Rabin also included the Independent Liberals, who held four seats, and Ratz, which had three. The coalition had only a one-seat majority, with just 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, and was the first in Israeli political history to not contain a religious party. This status lasted until 30 October when the National Religious Party (NRP) joined the coalition, taking the number of seats up to 71, although Ratz left on 6 November, reducing the number by three. In forming the government, Rabin dropped the development portfolio.
The government was dissolved by Rabin on 22 December 1976, following the abstention of the NRP on a vote of no confidence regarding an apparent breach of the Sabbath during a ceremony at an Israeli Air Force base, but continued, without the NRP members, who all resigned on 22 December, as a caretaker government until the formation of the eighteenth government following the May 1977 elections. However, following the Dollar Account affair in March 1977, Rabin announced on 6 April that he was resigning as head of the Labor Party, and Minister of Defense Shimon Peres was unanimously elected to succeed him. As Israeli law prohibited resignation from a caretaker government, Rabin suspended himself from his duties as Prime Minister and Peres took his place as an unofficial acting Prime Minister.
* This article is part of a series aboutYitzhak Rabin
Personal
Early life and education
The Rabin Memoirs
Family
Leah Rabin
Dalia Rabin-Pelossof
Electoral history
1974
1977
1980
1992
Governments
17th government
25th government
Assassination
Conspiracy theories
Yigal Amir
Hagai Amir
Dror Adani
Carmi Gillon
Rabin Square
Kempler video
Shamgar Commission
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## Cabinet members

| Position | Person | Party |
| Prime Minister | Yitzhak Rabin | Alignment |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Yigal Allon | Alignment |
| Minister of Agriculture | Aharon Uzan | Not an MK $^1$ |
| Minister of Communications | Yitzhak Rabin (until 20 March 1975) | Alignment |
| Minister of Communications | Aharon Uzan (from 20 March 1975) | Not an MK $^1$ |
| Minister of Defense | Shimon Peres | Alignment |
| Minister of Education and Culture | Aharon Yadlin | Alignment |
| Minister of Finance | Yehoshua Rabinowitz $^2$ | Not an MK |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Yigal Allon | Alignment |
| Minister of Health | Victor Shem-Tov | Not an MK $^1$ |
| Minister of Housing | Avraham Ofer (until 3 January 1977)$^3$ | Alignment |
| Minister of Housing | Shlomo Rosen (from 16 January 1977) | Not an MK $^1$ |
| Minister of Immigrant Absorption | Shlomo Rosen | Not an MK $^1$ |
| Minister of Information | Aharon Yariv | Alignment |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Shlomo Hillel (until 29 October 1974) | Alignment |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Yosef Burg (29 October 1974 - 22 December 1976) | National Religious Party |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | Shlomo Hillel (from 16 January 1977) | Alignment |
| Minister of Justice | Haim Yosef Zadok | Alignment |
| Minister of Labour | Moshe Baram | Alignment |
| Minister of Police | Shlomo Hillel | Alignment |
| Minister of Religions | Haim Yosef Zadok (until 29 October 1974) | Alignment |
| Minister of Religions | Yitzhak Rafael (30 October 1974 - 22 December 1976) | National Religious Party |
| Minister of Religions | Haim Yosef Zadok (from 16 January 1977) | Alignment |
| Minister of Tourism | Moshe Kol | Not an MK $^4$ |
| Minister of Trade and Industry | Haim Bar-Lev | Not an MK $^2$ |
| Minister of Transportation | Gad Yaacobi | Alignment |
| Minister of Welfare | Victor Shem-Tov (until 29 October 1974) | Not an MK $^1$ |
| Minister of Welfare | Michael Hasani (30 October 1974 - 2 July 1975)$^5$ | National Religious Party |
| Minister of Welfare | Yitzhak Rabin (7 July 1975 - 29 July 1975) | Alignment |
| Minister of Welfare | Yosef Burg (29 July 1975 - 4 November 1975) | National Religious Party |
| Minister of Welfare | Zevulun Hammer (4 November 1975 - 22 December 1976) | National Religious Party |
| Minister of Welfare | Moshe Baram (from 16 January 1977) | Alignment |
| Minister without Portfolio | Shulamit Aloni (until 6 November 1974) | Ratz |
| Minister without Portfolio | Yisrael Galili | Alignment |
| Minister without Portfolio | Gideon Hausner | Not an MK $^4$ |
| Deputy Minister of Agriculture | Jabr Muadi (from 24 March 1975) | Alignment, Progress and Development, United Arab List |
| Deputy Minister of Communications | Jabr Muadi (until 24 March 1975) | Alignment |
| Deputy Minister of Communications | Eliyahu Moyal (from 24 March 1975) | Alignment |
$^1$ Although Rosen, Shem-Tov and Uzan were not members of the Knesset at the time, they had previously been MKs for the Alignment.
$^2$ Although Bar-Lev and Rabinovitz were not MKs at the time, they were later elected to the Knesset on the Alignment list.
$^3$ Ofer committed suicide following the Yadlin affair.
$^4$ Kol and Hausner had been elected to the Knesset on the Independent Liberals list, but resigned their seats after being appointed to the cabinet.
$^5$ Hasani died in office.