[etni] New absorption minister Aflalo lacks English
- From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 06:56:01 +0200
New absorption minister Aflalo lacks English
The Jerusalem Post - July 7, 2008
The cabinet voted on Sunday to approve the appointments of Eli Aflalo as
immigrant absorption minister and Ruhama Avraham as minister of tourism -
two positions that require regular dealings with English speakers in Israel
and abroad.
The appointments of the two Kadima ministers will be brought to a vote in
the Knesset on Monday.
In a related appointment, Labor's Avishay Braverman's position as chair of
the Knesset Finance Committee will be voted on when a majority is found to
pass it.
Avraham speaks passable if not completely fluent English while Aflalo speaks
French, but does not speak English. Sources close to Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert said the ministers' language skills were not a factor in the decision
to appoint them.
"Speaking English is not part of the criteria for the jobs," an Olmert
associate said. "No government has ever given its ministers an English test
and we won't be the first to start. There are world leaders like [French
President Nicholas] Sarkozy who don't speak English."
But officials in the ministries and the Jewish Agency and professionals in
the fields of absorption and tourism stressed the importance of speaking
English fluently.
(To read the whole article, go to -
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330878383&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
)
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