Noam party chairman MK Avi Maoz resigned Monday from his position as deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office in protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to implement parts of the coalition agreements.
Maoz wrote to Netanyahu in his resignation letter: "With G-d's help, as a partner in the coalition, I will continue to support all the moves we agreed on together, including the all-important legislation to restore the balance between the legislative and judicial branches and more."
"Throughout the generations, the people of Israel knew how to protect what is dearest to them," he wrote. "With the establishment of the government, I was happy to be a part of it, as reflected in the coalition agreement.''
Maoz listed as his reasons for his resignation the government's failure to develop a new policy on the Western Wall to replace the Western Wall compromise which would create an official place for egalitarian prayer at the southern part of the Western Wall, and to restore the words 'mother' and 'father' to government forms instead of 'parent 1' and 'parent 2.'
"I discovered that there is no serious intention to uphold the coalition agreement regarding the formation of an authority for Jewish national identity. Therefore, I have decided to resign from the position of deputy minister and to fulfill my duties as a full member of the Knesset in the coalition," he wrote.
MK Idan Roll (Yesh Atid) reacted with joy to the news of Maoz's resignation: "The tender souls of the children of Israel were saved from the brainwashing of the homophobic, woman-hating Maoz. But the fight for a democratic and liberal Israel is far from over. [Maoz is] the first to leave, but certainly not the last."
Under the coalition agreement between the Noam party and the Likud party, Maoz was to be given control over a Jewish-National Identity Authority which was to be created within the Prime Minister’s Office.
Maoz was also given control over the Education Ministry's unit for external programs and advancing partnerships. He also introduced a "transparency reform" in education for the first time.
"I promise parents, students, and principals, and the entire education system: There will be no more hiding things, only full transparency and cooperation with the principals and the parents," Maoz said after his appointment in December/ "There will be no more insertion of content which is not acceptable to the parents, but rather involvement and informing parents of what is happening with their children's education through private organizations."
Maoz and the Noam party were accused of homophobia for opposing the teaching of LGBTQ content in educational institutions.