ISRAEL:Israel appointed its first Muslim cabinet minister yesterday, a step he said would help its Arab citizens identify more strongly with the Jewish state.
"The first step has been taken and this has given Israeli Arabs a feeling of belonging," Raleb Majadele told Israeli Army Radio after the cabinet ratified his appointment as a minister without portfolio.
Arabs make up about 20 per cent of Israel's population and have long complained of being treated like second-class citizens, and about a paucity of government funds for their towns and villages.
Israeli officials have denied any policy of discrimination against the country's Arab citizens, saying they enjoyed more political freedom in Israel than anywhere else in the Muslim world and had a strong representation in parliament.
Mr Majadele was nominated by the Labor Party for a ministerial post after one of its members quit the cabinet in protest at the addition of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu faction to the prime minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government in October.
"I see this as a historic and important step towards equality and promoting peace in the region," said Amir Peretz, Israel's defence minister and Labor Party chief, at the cabinet meeting, according to the YNet news website.
YNet said strategic affairs minister Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beitenu was the only cabinet member to vote against the appointment of Mr Majadele.
In 2001, an Israeli Druze became the first non-Jewish member of the cabinet, serving as a minister without portfolio.
Israeli political sources said Mr Majadele's appointment could be the opening move in a possible cabinet reshuffle in the coming week. The shake-up, they said, could enable Mr Olmert to offer a variety of posts to coalition partners in return for their support of vice-prime minister Shimon Peres's attempt to become Israel's next president.
Mr Peres, a member of Mr Olmert's centrist Kadima party, has said he wants to replace incumbent president Moshe Katsav, who is suspected of rape and other sexual assaults against women employees.
Mr Katsav, who has denied any wrongdoing, began a three-month leave of absence last week after Israel's attorney-general announced he had drafted an indictment against him.
Mr Katsav has said he would quit the ceremonial post if formally charged. Parliament would then vote for a new president.