MK Ghaleb Majadele (Labor) will become Israel's first Muslim minister today, and he is excited about it.

"For me, this is a historic day in which the Israeli government decides to complete the missing representation of the Arab public around the cabinet table," he told Haaretz. "I hope that within two weeks, the prime minister will complete the round of appointments and I will receive a government portfolio."

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Majadele dismisses some of his fellow Arab MKs' arguments against his appointment.

"Their reactions and arguments are not worthy of a response," he said. "It's interesting that sitting in the Knesset is [seen as] contributing to equality, but sitting around the cabinet table is against the interests of the Arab public. I'm not looking back, and as of this morning, my agenda is packed with topics that benefit the Arab public."

Majadele said the decision by Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, to vote against the Arab MK's cabinet appointment does not make him uncomfortable. "To this day I think that Lieberman should be outside the government due to his views, and the fact that we will sit around the same table does not mean that I accept or agree with his views," the incoming minister explained.

Majadele, 54, lives in Baka al-Garbiyeh. He is married and has two daughters and two sons. He became an MK in 2004 and heads the Knesset Interior and Environment Committee.

He served as secretary of the workers council in Baka al-Garbiyeh between 1984 and 1990, and also headed the education and sports department of the Histadrut while the labor federation was under the control of prominent Laborites Haim Ramon and, later, Amir Peretz.

While acquaintances said he was close to Ramon, a veteran Histadrut official noted that Majadele's relationship with Peretz - who gave him full backing for the ministerial position - has had ups and downs. The official predicted that Majadele would not necessarily exhibit blind loyalty to Peretz in the cabinet.