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Knesset marks anniversary with celebration of open democracy

[ssba]

The Knesset yesterday opened its doors to the public in celebration of its 67th anniversary and 50 years since the Knesset moved to its current location in the Givat Ram area of Jerusalem.

The open house included more than 100 events involving MKs, who had the opportunity to showcase their everyday talents. Among the eclectic demonstrations, Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi and Joint Arab List MK Hamad Amar staged a karate contest, while Shas MK Yitzhak Vakhnin performed on the electric guitar.

During the afternoon, a special plenary session took place. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said, “On this day, we must remember that the Knesset is important … and most of its members are dedicated public representatives who are faithful to their mission.” However he acknowledged that the public largely disapproves of the “provocations and verbal altercations” prevalent during Knesset debates and urged “incisive discourse through mutual respect, listening and understanding that the public’s eyes are on this House.”

President Reuven Rivlin also addressed the session, saying, “Our parliament is a young parliament, yet replete with creativity and action – even if commanded by extraordinary emotions.” He warned that Israelis society “is increasingly divided into four minority-tribes,” the Modern Orthodox, the ultra-Orthodox, the secular, and the Arab communities, which, “To a great extent … live in parallel universes alongside one another.” Rivlin called on MKs therefore “as the public’s leaders,” to “forge for us a common path, a path of partnership … of shared responsibility.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Israeli democracy, saying, “We have a Knesset, a government and a judiciary; we have laws and respect for the law. These are the pillars of Israeli democracy.” He contrasted it with other countries in the region, saying “Israel stands on the other side of despotic Middle Eastern regimes. We have rule of law. We have democracy.”

Meanwhile, opposition leader and Zionist Union head Isaac Herzog called the Knesset “a faithful representation of the unique human mosaic of Israel, with all its beauty and complexity.”