GovXContentSection
The incoming President, Isaac Herzog, pledged allegiance in the Knesset Plenum and then addressed the Plenum. At the start of his statements, President Herzog addressed the outgoing President, Reuven Rivlin, and said: “You knew how to transmit your love for the wonders of this land to its sons and daughters; you represented with great dignity our country before the family of nations, including in the last month of your term of office. You painfully identified the fault lines in Israeli society; you held a mirror to our face, even if it showed things that were not always pleasant for all of us to see."
President Herzog commented on the polarization in Israeli society and the challenges it faces, saying: “[To be] everyone's president. In ordinary times, this is a mission that sounds almost naïve. But these, regrettably, are not ordinary times. These are times in which 'mamlachtiyut' [public responsibility] is overridden by polarization; times in which the unifying ethos and the shared values are more fragile than ever. These are difficult times, which arrive after two and a half years of tempestuous rounds of elections that followed in succession; a political crisis that is without precedent in the State of Israel. A crisis that, as the history of the modern era shows us, succeeded in the past in destroying nations much older and longer-established than the young State of Israel, which is only 73 years old.
“The heaviest price of all is the erosion of our national resilience: When each group feels threatened, when people recede to their own positions and views, and are certain that justice is only on their side—alienation deepens from one day to the next. Alienation between people and between groups, which could, God forbid, deteriorate to the point of alienation between citizens and their state.
“Words like democracy, public responsibility, social order, independent justice and law enforcement systems, ethos and heritage—are big, abstract words. They have no shape or color. They are too complex to be summed up in a pithy slogan. But they are the firm basis that holds us together, despite all our differences of opinion. This is the realm of accord without which no human group can live together. And we must live here together. This is not a decree of fate—it is a shared destiny."
President Herzog said that he intended to embark on a journey among the rift lines of Israeli society: “From here I will leave for the Residence of the President, and from there [will embark] upon a journey among the rift lines and fault lines of Israeli society; a journey aimed at finding the unifying factor within the differences, the healing factor among the fragments—a journey aimed at finding us anew. I will embark on this path with the goal of encountering the pain, looking directly at it, and giving an attentive ear and heart to the difficulty and the fears, even at the most volatile points.
“The wounds that have opened in our society—to its width and breadth—are still bleeding. The structural and social problems that render entire groups vulnerable—perpetuate the difficulty. We have to acknowledge the fact that there are many among us, too many, whose everyday life is neither simple nor fair. Many who do not get a real chance; many people for whom equal opportunity is a term that is light years away from the reality of their lives. Ignoring this will not advance us anywhere."
President Herzog spoke about the minorities in Israeli society, saying: “As a Jewish and democratic state, we must do everything to ensure the integration of the minorities that live in our midst. Here, in the land where our forefathers walked, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Here, in the land where Ishmael walked as well. We must do everything possible to fulfill our obligation to make glass ceilings shatter. To eradicate with full force every severe phenomenon, like the terrible and murderous violence that plagues the Arab communities. To narrow the gaps and expand the fair treatment by government institutions and agencies."
President Herzog added: “We must stop seeing the differences between us as an obstacle; they are the source of our strength. Thanks to them, Israeli power is revealed in its full intensity. After all, we would not be who we are without the vast range of human and ideological diversity that has gathered here. A mosaic in which Israeli family values are intertwined with resourcefulness and optimism, along with the principles of justice, solidarity, compassion and mutual responsibility—which are the components of a model society.
“Therefore, I still believe in us. I believe that this is possible. It is only as far away as extending a hand to one another. Let's choose us, each day anew. We will choose to win together, and not only to win out over each other. We will choose to be kind, to extinguish the fire and the hatred with the Israeli spirit, to be plentiful in our love of Israel. We will choose to be united not only in values and principles, but also in our hopes and dreams. We will choose to bid farewell to the schism that is destroying us. All of us, together.
“In my role as President of the State, I undertake to help the Government of Israel—any Government—to defend the justification of Israel's cause around the world and its right to defend itself. To assist in the battle against antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and to achieve the sought-after peace with our neighbors. To stand alongside the IDF soldiers and commanders, including in battles waged in the international legal arena, and in the struggle against the strategic threats facing Israel, first and foremost the Iranian nuclear program.
The broad confidence you have expressed in me, the elected representatives of the people—confidence that crossed over camps and factions—showed me that the possibility of hope, unity and accord exists in this House too. May this be a sign of things to come, and a tailwind for fulfilling the mission and the responsibility resting upon my shoulders; a good wind that will help to face the complex challenges faced by the State of Israel and the entire Jewish people."