In apparent dig at Netanyahu, Rivlin calls for upholding personal freedoms

At a memorial marking the 45th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War at the Mt. Herzl military cemetery, President Reuven Rivlin appears to level criticism at Netanyahu’s government and calls for personal freedoms to be protected.

Rivlin says the lesson of Israel’s failures in the lead-up to the Yom Kippur War was that Israelis must always challenge their government.

“The Yom Kippur war was one of Israel’s toughest wars; our enemies capitalized on our failed political and military leadership,” he says.

“We need an end of leadership that comes from a single place, that speaks in one voice and that rejects dissent, because as we have learned, the price is very, very high,” he says.

Rivlin calls for free speech and expression to be upheld in Israel, as well as the freedom for “investigations,” a likely reference to the corruption probes into Netanyahu.