Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Knesset speaker: Israeli democracy is in danger
Speaking on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the opening of the first Knesset, speaker Yuli Edelstein warns that bad behavior by lawmakers is damaging the image of the parliament and limiting its ability to govern.
“Knesset members come and go, but it is Israeli democracy, ladies and gentlemen, that is in real danger,” Edelstein says.
“The Knesset is your home and all of us are it’s emissaries.” he tells the lawmakers. “Please don’t spill the baby with the bathwater, don’t lose the Knesset as an essential institution of the rule of law.”
The first meeting of the Knesset took place on February 14, 1949. The anniversary is held each year on the Hebrew date of the 10th of Shvat which is also the traditional “birthday for trees.”
