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Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Report: Lapid nixes Maccabiah speech after organizers refused to let him speak first
File: President Isaac Herzog meets with incoming prime minister Yair Lapid at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, June 30, 2022. (Haim Zach/GPO)
Prime Minister Yair Lapid has canceled his planned speech at the Maccabiah games, reportedly after organizers of the sports event refused his request to open the event and speak before President Isaac Herzog.
Channel 12, without citing a source, says the organizers chose to stick with the protocol from previous years, which says that Herzog as the symbolic head of state gets dibs on the first address.
The network quotes a response by both Herzog and Lapid, denying the report and saying that since US President Joe Biden will participate, Lapid has canceled his appearance in a mutual agreement to have only the presidents speak at the event.
