Rivlin calls on MKs to put aside political rivalries as new Knesset sworn in

President Reuven Rivlin addresses lawmakers at the beginning of the swearing-in ceremony for the 21st Knesset, issuing a call for unity following a contentious election campaign.

“We have disparaged and been disparaged. We have distorted. We have worked overtime in the service of delegitimization, hatred and execration. Now, it’s over. Enough. Time to climb up. To put down the cudgels of elections and to clean up the mess,” he says in a speech at the Knesset plenum.

“Political considerations can no longer be the only guide. This is not only what is expected of you, it is what every citizen of Israel demands and requires of you, our leaders, every member of this house,” he adds.

In a message to opposition-bound MKs, Rivlin hails Israel’s democracy and says “the people are never wrong.”

“The right to serve the people from the opposition is the proof of loyalty to democracy, it is the obligation to criticize and to scrutinize, and it is the challenge and the responsibility to persuade,” he says.

Turning to prospective members of the next government, which is almost surely to be led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, the president calls for them not to be poor winners.

“One should lose gracefully and one should win gracefully. You are not in the opposition. You have held the keys of power and leadership for a long time. As such, your responsibility is to let up on eliminating your opponents, to let up on the feeling of being the victim, and to govern all the citizens and communities who live here with respect and with love,” Rivlin says.