Rivlin calls on public to vote, says all citizens have equal rights

President Reuven Rivlin calls on the Israeli public to vote, declaring that “democracy is not self-evident” and should not be taken for granted.

“Elections are a celebration of democracy,” Rivlin says. “This is the day of exercising our right to govern our fate, as citizens with equal rights and as partners in the political enterprise of the State of Israel.

“Democracy is not self-evident, nor is a state’s ability to preserve its democratic character, the independence of its governing institutions, and its uncompromising commitment to civil equality and equality before the law,” the president adds.

“It is enough to look at our neighbors, as well as the situation of the citizens of many other countries around the world, in order to realize that the citizen’s right to shape his life, his fate and his future is obtained by hard work.”