President Reuven Rivlin reportedly has no intention of attending the Mount Herzl torchlighting ceremony for Independence Day, amid a bruising fight over who has the right to speak at the official state event.
Israeli soldiers celebrate during the official state ceremony of Israel’s 69th Independence Day at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, on May 1, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
The ceremony, run by the Knesset and traditionally kept apolitical, has become the arena for a fight between Culture Minister Miri Regev and Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein, after Regev said she wanted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Rivlin to speak at the event. Edelstein has refused to let this happen.
The head of state and head of government are traditionally not part of the event, in order to keep it free of politics.
Sources close to Rivlin tell Ynet news that the president has not received an invitation and doesn’t plan on going. According to the report, Rivlin has turned down similar invitations in the past in keeping with tradition.
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 1, 2018
