President Reuven Rivlin finishes consultations with representatives of parties that won seats in the 20th Knesset.
Rivlin calls for a change in the system of government in Israel: the prime minister should be head of the largest party, he says, and can be only replaced by a special majority. The president says the current system lacks stability.
Member of the Meretz party meet with President Reuven Rivlin at the president’s residence in Jerusalem on March 23, 2015. (photo credit: David Vaaknin/pool)
He suggests implementing his proposal in the framework of a constitution which would balance Israel’s democracy with its character as a Jewish state.
Rivlin makes the comments on the sidelines of his meeting with Isawi Frij and Ilan Gilon, who came to represent Meretz in talks on recommending a candidate for the role of prime minister. Meretz recommends Isaac Herzog, but it doesn’t make much difference as Netanyahu already enjoys a majority of 67 MKs.
Rivlin expressed joy that Meretz made it into the government: “Your party is a vital asset of Israeli political life and I am proud to receive you here.”
MK Frij raises what he called the Arab population’s demand that Netanyahu apologize for his comments on Election Day.
MK Gilon says “we were here many times but never to meet a president who is also a friend. We’ve been through some hard days ,and today too, we come worried, but this house is a temple of moderation and calmness at times like these.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 23, 2015
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
