Zelensky speech to Knesset to be livestreamed on TV and in central Tel Aviv square

By Tal Schneider

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

20 March 2022, 11:28 am

Edit

Tal Schneider is a Political Correspondent at The Times of Israel

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky virtually addresses the US Congress on March 16, 2022, at the US Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium, in Washington, DC. (J. Scott Applewhite / POOL / AFP)

Members of the Knesset will gather through a Zoom link to watch Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky address the country this evening.

Following hesitation by Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy, some MKs will attend online while a small number of MKs may sit together in a Knesset committee room. The Knesset is in recess until May 8 and there are renovations taking place in the MKs’ chambers and in the plenum.

In addition to the Zoom link, the 6 p.m. speech will be broadcast on the official Knesset channel, and the Knesset will offer simultaneous translation from Ukrainian to Hebrew.

The Tel Aviv Municipality is hosting a live stream of the speech on a large screen in Habima Square. A spokesman for the municipality told The Times of Israel that they are expecting thousands of people to attend the live event.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will watch the speech from his chambers in the Prime Minister’s Office. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has yet to decide where he will view the address.

Some 16 MKs from the Haredi factions may skip the Zoom event altogether due to the mass funeral of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a leader in the ultra-Orthodox world, taking place in Bnei Brak today.