Rivlin opens home to public with new ‘Israeli Hope’ visitor’s center

Fulfilling a promise to open the doors of his state residence to the Israeli public, President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday officially opened a new visitor’s center at his Jerusalem home.

Over the past year, some 30,000 people have toured the President’s Residence as part of a trial run offering a range of activities focused on Rivlin’s vision of “Israeli Hope,” the head of state’s flagship program to encourage civility and partnership across all segments of Israeli society.

Following Tuesday’s launch, the center will now be open to the public who can book free tours, workshops, and seminars, a statement from the president’s office said.

Rivlin said that the program will make Israel’s state institutions more accessible to the public.

“The President’s Residence is the home of all Israelis. Not of the majority, but of the whole people. The gates of the President’s Residence were not built to keep Israeli society out, but rather to give them a dignified entry to their own home,” he said.

The tours will offer visitors a chance not only to see the President’s residence but also an insight into “the presidency and the presidents of Israel whose personal stories are woven into the history of the State of Israel,” the statement said.

The different workshops and seminars offered both to the public and various special interest groups will highlight Rivlin’s vision of the tapestry of Israeli society, uniting secular, national-religious, ultra-Orthodox, and Arab communities.

“By creating broad partnerships with government ministries and philanthropic foundations, ‘Israeli Hope’ aims to strengthen the ‘together’ in Israeli society while respecting and giving space to each of the groups that make it up, and by so doing to strengthen the prosperity and resilience of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” the president’s office added.