President Elect Reuven Rivlin is to be sworn in this Thursday as Israel’s 10th president, amid Operation ‘Protective Edge’. Following a meeting with Knesset Chairman Yuli Edelstein today, they have decided together to hold the ceremony in a reduced and downscaled fashion.
In a joint statement they said: “The inauguration ceremony will take place as planned on the official date, during which the president will swear allegiance to the State of Israel. However, at a time when the IDF’s soldiers are engaged in fighting and the citizens of Israel are under a threat of rocket fire, we believe that the ceremony should be held in a reduced and modest fashion. We strengthen the hands of the IDF in its holy mission to bring peace and quiet to all of Israel’s citizens, hopefully very soon.”
The welcoming ceremony at the entrance to the Knesset will be downscaled. After that, the swearing-in ceremony at the Knesset plenum will be held as usual. The cocktail reception at the Shagal Hall will be canceled completely.
By Aryeh Savir
Tazpit News Agency
