This (Monday) afternoon, the winter session of the Knesset opened in the presence of President Yitzhak Herzog and his wife, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy, Supreme Court President Justice Esther Hayut, and Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy said at the opening of the winter session: "The time has come to stop the sweeping and unprecedented boycott by the opposition. There has never been anything like this in the Knesset. They refuse to play a critical part in Israeli democracy.".
""We will have to change the nature of the discourse in which we conduct our debates," said the Knesset Speaker. "I too have sinned in this in the past. The Israeli public, which is fed up with quarrels and gratuitous hatred, looks at this house and feels pain.".
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
President Herzog said in the plenary, in his first speech since being elected: "This House, with all its mechanisms, must find a way to quickly return to respectful, fair and ongoing dialogue between the coalition and the opposition, and between the opposition and the coalition.
""Even in the midst of the storm of confrontations, do not forget: substantive debates - yes, legitimizing bullying - no. I call on you - to choose again and again, every day, to speak. To choose to conduct respectful and proper, substantive and fair discourse, even if it is firm. As President of the State, I will do everything to strengthen the foundations of statehood and stop the constant erosion of our national resilience, which is becoming a strategic threat to the strength and integrity of Israeli society.".
""I call on you - my friends and fellow Knesset members, to draw clear red lines in public discourse. To hold discussions about the essence of things. To stop show-offs, to be guides, value providers and role models. This task is ours all. This amendment is ours all. It can be, it must be.".
Naftali Bennett said in his speech in the plenum: "This government was sworn in 113 days ago. Days full of work. Many of the country's areas of activity were covered in a layer of dust from neglect. Two years of inaction, of procrastination and degeneration – from the Iranian nuclear program, through housing prices to the endless traffic jams. Everything stood still, while we were busy with four election campaigns and one pandemic.".
As he ascended to the podium, opposition members raised interjections and interrupted his speech repeatedly, shouting at him: "A crook and a liar." Several Likud MKs were ejected from the plenary.
Bennett added: "A total of three and a half months have passed since we started, and we can already see, beyond the businesslike atmosphere and cooperation, results: we are stopping the Delta, without a single day of closure.".
He did not mention the 1,400 deaths due to government failures.
During his speech, Bennett revealed a Mossad operation to locate the whereabouts of Israeli navigator Ron Arad: "Last month, Mossad women and men embarked on an operation aimed at locating new information about the fate and whereabouts of Ron Arad. It was a complex, large-scale operation. That's all that can be said right now.
'"We have made another effort on the way to understanding what happened to Ron," the Prime Minister said. "I want to thank the Mossad fighters, on my behalf - and also on behalf of Tami and Yuval Arad, for their dedication, commitment and the brotherhood of the fighters, even after all these years. I would also like to thank the IDF and the General Security Service for their exceptional cooperation. The ransom of prisoners is a Jewish value that has become one of the most sacred values of the State of Israel: 'A people that will not be deceived will not abandon its children to a stranger.'".
""This is the kind of thing that seems strange, perhaps a little exaggerated, to someone looking at the State of Israel from the outside, but this is what defines and sets us apart. We will continue to work to bring all our sons home, wherever they are.".
MK Yoav Galant responded on Twitter: "The State of Israel has conducted dozens of operations to locate signs and evidence of all kinds regarding the fate of its missing persons, including Ron Arad. Most of these operations remained confidential or were published long after they were carried out.
""Bennett's obsession with achievements that are not, led him to use the activities of the Mossad to try and market theoretical achievements prematurely. Sad and worrying.".
Subsequently, the Knesset plenum will hold a debate and votes on expressions of no confidence in the government and the first bills placed on the Knesset table ahead of the opening of the session.
