Ending spat, PM to light torch at Israel’s 70th birthday celebrations
Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Edelstein agree the premier will light a torch on behalf of all Israeli governments since the founding of the state, but will not make a speech.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein have agreed that the Israeli premier will both participate in the torch-lighting ceremony marking Israel's 70th Independence Day, and will light a torch on behalf of all past and current Israeli governments, the Prime Minister's Office said Tuesday.
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As part of the compromise that put an end to a political spat between the two, with Edelstein threatening to boycott the ceremony if Netanyahu delivers a speech, it was also agreed that the latter would not address those in attendance.
Furthermore, Netanyahu ordered Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev to convene the Knesset Symbols and Ceremonies Committee before the Independence Day ceremony to cement an agreement between him and Edelstein, whereby an incumbent prime minister will attend the ceremony once a decade.
The compromise comes on the heels of the acrimonious public feud between Regev and Edelstein after the minister promoted an initiative that would have seen the premier attend the ceremony and deliver a speech, along with President Reuven Rivlin.
Regev, a staunch supporter of Netanyahu, claimed last month that according to the suggestion by the Knesset Symbols and Ceremonies Committee, it would only be appropriate to let the prime minister speak at the event once every ten years.
"The idea that Netanyahu will speak (at the ceremony) came from both me and him," Regev made clear on Army Radio on Sunday morning.
In response to Regev's proposal, Edelstein distributed a letter Thursday to all 120 Knesset members, which was obtained by Ynet, in which he explained why its adoption would result in his absence.
"There is no doubt in my mind that if its national character is erased, the fire will come out of the torches and stoke the disagreements between us. We cannot lend a hand to this," he wrote.
In the event that Edelstein had refused to attend the ceremony, all other members of the Knesset would have also been absent.
In a video statement published Tuesday, Edelstein professed to regret how murky public discourse became over the affair, but stressed he is sure the agreement reached with the premier will be accepted by the majority of the Israeli public.
Edelstein confirmed he, as well as all other members of the Knesset, will attend the event.
Edelstein's office stated Sunday that "the agreement was reached with mutual respect and a sincere desire to end the dispute over Israel's 70th anniversary celebrations."
"According to the understandings reached, the prime minister will deliver a torch on behalf of the Israeli governments and say a few words of blessing as it is lit," Edelstein's office confirmed.
Regev commented that she is glad "personal considerations have been removed from the agenda and logic has prevailed," adding that Netanyahu's participation in the torch-lighting "adds honor to the ceremony, to the state and to society."
Meanwhile, Ambassador Ruth Kahanov was chosen earlier that day to light a torch at the ceremony on behalf of the Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in place of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández.
Kahanov previously served as Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Asia and the Pacific and as Israel's Ambassador to Japan.
Today she is a special envoy to regional organizations in Asia and the Pacific.
Kahanov was supposed to light the torch alongside Hernández, who pulled out of participating in the ceremony due to the fierce objections raised by senior Israeli officials to his arrival.
