Isaac Herzog was formally sworn in today as the 11th president of Israel, replacing Reuven Rivlin. The ceremony took place at the Knesset, where Herzog took the oath over same Bible as his father, Chaim Herzog, who served as the country’s sixth president.
In his acceptance speech, Herzog vowed to be president for everyone. He said that with growing divides in society, the citizens of Israel clearly expect their leadership to change the tone, to lower the flames and calm things down. "I will set out … every morning to be the president for all. In normal times, this is a mission that sounds almost naive. But these days are, unfortunately, are not normal. Baseless hatred, the same factionalism and polarization are exacting a heavy price — today and every day. The heaviest price of all is the erosion of our national resilience."
