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Itongadol.- The 120 members of the 20th Knesset, who were elected on March 17, will be sworn in on Tuesday evening. The member of the parliament who has served the longest, Amir Peretz of the Zionist Union, will chair the session as acting speaker.
The ceremony will be long: After the administration of the oath, there will be a reception, after which the new members of Knesset will reconvene to elect a permanent speaker. Outgoing speaker Yuli Edelstein is expected to be re-elected; his associates claim that a large majority of MKs have already promised to support his candidacy. Formal announcement will then be made concerning the reappointment of serving deputy ministers – a procedural step that will allow them to stay in office until a new government is formed.
Of the 120 members, 39 are serving in the parliament for the first time. They received an orientation on their new responsibilities on Sunday, when Edelstein told them: “I’m a little envious of you, in the positive sense, of course. There is nothing like the feeling of being elected and taking the oath of office for the first time.” Edlestein also spoke of the major influence they will have over other people’s lives.
For his part, Peretz has encouraged the new MKs to cooperate in an effort to advance legislation.
“There is no more enjoyable and exciting work than parliamentary work,” he told them. “You didn’t come to manage reality but rather to change it. We have gone through a stormy election campaign, and now all of us must work to unify our ranks. Cooperation among MKs is an essential condition for your success.”