Our new President is sworn in

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Today was Shimon Peres' last day as president.
He has been in this office seven years and has contributed some 70 years of his life to public service for the State of Israel.

Peres gave an inspiring speech before a packed Knesset.
Only the seats of the Israeli Arab Members of Knesset were empty, as they were boycotting the ceremony.
The ceremony was toned down because of the situation, so no horses and motorcycles and no big cocktail party this year.

Former Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin then took the oath of office as our new president, with his hand on the Bible.
His speech had stories of what his father had taught him.
Rivlin is an 8th generation Jerusalemite, a big honor in itself!

Long live our new president and the former one too!
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The photo is my only one of Shimon Peres and is from a 2009 ceremony for Ethiopians Jews at Mt. Herzl.
See also this post which explains about the colorful "liturgical parasols" or ceremonial umbrellas.
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UPDATE July 27:   Israel 21C gives some nice anecdotes about President Rubi Rivlin.
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Sixty-four years of independence

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

HAPPY 64th BIRTHDAY, ISRAEL!

By chance, I came out of the recently redone galleries of the Israel Museum exactly when the Air Force acrobatics began in the sky.
I don't know which was more breathtaking--the archaeology indoors or the aircraft outside!

The planes seemed almost low enough to fly into the 5-meter-tall polished steel hourglass "Turning the World Upside Down, Jerusalem" by sculptor Anish Kapoor (more about it here).

With a click to enlarge, you will find the four planes over the Knesset.

Appropriate for SkyWatch Friday, I do think.

May our pilots always fly in peaceful skies.
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Victory in Europe Day commemoration in Knesset today

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At noon today there was a special Knesset Plenum sitting to mark the 66th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
World War II veterans in the gallery (see photo) wore their old uniforms and many medals.
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These stones in a Tel Aviv park are dedicated to those veterans and their 1,500,000 Jewish comrades who fought in the Second World War.
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An estimated 300,000 of the Jewish soldiers and partisans were killed in the fighting.
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Please enlarge and read the plaque.

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I found this information in a web page about the booklet The Jewish Fighter in World War II:

"The estimated numbers of Jewish men and women who fought in the ranks of the various armies are

USA	550 000
Australia	3 900
Israel (Jewish Volunteers)	30 000
Britain	62 000
USSR	500 000
Yugoslavia	6000 (over 4000 in the Partisan army)
Greece	13 000
Poland	122 000
Czechoslovakia	5 500
France	35 000
Canada	17 000
South Africa	10 000

There are no facts and estimates on the number of Jews in the Belgian, Dutch, and New Zealand armies. A careful estimate puts the number of Jewish partisans in the occupied parts of the USSR at 20 000 - 25 000, and in the other European countries at another 10 000, including the anti-Nazi underground."

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Gates, gardens, groves, and government

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Gee, it's time for ABC Wednesday already.

Still inside the Supreme Court Building, we look down the Knesset passageway.
The flag you see flying in the distance is atop the Knesset building.


I walked out the gate of the court and soon turned around to snap this picture.
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The Knesset passageway connects the Knesset, the legislative branch of government, with the Supreme Court building, the judicial branch.
The path represents both the connection and the separation between the legislative and the judicial branches of government.

In between these two important places is the Wohl Rose Park.
Click on the map to see how many gardens and groves there are.
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Foreign dignitaries can land on the park's helicopter pad, and then they are officially received on the parade ground.
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Covering 70 dunams, the public park is a venue for festive and public events.
Over 400 species of roses from all over the world bloom in summer.

Sure enough, the path led to the Knesset, with the famous menorah standing at its gate!
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The Fellowship

In a festive ceremony yesterday the 18th Knesset was sworn in. After President Peres' speech the acting Speaker read the oath: "I pledge to remain loyal to the State of Israel and to fulfill my duty in the Knesset faithfully." As his or her name was called, each MK stood and declared: "Mitchayev ani," pledge I do.
Of the 120 Members of Knesset, 31 are new.
The average age is 53.
A record number of women, 21.
Haneen Zuabi is the first female Arab MK to enter the Knesset on an Arab list, Balad.
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Now all we need is a government! After the recent elections, things are quite a mess. Bibi Netanyahu, who did NOT get the most votes, was asked by the President to try to form a government. It is hard to form a coalition out of the 12 very different parties that won seats in the Knesset.
This graffito in the center of Jerusalem says VOTE FOR ARAGORN.
If only he had been running for office! He would have won my vote. If only Israel had an Aragron to lead the country . . .
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From his biography:
"Aragorn was known as Strider, a Ranger who lived in the Wild protecting the peoples of Middle-earth. But he was descended from the ancient line of kings, and when he joined the quest of the Ring-bearer, the time came for him to fulfill his destiny. As Frodo Baggins struggled to reach Mount Doom, Aragorn fought the servants of the Enemy and revealed himself to Sauron as Isildur's Heir. After Sauron's downfall the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor were reunited under Aragorn's reign and peace and prosperity returned to Middle-earth."

Herzliche Gruesse

Having studied German all four years of high school and all four years of university, I am obviously fond of the language. But that was in the USA. Here in Israel, German can be problematic. Last week Angela Merkel came to congratulate Israel on our upcoming 60th birthday. Despite the objections and sensitivities of several members of our parliament, the Knesset House Committee decided to allow the Chancellor to address the Knesset in German.
I am happy we have come this far.
Dr. Merkel said good things and got a standing ovation. Oh and by the way, she surprised everyone by opening her speech with several sentences in Hebrew.
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