Isaac Herzog was sworn in as Israel's 11th president on Wednesday in a special Knesset session
As the nation's president, Herzog will have a largely ceremonial position whose purpose is to forge to national unity and serve as the country's moral compass. As the ceremony began protesters could be heard chanting slogans outside parliament over his decision to appoint a controversial adviser as his spokesperson.
Immediately after taking the oath of office, laying his hand on the same Bible his father used when he served as Israel's 6th president, he was greeted with the customary round of standing ovation among the 120 Knesset lawmakers and the blow of a ram's horn.
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The inauguration ceremony in Jerusalem began with grand pomp as Herzog arrived at the Knesset plaza. Honor guards in dress uniforms, red carpet, and mounted police escort welcomed the newly elected head of state and he was greeted by Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy and prominent lawmakers. He then proceeded to enter parliament to take the oath of office, where he was greeted with the sound trumpets. The entire plenum rose to welcome him and the outgoing president, Reuven Rivlin, and they both sat next to Levy as he announced the start of the swearing-in ceremony.
Herzog, a scion of a prominent Zionist family, is to hold office for a single seven-year term. His father, Chaim Herzog, served as president in the 1980s after a term as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, and his grandfather, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was the country's first chief rabbi. His uncle, Abba Eban, served as foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations and the United States.
"The truth is that I am a little envious of you," Rivlin said in a letter to Herzog published on Twitter. "In a short while you will discover what a great and wonderful privilege you have" to be president of all of Israel's various communities — Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, young and old.
Herzog, 60, was elected to the presidency by the Knesset last month. He had previously served as head of the Labor Party and head of the opposition in parliament. After leaving politics in 2018, he served as head of the Jewish Agency, a nonprofit organization that works closely with the Israeli government to promote Jewish immigration to Israel and to serve Jewish communities overseas.
Taking office at a time of deep divisions in Israeli society, Herzog said upon his election that he intends to be "the president of everyone" and work to preserve Israel's democracy.
In his inaugural address, Herzog said that he considers his mission to "embark on a journey among Israelis and their divisions, and to rebuild hope."
While most of the office's function is to receive foreign dignitaries and other ceremonial roles, the president has the power to grant pardons.
He also is responsible for selecting a political party leader to form a governing coalition and serve as prime minister after parliamentary elections – a task Rivlin has done five times while in office, most recently after the March 23 parliamentary election.
Herzog's inauguration comes less than a month after Israel swore in a new government under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who struck a coalition agreement with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Netanyahu was ousted from office after a 12-year stint as prime minister and now serves as opposition leader.
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