President and Mrs. Ben Zvi with Joseph and Mrs. Shprinzak at the Knesset Tu Bishvat party, 1954

Knesset Speaker Joseph Shprinzak:

It is a holiday for us - the fifth birthday of the Knesset, which opened in Jerusalem on the 15th of Shvat, the New Year of the Trees, 1949, by the first President of the State, Chaim Weizmann.

I cannot properly evaluate the Knesset’s role in the five years of the State’s existence in this short speech.

There are many different ways to evaluate, and with each new juncture in the progress of the State’s life, and with each new revelation within the life in this house, the evaluations will continue from over the dais of the Hebraic house of legislators.

I myself only have a single standard – the hidden powers behind the act of establishing the Hebraic parliament, the bottled energy that our Knesset has for continuous action. It is not on the basis of comparing accepted parliamentary orders worldwide, which may be slightly anachronistic these days, and not by highlighting the faults that may still be found amongst us, and neither by noting trends such as absence from plenum sittings or the temporary inconvenient building – these should not be the standards according to which our Knesset should be evaluated.

The materials for evaluating the Knesset are in the new documentation given to Israel – the volumes of the Knesset Minutes - which tell the thoughts and actions of the State of Israel for a period of five years, its aspirations and not yet fulfilled accomplishments. They tell what the people have done, and its continuous efforts to act, despite the unusual conditions that were common in the world during the days of the state’s establishment and the first period of its existence.

Knesset Speaker Joseph and Mrs. Shprinzak together with women MKs at the Knesset Tu Bishvat party, 1954

Whatever the evaluation may be for the past five years, the Knesset is the political public expression for the independence of Israel – the fort of the people’s will and talent of creation, a fort that we must protect at all times, for it is the only higher authority of legislation, leading the path of our lives and the life of the state.

A new year of the Knesset’s existence is ahead of us, and we enter it in recognition of the difficult internal and external difficulties that accompany us on our way. These difficulties demand that we become more unified and have mutual understanding, so that we will overcome the misfortunes and make common sense more dominant in our collective will.

We are required at all times to eradicate our fleeting inclinations, and look forth for the nobility found in creation. It is only in responsible and vigorous actions that we can ensure our existence, and protect what we have created.

Let us enter the new year with the faith that the Knesset will succeed in safekeeping the historical task that is entrusted with the representatives of the people in Israel.

As I express this faith of mine, I hereby close this sitting until tomorrow, Tuesday, at 16:00, and invite all Members of the Knesset to our annual celebration, tonight at 21:00.