Knesset Speaker Yitzhak Shamir:

Members of the Knesset, in the past year we celebrated the 30th Independence Day of the State and today we mark the 30th anniversary of the Knesset. The close range between these two historical dates is both significant and symbolic. The Knesset, which symbolizes and embodies Israeli democracy, is an inseparable part of the Jewish sovereignty as it is. It is impossible to describe one without the other. They are intertwined in their birth, development and progress. A Jewish state cannot be described without a democratic life, and a Jewish democratic life is surely indescribable when it is not found in a Jewish state.

Thirty years are a short period of time in historical dimensions, but they are a significant time period in the lives of those of us who lived to see their dream come to life. Though it is normal for the magic found in a dream to erode and become mundane, we still find amongst us the initial astonishment of the first generation of the people’s representatives of the Jewish independent state, who sit in the Jewish house of representatives and determine the matters of their people by their own sovereign will. It is not only a sentimental matter. It validates the grand feeling of responsibility that is bestowed on Knesset members, who deal everyday with the fate of the people and state.

A British citizen once said, “England can never be destroyed but by the parliament.” This saying may be exaggerated, but it quite obvious that if the parliament is restricted from reaching great achievements, then its ability to injure and destroy becomes less limited. The road downhill is always easier and faster than the road uphill. Alongside the great power given to the Knesset in legislation and establishing a system of conduct for the people and itself, there is danger that the authority given to it by the voters will be misused. The blockades to these dangers must be recognized and be known to all parts of this house, that the functioning of the Knesset is not to serve itself, but to serve the people who elect it. The electing people hear and see the voices, and they will judge whether their elected representatives fulfill their jobs. The people have many complaints regarding Knesset members, some of which refer to their lack of diligence, their insufficient presence in plenum and committee sittings, as if they do not dedicate enough time to fulfill their roles.

The Speaker of the house, who sees the Knesset’s work from his own extraordinary point of view, does not concern himself with the amount of time and work dedicated by members of the house to their many activities. His thoughts, concerns and doubts regard the quality of the parliamentary work done in the Knesset. Due to the amount, variety and complexity of the state’s problems which demand solutions, one might ask whether the intellectual product of Knesset members satisfies the needs placed before them. An outside observer asks, naively, whether the expenses dedicated to minor needs, relative to the state’s needs, leave a sufficient net to handle the tasks at hand. I think that the primary ambition of Knesset members must be directed at applying solutions to the state’s problems, solutions that will help us recover from our illnesses.

Sittings of the committees, sub-committees and the plenum are the frameworks that enable us to pour our thoughts and knowledge into binding parliamentary decisions. Those frameworks should provide a platform for joint discussion to mold the thoughts and ideas of Knesset members into laws and resolutions, which are the final product of the Knesset’s work. Even those ideas and thoughts that are not accepted by the majority and do not come to be implemented, their value and contribution are significant to the state’s social and political thought, which must be enriched and fertilized at all times.

The political struggles between different schools of thought should not be impaired by the intensification of the parliamentary discussion. The true differences of opinions must be expressed at all times, but they should also, in my opinion, emphasize the ideological principles and not the marginal matters which draw attention away from a true understanding of the issues. A sincere presentation of the differences of opinion will necessarily influence the nature of the discussion. If emphasis will be placed on the substance, then all will be said in a respectable manner, and even if some of it is harsh, courtesy and good taste in the discussion will be preserved. Those who look for slips of the tongue or cheap blows will be disappointed, but the Knesset and the state will profit.

On the 12th anniversary of the Knesset, in 1961, the Knesset Speaker of the time, Kadish Luz, said: “The work of the Knesset has two aspects, similar to every parliament in a democratic state: The political rivalry and prominence of ideological contrasts, while cooperating in the plenum and in particular within the committees. A proper balance between the contrast and the mutual is a precondition for leading proper parliamentary lives, and as long as the areas of controversy allow for mutual work, then the Knesset can fulfill its role.” These are wise and true words, and I now wish to add to them, on this 30th birthday of the Knesset, and turn to all members of the house. I ask them to work jointly for raising the status of the Knesset, for it to be able and worthy to serve as the supreme authority in the State of Israel – not only by the power given to it by law, but by the seriousness of its discussions, the efficiency of its work, the good spirit of its debates, and the good taste found in its procedures and customs.

Members of the Knesset, the Knesset is a glass house that is completely exposed to the public. Many visit it and many others criticize it for its actions and oversights. Each slip of the tongue, each blunder of a Knesset member, each decision that will not win the public’s favor, will serve as a basis for attacks – not on a Knesset member or on parts of this house, but on the Knesset as a whole. At times it seems that each person with a pen in his hand and access to the media feels obligated and receives pleasure by throwing a stone at this house. Unfortunately, sometimes it is done by Members of the Knesset themselves. I look onto these general attacks with great concern for the Knesset, its dignity and its prestige. These attacks might hurt the power of Israeli democracy, of which the Knesset serves as a basis and a symbol. We are all aware of the weaknesses of democratic rule, but no better regime has been invented to this day, and it is clear to us all what is the alternative. Harming the Knesset might lay the foundations to an anti-democratic dictatorship that is filled with dangers and calamity.

There is no doubt that there is plenty that requires amending and changing, and we must be aware of the need for changes: In the conduct of debates and their quality, in the flow of information and its assimilation, in the various institutions of the Knesset, and everyone is free to change the factional and personal composition of the Knesset, as he sees fit. However, together with effort to improve and change, we must all be careful not to harm the dignity of the Knesset, the central institute of the Israeli democracy.

Members of the Knesset, at the opening of the First Knesset, on the15th of Shvat 1949, said the late Speaker of the Knesset Joseph Shprinzak: “We have planted today the tree of Independent Israel.” Members of the Knesset, the 30-year old tree stands before us and it is in our hands to guard and nurture it, for in its shadow lies our most precious thing.

On this day of celebration I wish to bless the Members of the Knesset, the members of previous Knessets, the Knesset employees, its advisors and experts, the people in Israel and the Jewish people around the world: May it be willed that the coming years will be years of progress, Aliyah, construction, grace and peace for the State and for the Jewish people.