Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir plants a tree in the courtyard of the Prime Minister's Office, Tu Bishvat 1991

Knesset Speaker Dov Shilansky:

Members of the Knesset, 42 years ago, on the 15th of Shvat 1949, the Constituent Assembly convened at the Jewish Agency’s building in Jerusalem and determined: “The house of legislators in the State of Israel shall be named the Knesset”.

The 15th of Shvat symbolizes in Israel the blossoming, the growth, the smell of nature, the seven fruits and grains mentioned in the Bible as native to the land of Israel. When the Knesset was established on that day, the 15th of Shvat was bestowed with a new meaning – the holiday of democracy in Israel, that stands alone in the Middle East, which is now facing hard times, and that democracy is manifested in the Knesset of Israel.

Members of the Knesset, we are forced to celebrate the 15th of Shvat this year in the shadow of the Gulf War, under the threats of the ruler of Iraq and their realization by the dispatch of missiles towards the civilian population in Israel. This is not how we imaged the celebrations of the 15th of Shvat this year. As in every year, many events were planned to mark the Knesset’s birthday, and among them was the mutual celebration with the citizens and veterans of Hadera, on its 100th anniversary, as well as tree-plantings with soldiers and new immigrants at the Knesset Forest. However, due to the directive of not holding events for many participants, we were forced to postpone all happenings.

I hope that we will soon be able to hold these events, even later than the 15th of Shvat – for celebrating democracy does not require a special day.

At this point I will only settle with a few short words, in the hope that in the very near future we will be able to return to our peaceful and tranquil lives, and we will resume to full work in the Israeli house of legislators, that was established on the 15th of Shvat.

Members of the Knesset, I am honored to welcome here the former Knesset members who arrived at the building, despite the fact we decided to postpone all events due to the situation. I have had many opportunities in the past to mention the contribution of those members to the democracy in Israel and to our parliamentarism. It is a privilege for me to repeat these words today.

I wish you all good health and long lives, and hope to see you amongst us in future events.