There are only eight new MKs this time, and another nine are returning from past stints as legislators, which means that 103 members of the 22nd Knesset will be sworn in for the second time in 2019.
Starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, MKs can arrive at the Knesset, walk down a red carpet and receive a boutonniere and have a souvenir photo taken. In the afternoon, there will be a celebratory reception in the Chagall Hall.
President Reuven Rivlin is set to arrive in the Knesset at 3 p.m. on Thursday, where he will be met by an honor guard and an IDF band. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and other top Knesset officials will meet Rivlin outside the Knesset, where the IDF band will play “Hatikvah.” Rivlin will put a wreath on the memorial for Israel’s fallen soldiers before entering the Knesset.
Once inside, Rivlin will sign a special guest book for Israeli presidents on the occasion of a Knesset being sworn in.
After that, the 120 MKs will find their seats in the plenum. Edelstein will read the following: “I pledge allegiance to the State of Israel and faithfully fulfill my mission in the Knesset.” The new lawmakers will respond: “I pledge.”
The celebration will end with a toast and the traditional photo of the Knesset’s faction leaders.
In the months of the Knesset’s election recess, a larger hall for security checks was built, which are meant to shorten lines at the entrance to the legislature.
In addition, the Knesset Speaker’s platform was made handicap accessible and the microphone will be adjustable to the height of a wheelchair by pushing a button. This will allow MKs with physical disabilities to be deputy speakers or speakers. Foreign leaders also address the Knesset from that platform.