12 | JULY 15 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay

Heading a Nation Like No Other

T

o the honorable 
President of Israel,
Truth be told, I’m 
a little envious of you. In a 
short while, you will find out 
exactly how magnificent the 
privilege of the 
presidency is. 
Over the next 
seven years, 
you will meet 
Israelis from 
all walks of life, 
and let me tell 
you right now 
— you’ll want to embrace all 
of them. You’ll want to share 
their laughter and their tears; 
and all the excitement they 
experience.
I’m sure you feel that you 
already know this, having 
such extensive experience as 
a public servant, but believe 
me, you have yet to find out 
what a wonderful country 
we have and what wonderful 
people live among us. They 
will all find their way to your 
heart, where they will remain 
forever.
Amid the social rifts and 
polarity, you will find brave 
people who don’t speak of 
coexistence, they simply live 
it. Every day, every hour, 
in their homes and places 
of employment, in their 
visions, dreams and family. 
Secular with ultra-Orthodox, 
right-wingers and leftists, 
Jews and Arabs, veteran 
Israelis and immigrants, 
the young and the old, 
members of all religions, 
sectors and ethnicities — they 

are all Israelis. Beautiful, 
enlightening and kind. Kind 
beyond anything you can 
imagine.
These men and women 
have given me so much hope 
over the past seven years. 
Israeli hope, that’s what I 
called it, and I’m sure you will 
call it that as well, because 
they gave me hope that was 
quintessentially Israeli.
They were my beacon on 
the horizon and you, our dear 
president, will find that they 
are the horizon. You will find 
them in cities and rural areas, 
in hospitals, in the military, 
in the universities, in the 
police, in kindergartens and 
in schools, in the nearest and 
farthest localities, and on the 
street. You won’t even have to 
search. They will always be 
there, in happy moments, in 
the most difficult moments, 
and as storms loom near, as 
they so often do.
On some nights, you will 
lose sleep. Your mind will 
wander back to the soldiers 
you met at a checkpoint 
on the border; to the Lone 
Soldier who hasn’t seen his 
mother in six months — and 
you couldn’t be happier that 
he will attend the Passover 
seder at the President’s 
Residence.
You’ll think about the olim 
who came here at the height 
of the coronavirus pandemic; 
about the 12-year-old boy 
suffering from depression 
— actual clinical depression 
— you met while visiting 

the Geha Mental Health 
Center. Has his condition 
improved with time? And 
what about Yonatan Levy, 
still hospitalized with horrific 
injuries he suffered during 
the 2006 Second Lebanon 
War? And what about his 
mother, who never leaves his 
side? How is she doing?
And what about Yossi, 
the amazing IDF officer 
whose criminal record I had 
expunged so he can start a 
new life? He’ll be alright, 
right? And what about the 
daughter of Druze police 
officer Zidan Seif, who was 
murdered in a terrorist attack 
on a synagogue in Jerusalem? 
She was just four months old 
when her father was killed, 
and now she would be getting 
ready to start first grade.
You will look upon the 
photos of Hadar Goldin 
and Shaul Oron — and yes, 
you will lose sleep over 
them. Over our missing and 
captives. Over Ron Arad. 
Over the bereaved families. 
Your heart will break yet, 
somehow pound strongly and 
proudly to the beat of this 
nation’s story, just like mine 
did.
You will be proud. The 
president of this country has 
so much to be proud of. Here, 
it is the excitement that will 
keep you awake. Excitement 
over the overflowing crops 
in the fields, over the latest 
scientific invention and the 
advances in medicine, in 
research and in sports.

The excitement after 
meeting a 90-year-old 
woman who still volunteers, 
or another young woman 
who broke through the glass 
ceiling. When you watch the 
families of the three teens 
[Gilad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel 
and Eyal Yifrach, who were 
abducted and murdered by 
Hamas terrorists in 2014] 
present the Israel Unity 
Award year after year.
You will find everything 
suddenly exciting anew. 
Torah scholars and those 
who farm the land; Holocaust 
survivors, heroes of the 
revival, and the leaders in 
the fight against domestic 
violence. The list goes on — 
oh, how it goes on.
You will be surprised. 
Fall in love. Be proud. Take 
to heart. You will try to do 
everything to make things 
better and easier for them. 
You will work for them 
tirelessly with love.
Many times, while in 
meetings or traveling, I 
thought to myself that the 
title “Citizen No. 1” was born 
simply because this is the No. 
1 people. Today, I’m sure of it.
Here’s to you, Mr. 
President, and to this people. 
Long live the 11th president 
of the State of Israel. Long 
live the State of Israel.
Yours always,
Ruvi. 

Isaac Herzog was sworn in as 

president on July 7. This article first 

appeared in Israel Hayom.

Reuven 
Rivlin

An open letter from Israel’s former president, Reuven Rivlin, to 
the incoming president, Isaac Herzog.

