Members of Knesset,
During the winter session we will again address the improvement of the system of government in Israel. This is a national interest, and I intend to focus special efforts on this issue. Two central principles will guide us in formulating a proposal for the improvement of the system – increasing government stability and enhancing the Government's ability to govern. These two principles will allow us to address the chronic instability which characterizes the political system in Israel, and provide the Government with the platform needed to maintain an effective and functioning system of government.
I am convinced that the vast majority of those sitting here, from both the coalition and opposition, fully grasp the importance of changing the system. I cannot downplay the significance of these constitutional changes. This is not an easy task, and it compels us to find the correct balance between the need to represent the various sectors of society and the necessity to enable the Government to make decisions and carry them out.
Members of Knesset,
Since the establishment of the State, we legislators, elected public officials, have been building the constitutional infrastructure of Israeli democracy patch by patch. This is what our constitutional infrastructure looks like – a fabric comprised entirely of patches, which does not fit the complex reality in which we live.
After sixty years, it is time for the State of Israel to have a constitution.
During recent years, the Knesset Constitution, Law & Justice Committee – previously chaired by MK Michael Eitan and currently chaired by MK Prof. Menachem Ben-Sasson – has been engaged, with care and diligence which deserve full praise, in preparing a proposal for a full constitution. I call to enlist to this mission.
I hope that with the approach of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the State of Israel, an agreed upon proposal for a constitution – and I emphasize agreed upon – will be tabled at the Knesset for first reading. I know that this is not a simple task, but I believe that it is in the power of this Knesset to rise above other considerations and be part of this historic process.
It will, in my view, be the greatest gift the Knesset can bestow upon the State of Israel at the dawn of its seventh decade.
The constitutional process we are leading is slated to regulate civilian life in the State of Israel, including the ongoing conflict between religious and secular.
Source: The Prime Minister's Office: http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng