Isaac Herzog pledged to heal deep divisions in Israeli society Wednesday as he took the oath of office to become Israel’s 11th president.
With one hand on a Bible before the Knesset — Israel’s parliament — Herzog, 60, assumed the largely ceremonial position that is designed to serve as the country’s moral compass.
Herzog promised to be “the president of everyone,” adding that the “central expectation” of all Israelis “from me, from all of us, is to lower the tone, to lower the flames, to calm things down.”
The parliament chamber was festooned with large bouquets of white lilies for the inauguration.