Rivlin: I don't expect all Israelis to be Zionists

President Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday that he does not expect every Israeli citizen to be a Zionist and that non-Zionists can still be Israeli.

Rivlin made the statement at the 16th annual Herzliya Conference, the same event at which he warned last year of Israeli society's deterioration into four distinct "tribes" with vastly different approaches: the ultra-Orthodox, the national religious, the Arab sector and the secular Jewish sector.

This year, the conference was held at the President's Residence under the title "Shared Israeli Hope: Vision or Dream-"

In his keynote address, Rivlin confronted claims that he was a "post-Zionist," which circulated after his speech last year.

"I am a Zionist, as I believe in the need for a political and national homeland for the Jewish people," he said.

"Do I expect all citizens of Israel to be Zionists? No.

"Not all Jews sing 'Hatikvah' [the national anthem]. There are Jews who are not Zionists. Do they not have the right to be Israelis? Is everyone who deals with issues of Israeli identity a post-Zionist-"

Rivlin added that "Israeli society is at a crossroads. Now is the time to decide where we are going."

He pointed out the major roadblocks to change: "Politics fed by extremism and serving to encourage the entrenchment of tribalism; a public system that has not yet understood the changes undergone by society and has not yet itself been diversified; and alongside this, a social system based on the divides between sectors -- in the media, in the economy, and above all, in education."

Rivlin described four "engines for change" that could bring about "Israeli hope": public service, academia and the labor market, partnership between local councils, and the education system.

"The first system is public service, particularly government offices, which will be a true engine for change only if they strive relentlessly to properly represent the public they serve -- especially the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs," he said.

The second potential driver of change, academia and the labor market, "are now adapted primarily to two of the tribes -- but there are two more, the haredim and the Arabs, that have been left behind." He added that "utilizing Israeli manpower and talent, especially from the haredi and Arab sectors, is the most important engine of change, and is what separates us from a path toward foretold economic collapse."

After addressing the importance of cooperation among the leaders of the different sectors, Rivlin spoke about the education system.

"Education for partnership must be an engine for change. The education system is also divided," he said.

"We cannot continue raising our children in the darkness of mutual ignorance, suspicion and alienation; children who do not speak Hebrew and Arabic, who cannot talk to one another and understand each other."

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