Avraham (Avrum) Burg: The president who does not know how to ask

Avraham Burg analyzes President Herzog's questions to faction representatives and claims they constituted a loyalty test for Arabs only, while Jews were asked political questions. He calls this 'lordship' and asserts that the president sees Jews as a coalition issue and Arabs as a legitimacy problem.

Avraham (Avrum) Burg, former Speaker of the Knesset, analyzes in an opinion column the questions posed by President Isaac Herzog to faction representatives at the President's Residence. Burg argues that the president applied a loyalty test to Arab MKs (Ra'am and the Joint List), repeatedly asking them whether Hamas is a terrorist organization and whether they recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, while Jewish representatives were asked political questions about coalitions. Burg details questions he believes should have been asked of Likud, the Haredi parties, Otzma Yehudit, and Orit Strock on issues of rule of law, democracy, women's conscription, and disturbances in the West Bank. He concludes that the president sees Jews as 'a coalition issue' and Arabs as 'a legitimacy problem,' calling this 'lordship.' The tone is personal and sharp, using a metaphor from the Passover Haggadah about the son who does not know how to ask.