JERUSALEM: Former Labor party leader Isaac Herzog has been sworn in as the 11th president of Israel on Wednesday at the Knesset, replacing Reuven Rivlin. Herzog, aged 60, took his oath on Wednesday before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, reports by Xinhua.

Herzog was sworn in using the same Bible used to swear in his father, Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog.  In his first speech as president, Herzog vowed to serve the entire citizens of Israel. He said there is a need for a more moderate tone in Israeli politics and to stop the incitement that divides and polarizes Israeli society.

"The shared values are more brittle than ever," he said, adding that hate and incitement lead to "heavy prices" such as "harming our national resilience." He called for a greater integration of Arabs in society and to stop street violence and killings in Arab towns. "My mission, the task of my term, will be to do everything to rebuild hope" for the society, he said.

“I will set out to complete the task every morning to be the president for all,” Herzog said. “In normal times, this task would almost sound naive. Unfortunately, however, these are not normal times. These are days when statesmanship has been swept away by polarization; days in which the unifying ethos and the shared values are more fragile than ever.” He said.

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