Mickey Levy of Yesh Atid elected new Knesset speaker

MPs voted Sunday night to replace Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin with Yesh Atid MP Mickey Levy, before the new government is confirmed.

The vote for Levy was passed with the support of 67 MPs after Shas MP Yaakov Margi failed to secure a majority.

Levy said he preferred not to give a speech, as Labor MP Emilie Moatti had arrived at the Knesset plenum straight from the hospital so that he could vote for the new president and new government. Levy said he would prefer to allow Moatti to return to the hospital as soon as possible and would postpone his first speech as a speaker to a later date. Moatti herself voted while lying down, unable to stand up due to a rare side effect she experienced while undergoing a lumbar puncture, which caused cerebrospinal fluid to leak.

מדהימה- אמלי מצביעה בשכיבה. ניקור מותני יש לה תופעת לוואי נדירה של דליפה מעמוד השדרה שלא מאפשרת לה לעמוד (לשכתה אישרה את פרסום) pic.twitter.com/2NgUvQ2ibM

– ליאל (@DaphnaLiel) June 13, 2021

Moatti was the first MP to vote for the new government, before being immediately taken back to hospital.

Levy is a former Jerusalem police chief and has been in the Knesset for eight years.

He lost a brother in combat and one in a traffic accident.

Levin’s one-year tenure was full of turmoil. He shut down much of the Knesset for much of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic and imposed unprecedented restrictions on the press.

The outgoing speaker said it was an honor to fulfill this role during such a difficult time.

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Mickey Levy of Yesh Atid elected new Knesset speaker