First-time Knesset members Yoray Lahav Hertzanu (Blue and White), Evgeny Sova (Yisrael Beitenu) and Ofir Katz (Likud) delivered their inaugural speeches in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday and presented the issues they plan to advance in parliament.

“I am an enthusiastic Zionist,” MK Lahav Hertzanu said as he opened his speech, noting that he became an MK “out of a genuine sense of purpose.”

“There is currently a major crisis between my generation and the leadership of this country. The government that has been governing in Israel for more than a decade has chosen to shirk its responsibility and give up on our future here,” he told the plenum.

“Why don’t all the children have the tools to succeed? Why does it matter if you were born in Gush Etzion, Beit Shemesh or Givatayim? Why is it preferable not to get injured in a number of cities in Israel after 4 [pm] because the health services [in those] cities are insufficient? Why is it okay that my partner Tzafrir and I have to save more than half a million shekels to bring children to the world? How is it okay that teenagers do not enlist just because they have a party which organizes a ‘combina’ for them?”

“I was elected to the Knesset to fight for the values on which I was raised and educated – values of tolerance and mutual respect, which are under a head-on attack from within the government, by the government. These values draw their strength as much from the values of Judaism as they do from the values of democracy.”

A “divisive and inciting” discourse exists in Israeli society, argued MK Lahav Hertzanu. “I am here to lead a different discourse that is based on acceptance and recognition, out of the understanding that the diversity of Israeli society is the source of social resilience. Judaism should not humiliate those who are not Jews.”

MK Lahav Hertzanu pledged to be the voice of young people in Israel, “the voice that will promote the freedom of each and every one of us.”

MK Sova opened his speech by describing his immigration to Israel: “22 years ago, I stepped off the plane at Ben-Gurion Airport as a 17-year-old who made Aliyah to Israel alone. I never dreamed that someday I would be standing here. Now I know very well that Israel is the land of limitless opportunities. A country in which a new immigrant can go far – and become either a defense minister, foreign minister, absorption minister or speaker of the Knesset.”

“The State of Israel was built by olim (new immigrants) in a gathering of exiles, a dream that was realized after 2,000 years,” he said. “Our country leans on the power of Aliyah; Aliyah from all over the world. Aliyah will continue to be our growth engine in the coming years, and I am very proud to represent the olim in Knesset Yisrael. They sent me here, and I thank them for it.”

MK Sova said olim have contributed to the prosperity of Israel’s economy and helped shape Israeli society. “Over the past three decades, tens of thousands of physicians, scientists, engineers, teachers and other [professionals] have made Aliya from the former Soviet Union. Israel has made a huge leap in all fields – infrastructure, medicine, education, science and even space. And, of course, in the area of security as well. We have proven our right to the State of Israel through the military service, and, unfortunately, some of the olim paid for the country with their lives. To our regret, there are quite a few families that have joined the circle of bereavement.”

MK Sova said he was touched by the fact that Vladimir Lubarsky, father of Ronen Lubarsky, the elite Duvdevan unit soldier who was killed a year ago during operational activity, was viewing his speech from the visitors’ gallery. “I have accompanied the family throughout this past year, and I will continue to do so as a member of Knesset,” he said.

MK Sova said he plans to advance legislation aimed at protecting IDF soldiers and members of Israel’s security forces. “This is the immunity law we should be dealing with,” he stated.

MK Katz (Likud) addressed the insufficient health services provided in Israel’s outlying areas, compared with central Israel. “The statistics don’t lie. At the end of the day, the life expectancy of the residents of the periphery is significantly lower compared with Tel Aviv and the central region in general,” he stated.

“In every possible parameter, the residents of the north and the south are at the bottom of the list,” he added. “I have come here to change these statistics, and I plan to focus all of my energy on changing this unbelievable equation.”

“Over the past few years, the government of Israel has taken important steps in order to close the gaps, and I plan to continue, all the more forcefully, the effort to narrow the gap in health services between the residents of the periphery and those of [central Israel].”

Addressing Israeli children, MK Katz said “You can do anything, regardless of where you live. You can be whoever you want to be, regardless of which family you are from. As a child, I was just like you, and if I am here, so can you, and I will do all I can to help you realize your Israeli dream.”