A memorial plaque commemorating Joseph Shprinzak, the first Speaker of the Knesset, was unveiled Thursday outside the Tel Aviv building in which he lived.
 
During the dedication ceremony, Speaker of the Knesset Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (Likud), “If there is disagreement over a comment made during an election campaign – that’s a good sign. It proves that [Israel’s] democracy is strong and growing.”
 
“The plaque we [erected] today guarantees that every person who walks down this street will know that the person who lived here planted the first flowers of Israeli democracy, which we are so proud of,” Speaker Edelstein added. “In his actions and writings, Joseph Shprinzak was ‘the last generation of slavery and the first of the redemption’ – and he laid strong foundations for all the generations that will follow his.”
 
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said, “These days, the country is raging in an election campaign that will determine the character of the next Knesset, and it seems that there is no better time to once again praise the work of the person who perhaps contributed most to establishing the Israeli legislature’s patterns – to shaping it as a stage for free and civil debate, as the main symbol of Israeli democracy and its main protector.”