The Knesset will mark on Monday 60 years since the building’s inauguration with a special open house event held on the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat.
The event celebrating Israel’s parliament is expected to host more than 2,000 visitors, including soldiers, police officers, Holocaust survivors, and students from schools and kindergartens across the country.
New robots belonging to the Knesset are planned to guide the public on tours throughout the building.
An honorary guard ceremony is also expected to be held in the Knesset plaza. This will involve members of the Knesset Guard dressed in ceremonial uniforms, marching across the Knesset plaza.
The ceremony will culminate with the raising of the national flag in the plaza.
In the morning, special tree-planting ceremonies will take place, keeping with the tradition of the Tu Bishvat holiday.
In the afternoon, a ceremonial session will be held in the Knesset’s plenum to mark the anniversary of its establishment. A traditional prayer service will also take place in the Knesset synagogue earlier in the day.
Visitors are also expected to receive surprise gift bags, paying homage to the historic pins distributed at the 1966 inauguration ceremony.
Before 1966, the Knesset was based in a different building, also known as the Froumine House, located on King George Street in Jerusalem’s city center. The old building has now been restored into the Knesset Museum.
The Knesset was transferred in 1966 to the new building in the government complex located in Jerusalem’s Givat Ram area.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said that the Knesset building represents “renewed sovereignty in the national home of the Jewish people, marking 60 years of parliamentary activity.”
“We are delighted to host Israel’s citizens in the people’s house, renewed and modern, combining innovation with heritage,” he added.
“The building is one of Israel’s most recognizable and beautiful landmarks, and within its walls the Jewish people have experienced moments of great elevation as well as difficult hours, as we have seen in recent years.”
“Everyone is invited to get to know the Knesset’s past and present and thereby help build a better future for the State of Israel,” Ohana said.
The Agriculture Ministry will participate in displaying artistic installations throughout the building of the Knesset.
There will be a three-meter-tall figure of Theodor Herzl, constructed entirely from Israeli fruits and vegetables.
The agricultural exhibition will also include a display of Israel’s dairy industry with interactive stations telling the story of Israeli agriculture.