Elharrar, Folkmann win outstanding Knesset member award

Edelstein calls for better parliamentary behavior, citing winners as setting an example.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Updated: JULY 18, 2017 02:26
MKs Karin Elharrar and Roi Folkmann (center) win the Israel Democracy Institute's Outstanding Parliamentarian Award, July 17, 2017 (photo credit: ODED ANTMAN)
MKs Karin Elharrar and Roi Folkmann (center) win the Israel Democracy Institute's Outstanding Parliamentarian Award, July 17, 2017
(photo credit: ODED ANTMAN)
MK Roy Folkman of Kulanu and Knesset State Control Committee chairwoman Karin Elharar of Yesh Atid were awarded the Israel Democracy Institute’s Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in the Knesset Monday.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein commended the lawmakers for their professionalism: “This prize proves that one can succeed and achieve without cursing and bullying.”
Edelstein warned that the Knesset is “at a crossroads” in which MKs consistently break the accepted norms of parliamentary discourse and behavior.
“I miss the rules of the game that we used to have. People are very comfortable in the Knesset not thinking about the other side, and that maybe one day they’ll be on that side. We have to think about how to bring back the rules of the game to the Knesset,” Edelstein said.
Israel Democracy Institute president Yohanan Plesner said the winning MKs “set an example of in-depth, continuous work for the good of the Israeli public.”
The award committee gave Elharar the prize because “she acted determinedly as chairwoman of the State Control Committee to oversee the executive branch... and used a variety of parliamentary tools to promote social issues like protecting the rights of people with disabilities.”
Elharar said she was “proud to wake up every morning and work for the public, especially those in the public who are not heard.
“I believe in the Knesset’s ability to change reality for people,” she added.
Folkman won the award, the committee said, because “he acted to strengthen the Knesset through a reform in the relations between the government and the Knesset, integrated haredi workers in various branches of the market, removed bureaucratic obstacles and promoted pension rights.”
The Kulanu lawmaker said: “Good MKs come in different shapes, but I am sure that in order to bring back the public’s trust in the Knesset, we need professionalism, agreements, quiet and the rules of the game.”