MKs Lavie, Cabel win Outstanding Parliamentarian Award

The MKs received their awards at a ceremony in Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein’s office, with the heads of their respective parties present.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Updated: JULY 22, 2015 01:30
From left: IDI President Yohanan Plesner, Eitan Cabel, Aliza Lavie, and Yuli Edelstein (photo credit: KNESSET SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)
From left: IDI President Yohanan Plesner, Eitan Cabel, Aliza Lavie, and Yuli Edelstein
(photo credit: KNESSET SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)
The Israel Democracy Institute declared MKs Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid) and Eitan Cabel (Zionist Union) the Outstanding Parliamentarians of 2014 on Tuesday.
The IDI committee, led by former deputy Supreme Court president Theodor Or, determined that Lavie “worked tirelessly... as the chairwoman of the Committee on the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality in the 19th Knesset. She also distinguished herself through the legislation she advanced, especially in the area of prevention of sexual harassment, her plenary speeches and her use of the Knesset’s Research and Information Center.”
Cabel, who was Labor faction chairman in 2014, “worked vigorously and stood out for his work in the Knesset plenary, his legislative activity and his involvement in Knesset caucuses,” the committee wrote. “Among other things, he promoted legislation in a wide range of areas, such as consumer protection and prevention of cruelty to animals.”
The MKs received their awards at a ceremony in Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein’s office, with the heads of their respective parties present.
IDI president Yohanan Plesner said the award is meant to publicly express appreciation for the MKs’ work.
“Too often, public discourse is characterized by shallowness and headline-seeking. For this reason, we believe that it is worth providing incentives and expressing our appreciation for public officials who spearheaded important activities and contributed greatly to the Knesset’s work,” he stated.
Edelstein said he is happy that the MKs who won the award are those who are able to combine media attention with serious parliamentary work, and prove that it is possible to have both.
“The Knesset is my second home,” Cabel said upon winning the award. “Even after many years, every day feels like my first day here. Another parliamentary question, another motion to the agenda, another speech in the plenum – I really get excited, because I love my work. The Knesset is very important to me and the State of Israel.”
Lavie called the award a dream come true, and that it is important to believe in what the Knesset can do.
“We must continue working on having an egalitarian society, on advancing the status of women and gender equality. I promise to continue,” she said.