President Reuven Rivlin's speech during the opening ceremony for the Knesset's winter session Oct. 23 was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the opposition benches. It was yet another expression of the distress they feel in the era of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For a fleeting moment, it was easy to believe that Rivlin, the Likud Party’s "flesh and blood," was actually the leader of the opposition. He used the sharpest, most determined language he could in attacking the current government, warning that it is leading Israel down a dangerous path. He cautioned against the loss of respect for the official markers of statehood and the government institutions vital for the preservation of democracy.

Rivlin's speech was a stinging indictment of Netanyahu and his right-wing government. It dominated the agenda and captured all the headlines while underscoring the absence of a united Knesset opposition. Rather than rising as the main body to critique the government and drive political dialogue, the opposition has proved yet again that it is divided and leaderless. With so many of its members flirting openly with the right, they simply avoid criticizing the government.

Then there were the official leaders of the opposition: Zionist Camp Chairman Avi Gabbay, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid and the official leader of the opposition, Isaac Herzog. In their public statements and speeches, they claim that Netanyahu’s rule is nearing its end, but in internal party discussions, they admit that the government is stable and could survive another year.

Rivlin's speech was a poignant response to the disturbing wave of predatory and anti-democratic legislation spearheaded by the prime minister himself. As such, it was readily adopted by Netanyahu's rivals from the center to the left. There was, however, an obvious paradox in Rivlin's remarks. On one hand, the president spoke of the importance of officialdom and the need to preserve and protect the state's institutions and symbols from the populist discourse and legislation advanced by the coalition. On the other hand, that Rivlin took such a clear stance and offered such resounding criticism of the government was a violation of officialdom and the traditional distance from politics that characterizes the presidency.