When the new Israeli president danced a long time ago .....text in English
WATCH: When Israel’s President danced and sang
Reuven Rivlin has been known for decades as one of the most entertaining politicians. 27 years ago, when he was a municipal politician, Rivlin performed a song and dance to honor Teddy Kolleck, who was the mayor of Jerusalem.
Reuven Rivlin, who was elected to be the 10th president of Israel, does not always have an official image of himself and the video above shows that Rivlin, who was always known for his sense of humor, was in the 80’s a local politician who dreamed of one day becoming mayor and replacing the legendary Teddy Kolleck.
In 1987, a year before moving to national politics, Rivlin participated in a tribute to Kolleck, even though both were members of competing political parties. In the same year, Nathan Datner and Avi Kushnir performed in the Eurovision Song Competition the song “Shir Habatlinim.”
In Jerusalem, they decided to return to the song that was very popular with two local politicians, Uzi Baram from the Labor and Rivlin from the Likud. Rivlin took advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate his theatrical talent: “In rehearsals, it quickly became clear that he was a better dancer and I was a better singer,” Baram recalls.
“Each morning, Teddy got up, 5:00am or 5:30am, where there was still dark outside,” Rivlin sang in suits and sunglasses with Kolleck, who was then 76, just one year older than Rivlin is today. “Let’s go, let’s go, it’s a birthday and only the beginning,” Kolleck stated in the song with a smile.
In 1988, Rivlin entered the Knesset, but only for one term and then he was voted out. Rivlin later on joined a satire program on Israel’s Channel 2 News, with the understanding that appearing on television helps people to return to the Knesset: “A person who has a good sense of humor, loves sports, and does not take himself too seriously will be good in the presidential house,” Yair Nitzani, who participated with him in the program, stated following the election of Rivlin.