(6.5.2016) Speaking at Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, Rivlin said: “Sometimes I am shocked by what looks like the erosion of our national respect, by the peculiar linking up with the voices of falsehood among the extreme right in parts of Europe.”

The president, a largely ceremonial position, proceeded to link his criticism of Israeli political relations with far-right European parties to Likud’s decision to invite Strache. Rivlin is himself a member of the Likud party.