11-Year-Old Boy Volunteers To Mow Knesset’s Concrete Plaza

The plaza, which covers the area between the security gates and the entrance to the parliament building itself, features no plant life.

Jerusalem, September 17 – Inspired by the civic spirit of an American preteen who volunteered to cut the grass on the White House lawn, an Israeli youth has offered his services in mowing the expanse of concrete that leads to the main entrance of the Israeli parliamentary compound.

Roi Ziv, a sixth-grader from Ramat HaSharon, told reporters today that when he heard Virginia resident Frank Giaccio had fulfilled his wish of pushing a lawnmower around the grass at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he knew he could offer the same service at the Knesset plaza, where many official ceremonies of state take place, and where not a single blade of grass grows.

“That boy’s idea really caught my imagination,” recalled Roi, the second of three children. “If I could push a lawnmower around that big empty space near the Knesset, that would be the Israeli equivalent, and I’d love to be the one to do it.”

The plaza, which covers the area between the security gates and the entrance to the parliament building itself, features no plant life, though a strip of sometimes-green grass lies adjacent to the concrete-and-stone expanse. Dignitaries or local officials on occasion lay floral wreaths at a memorial on the site, which otherwise remains solidly without need of lawn care. Roi has launched an online campaign with a petition that calls for the administration of the compound to allow him to repeat Frank Giaccio’s feat.

“I know Frank got to meet President Trump, but I don’t need that,” he insisted. “From what I hear Frank wasn’t even interested when the president came up to him to talk. It’s not important to him or to me. I don’t even need to meet with [President of Israel Reuven] Rivlin. If I wanted, I’d be asking to mow the lawn at the presidential residence, which I understand does have an actual lawn.”

Roi’s peers have helped move the campaign along. “We started a whole thing on Facebook and Instagram,” boasted his classmate Calanit. “Our teacher is all, ‘Oh, they’re going to learn about the democratic process and the power of popular will,’ but come on. This is about hype and how far it can take you. I hope they let him use a riding mower, because those things are cool.”

A Knesset administration representative appeared amenable to the idea. “It’ll be no weirder than anything else that goes on in this compound,” stated a member of the Knesset security team. “Remember, this is the place that gives the likes of Oren Hazan a stage for his shenanigans.”

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