Israeli President Reuven Rivlin casts his ballot. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Sunday that the new Israeli government will have to serve “all the citizens of Israel,” and called for the country to begin a “healing process” after a stormy election campaign that highlighted deep internal divisions.

Rivlin serves a mostly ceremonial role and he has positioned himself as a unifier since taking office last year. One of his few actual powers is being able to choose the person with the best chances of putting together a coalition government after elections. Throughout a close election campaign it looked like he would have a crucial role to play after the vote but a resounding victory by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has made his considerations mostly moot.

Read full story at US News & World Report.