Knesset Speaker MK Reuven Rivlin met on Monday with some of the young Israelis who have been involved in the tent protest against the rise housing prices.

In his remarks, Rivlin congratulated the protesters for having succeeded in bringing attention to the issue of housing prices, and emphasized that protesting is an important part of democracy.

“There is no doubt that protesting is the peak of democracy, but from a peak we can only fall down,” said Rivlin, telling the protesters that while they should be congratulated for their efforts they should also take responsibility.

“We should understand that decisions are made by the elected officials. There’s no other way,” he said.

The Knesset, noted Rivlin, “works according to democratic standards and according to regulations. Of course, some of the laws which allow for the solving of certain difficulties are ultimately always controversial, be it a political controversy or a social controversy. The power struggle is something by which the elected officials are affected, since most of them know from where they come and to where they go and before whom they have to be held accountable.”

The Knesset Speaker emphasized that the “house” of the Knesset is also the home of the protesters, but noted that “this house is not a place in which ranks can be broken because the responsibility is on all of us.”

One of the protesters told Rivlin, “We all want to see this house as our house. We all want to treat this house with respect. All of us want to stay non-violent and keep this a social-popular protest. The road is very long and the government today has the choice of whether we walk this road hand-in-hand.”