With Herzog, the Knesset has elected the more politically experienced candidate to the highest office in the land. However, the majority of Israelis would have preferred his challenger.
Yitzhak Herzog was elected the eleventh president of the State of Israel on Wednesday. In a secret ballot in the Knesset, he received 87 out of 120 votes. His opponent, Miriam Peretz, received 26 votes. While the outcome of the election was considered open, as the largest parliamentary party, Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, had allowed its members to vote freely, Herzog was still seen as the favorite.
The 60-year-old was the more politically experienced candidate. He was a member of the Knesset from 2003 to 2018. He served in various ministerial positions and was leader of the opposition for the Zionist Union, a social-democratic party alliance that no longer exists. Herzog currently serves as chairman of the Jewish Agency, an immigrant organization.
An Israeli royal
Herzog comes from a family that, as some observers jokingly point out, is the closest thing to a royal-aristocratic one in Israel. Many of his family members have close ties to the state. Herzog's grandfather, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel. His father, Chaim Herzog, who served as an officer in the British military and participated in the Normandy landings, was the sixth president of Israel. Herzog's mother, Aura, initiated the famous Bible quiz in the late 1950s, which is still held annually on Independence Day.
Unlike Herzog, the 67-year-old opponent, Peretz, has no political experience to her name. This earned her sympathy from some, while other commentators saw it as a major weakness. The widow became known primarily for losing two of her sons in combat in 1998 and 2010. Had all Israelis been able to vote, Peretz would likely have won. Several polls indicated she was the more popular candidate. The Sephardic woman, who lives in a settlement north of Jerusalem, was supported by, among others, members of the right-wing Religious Zionist party.
Politicization of the office
In Israel, as in Germany, the president's duties are primarily representative, including receiving accreditations from foreign ambassadors and meeting with state guests. He is meant to reflect "the good, proper, moral, and unique character of the Israeli people," as the Supreme Court once stated. Ideally, he plays hardly any role in day-to-day politics.
The term of office of Herzog's predecessor, Reuven Rivlin, which officially ends on July 9, has shown that even the head of state can be politicized. Rivlin was repeatedly accused by Netanyahu's inner circle of plotting against the prime minister. Amid the domestic political deadlock, Rivlin repeatedly had to decide whom to task with forming a government. Even before Herzog's election, there were political discussions. Observers were particularly interested in whether it was conceivable that the new incumbent would pardon Netanyahu should he be convicted of corruption.
