Jewish Agency Chairman Herzog Announces Candidacy for Presidency

Jewish Agency Chairman, former Labor chairman Yitzchak (Buzi) Herzog, formally announced on Wednesday that he will run in the June 2 race for president, hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father, Chaim Herzog, who was Israel’s sixth president.

Herzog will present his candidacy for the position of 11th president of the State to the 24th Knesset on Wednesday. Herzog informed the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Agency that he would be taking unpaid leave until after the presidential election.

Herzog wrote: “In this moment of crisis, we must all stand up for the State. I believe that the next president of the State of Israel will be required to reconnect the rift between us. Therefore, with reverence and gravity, I announce my intention to run for president of the State of Israel. ”

Other candidates who have officially announced that they are running are former Labor Party minister Shimon Shetreet, former Likud MK Yehudah Glick, former Labor MK Michael Bar-Zohar and solar energy pioneer Yosef Abramowitz. Israel Prize winning educator Miriam Peretz and possibly Yehoram Gaon will join the race. To run, they will need the support of at least ten MKs.