Jewish Agency Decides to Let New Candidates Join Race Until Nov. 17

The Jewish Agency chairmanship selection committee decided Monday to allow new candidates to join until Nov. 17, in addition to the current eight contestants.

The selection committee rejected a request by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid for four additional months for the government to field a new candidate to replace Intelligence Services Minister Elazar Stern, who quit the race after a scandal last week.

Instead, the committee decided that not only Lapid but anyone can field a new candidate over the next month. The committee will then make its decision within a month.

Meanwhile, World Zionist Organization chairman Yaakov Hagoel will remain as acting Agency chairman, a post he has held since Yitzchak Herzog was elected president in July.

Stern’s departure left eight candidates: ANU museum director Irina Nevzlin, Yerushalayim Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nachum, Bar-Ilan University law professor Yaffa Zilbershats, and former MKs Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Danny Danon, Uzi Dayan, Michael Oren and Omer Yankelevich.