Jewish Agency chief Isaac Herzog announces candidacy for president

19 May 2021, 11:51 am

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Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, February 18, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Jewish Agency chairman and former Labor Party chief Isaac Herzog formally announces his candidacy to become Israel’s next president, ahead of a midnight deadline.

Herzog, whose father Chaim was president, is considered the frontrunner to replace Reuven Rivlin. He will present the necessary signatures of at least 10 lawmakers later today. The vote for the next president will be held among Knesset members on June 2 in a secret ballot.

Herzog says he has taken unpaid leave from the Jewish Agency until after the presidential election.

“My personal family history and years-long public experience have taught me to never take the miracle of the existence of the State of Israel for granted,” Herzog says in a statement.