Today, Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset elected Isaac Herzog as President of Israel, succeeding the current President Reuven Rivlin, who ended a 7-year term.
Thus, Herzog, 60, the former leader of the left-wing Labor Party, became the 11th president of Israel.
Herzog won with 87 votes, compared to 26 votes for his opponent, social activist Miriam Peretz.
Herzog – the son of former Israeli President Chaim Herzog – is the head of the Jewish Agency’s administration, and has previously held the leadership of the Labor Party in addition to several ministerial positions.
It is noteworthy that the position of the president in Israel is honorary and his powers are limited, and are limited to accepting the credentials of ambassadors and assigning representatives to form governments in addition to pardoning prisoners.