Isaac Herzog Is Selected as Israel’s New President

This week, Herzog earned 87 of 120 Knesset votes to defeat social activist Miriam Peretz, CBN News reports. Herzog will replace President Reuven Rivlin.

Herzog’s term starts July 9 and runs for seven years.

Herzog is currently the head of the Jewish Agency, an Israeli non-profit organization that works to help Jews worldwide relocate to Israel. Herzog is also the former head of Israel’s Labor Party.

He is no stranger to politics. Herzog’s father served as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and his grandfather was Israel’s first chief rabbi. His uncle also served as Israel’s first foreign minister and also ambassador to the U.S. and the U.N.

In 2013, he also tried unsuccessfully to beat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in elections.

Netanyahu, himself, released a statement about Herzog on Wednesday.

“I wish him luck in the name of all Israeli citizens,” he said. “I thank Miriam Peretz for her honorable candidacy and am certain she will continue to contribute to Israeli society, as she has done her entire life.”

The role of the president in Israel is largely ceremonial, but the president does choose which political leader must form a government coalition to become prime minister.

Israel is already facing a bizarre scenario to choose the next prime minister. The country has been unable to form a government coalition and Israel has since held four national elections in the past two years to elect a new prime minister.

Currently, Netanyahu’s opponents have until midnight Wednesday to push through a new government coalition. If they succeed, Netanyahu will step down from the role he has held for 12 years. If a government coalition cannot be formed, the country will likely face another national election in the fall.

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Ilia Yefimovich/Stringer

Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.