Presidential candidates Miriam Peretz and Isaac Herzog were given offices at the Knesset on Sunday to use to run their campaigns for the June 2 race for president.
Peretz said she was emotional about receiving the office but she would instead travel between the offices of the MKs and request their support.
“The responses and the praise I have received since announcing my candidacy have been heartwarming,” she said. “I thank the citizens of Israel from the bottom of my heart for their support. I believe and I hope that support will be expressed in the voting of the majority of the Knesset. I will be working to achieve that.”
Peretz referred to the President’s Residence in Hebrew in the feminine form.
She called Herzog a “dear gentleman who I respect, love and appreciate” but said Israel needed a new kind of president who comes from the people.
Herzog called Peretz a worthy and respectable opponent. He said he hoped the election would be fair, good and successful.
In an interview with Yediot Aharonot over the weekend, Peretz addressed the question of how she would react if elected and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought a pardon from her in his criminal cases. She responded that Netanyahu has not been convicted.
“I believe in our legal system in Israel and in law and order,” she said. “Pardoning is a long process that entails, first of all, a conviction in court, sitting in prison and requesting a pardon. From the state’s attorney’s office, it goes to the justice minister and then the president. The system is not automatic. If and when we would get to such a moment, I would use my best judgment.”