Several days earlier, on the afternoon of May 15, Austrian Ambassador Hannah Liko tweeted, “There was just a rocket impact in Ramat Gan close to the Austrian Embassy. Luckily we’re all safe. This has to stop immediately.”
In Germany, Israeli Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff tweeted, “An exceptional and heart-warming gesture by Christine Lambrecht, the federal minister of justice, in flying the Israel flag a sign of solidarity and support for Israel and her determination to do all in her power to combat antisemitism. Thank you for your friendship.”
■ IT APPEARS that after mounting campaigns and garnishing a fair amount of media coverage, nearly all the would-be presidents of Israel have dropped out of the race, or to be more accurate, did not present their endorsed candidature by the deadline of midnight this past Wednesday. The only candidates left standing are Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog and Israel Prize laureate Miriam Peretz, each of whom submitted their candidature on deadline day.
Herzog was favored to become Israel’s 11th president long before then, but refused to confirm that he was a candidate, saying that as the president is elected by members of Knesset, he had to wait and see who would be part of the legislature at the time of the elections. Although there have been a lot of new faces in the Knesset since Herzog stepped down in 2018 to take up the chairmanship of the Jewish Agency, there are still enough MKs who served on various committees with him and know him well.
If it was an appointment rather than an election, Herzog would definitely be the most qualified. Admittedly, American-born Yehudah Glick and Yosef Abramowitz, who failed to get sufficient endorsements, might have a better command of English. Herzog, however, spent three years at an American Jewish day school when his father was Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, and speaks English as if it was his native tongue with only the slightest trace of a foreign accent, the origins of which cannot be pinpointed.
As cabinet secretary, Herzog, a lawyer by profession, learned everything there is to know about the functions of government. As a member of Knesset, he served on numerous committees including, among others, finance, constitution, law and justice, foreign affairs and defense, immigrant absorption and Diaspora affairs, appointment of judges, and victims of violence and racism in sport. As minister of tourism, welfare and social service, Diaspora affairs and the fight against antisemitism, Herzog interacted with a wide swath of society both in Israel and abroad, and was very familiar with the international Jewish leadership. As leader of the opposition in the Knesset, Herzog met with nearly all the visiting foreign dignitaries who met with the prime minister. He also developed warm relations with several members of the diplomatic corps.
Over the past three years, as chairman of the Jewish Agency, Herzog has been involved in many of the above-mentioned issues, most of which in one way or another come to the attention of the president of the state. At 60, Herzog is five years younger than was his father, Chaim Herzog, when he became Israel’s sixth president. However, he is not the youngest of those no longer in the race. Glick is 55 and Abramowitz 57. Nor if he wins will Herzog be the youngest-ever president. That honor goes to Moshe Katsav who was 55. Ephraim Katzir and Yitzhak Navon were both 57. Shimon Peres was the oldest person to become president, taking on the role at age 84 and completing the full seven-year term. Michael Bar Zohar, who dropped out of the race on Wednesday, when he realized that he had no chance of winning, is 83. He asked all the people who had endorsed him to vote for Herzog.
A reserve major in the IDF, Herzog, as minister of tourism, was drafted in 2006 to be a spokesman for Israel during the Second Lebanon War. His numerous speaking engagements to local and foreign media, solidarity groups and visiting politicians from abroad, left him almost sleepless for an entire month.
Netanyahu, who was then leader of the opposition, was also drafted as one of Israel’s most articulate spokesmen, and likewise went almost without sleep for more than a month.
Abramowitz, who is globally recognized for bringing solar energy to desolate villages, did not have sufficient political clout or connections.
Glick, though very earnest about promoting national unity, which is one of the main tasks of every president of Israel, is too controversial a figure, and was regarded as unlikely to compromise his activism in relation to having Jews pray on the Temple Mount, which is perhaps why he was unable to muster sufficient endorsements.
Prof. Shimon Shetreet, who was an early-bird candidate and is an internationally renowned professor of law, seemed to have a good chance of winning before Herzog joined the race, but in the final analysis was unable to find 10 supporters.
Yehoram Gaon is one of the most popular singers in the country, and a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem. But over the years, his finger simply wasn’t deep enough in the political pie. In 1993, he ran for mayor of Jerusalem but lost to Ehud Olmert.
If Miriam Peretz, 66, emerges the winner – which would be tough going as members of the ultra-Orthodox parties are unlikely to vote for her – she will be Israel’s first female president, though Dalia Itzik, when speaker of the Knesset, was briefly acting president when Moshe Katsav suspended himself from office after criminal charges were brought against him.
Peretz, the daughter of illiterate immigrant parents, is a long-time educator with a BA in literature and history from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Since the loss of two of her sons in the course of their army service, she has adopted the IDF and has become a source of comfort to families whose own sons and daughters have paid the supreme sacrifice while on active duty. A passionate, charismatic public speaker in Hebrew, she demonstrates neither passion nor charisma when she delivers a speech in English. While her English is passable, it is not fluid, and she makes numerous grammatical mistakes. Over the past year, many people urged her to run for the presidency, but she was hesitant. Her eventual decision was spurred by the devastation caused by missile assaults from Gaza.
■ WHILE PRIME Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Ashkenazi were briefing ambassadors and other foreign diplomats in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin remained well aware of the animosity and racism that are prevalent at sports events, particularly soccer games in which there are Arab players on either or both of the competing teams. This is even more so when his own favorite team, Beitar Jerusalem, plays Bnei Sakhnin. So he called together some of the leading figures in soccer. That included inter alia Mahamad Abu Yunes, the owner of Bnei Sakhnin, who gets along fine with Beitar Jerusalem owner Moshe Hogeg, but finds it difficult to contend with La Familia, a group of racist hooligans who are among the most enthusiastic fans of Beitar Jerusalem, and were in the forefront of attacks against Arabs in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Lod.
Rivlin told his guests that evil winds are sweeping across the country – winds of hatred and violence, some of which have been contained by various sports clubs, but which by and large come from people who purport to be fans of teams.
“The situation does not permit us to remain silent,” said Rivlin. “We must not allow a radical minority to dictate the tone of our lives and to paint Israeli society in colors of racism and hatred. That is not the spirit of sport.”
Concurring with the president, Marwan Kabha, who plays midfield defense for Hapoel Beersheba and is also a member of the Israel National soccer team, said it was particularly important now “to make our voices heard and to return to a life of co-existence.”
The occasion was also used to present the Shield of Honor Award, an initiative of Rivlin’s Israel Hope project, to the most outstanding soccer club in promoting educational values aimed at combating violence and racism. Winners were Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Shavim (Hapoel Equals), an initiative of Hapoel Tel Aviv Soccer Club.
This year for the first time, Coach of the Nation awards were also distributed to Lior Dror of the Ramat Gan Ilan Sports Center for Children with Disabilities; Michaela Milo from the Sha’ar HaNegev Gymnastics Center; and Ronen Morelli from the Israel Tennis Center.
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