Editing President of Israel

{{Short description|Head of state of Israel}}
{{Further|List of heads of state of Israel}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = President
| body = the State of Israel
| insignia = Presidential Standard of IsraelSquare.svg{{!}}border
| insigniasize = 100px
| insigniacaption = Presidential standard
| native_name = {{langx|he|נשיא מדינת ישראל}}<br/>{{langx|ar|رئيس دولة إسرائيل}}
| image = Isaac Herzog, July 2021 (D1233-049).JPG
| imagesize = 200px
| incumbent = [[Isaac Herzog]]
| incumbentsince = 7 July 2021
| style = [[Excellency|His Excellency]]
| residence = [[Beit HaNassi]]
| appointer = [[Knesset]]
| termlength = Seven years,
| termlength_qualified = non renewable 
| constituting_instrument = [[Basic Laws of Israel|Constitution of Israel]] (1950)
| salary = [[USD|US$]]173,255 annually<ref>{{Cite web |title=IG.com Pay Check |url=https://www.ig.com/uk/forex/research/pay-check |publisher=IG}}</ref>
| formation = 16 February 1949
| deputy = [[List of Knesset speakers|Speaker of the Knesset]]
| inaugural = [[Chaim Weizmann]]
| website = [http://www.president.gov.il/English/Pages/english.aspx Israel presidential website]
}}{{Politics of Israel}}
{{for|a list|List of presidents of Israel}}

The '''president of the State of Israel''' ({{langx|he|נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל|Nesi Medinat Yisra'el}}, or {{langx|he|נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה|Nesi HaMedina}} {{langx|ar|رئيس دولة إسرائيل|Ra'īs Daūlat Isrāʾīl|President of the State}}) is the [[head of state]] of [[Israel]]. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the [[Cabinet of Israel|cabinet]] led by the [[Prime Minister of Israel|prime minister]]. The incumbent president is [[Isaac Herzog]], who took office on 7 July 2021. Presidents are elected by the [[Knesset]] for a single seven-year term.

==Election==
The President of Israel is elected by an [[Majority|absolute majority]] in the Knesset, by [[secret ballot]]. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of votes in the first or second round of voting, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in each subsequent round, if needed until only two remain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Loi fondamentale |url=https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/1960-1969/Pages/Basic%20Law-%20The%20President%20of%20the%20State.aspx |access-date=23 December 2020 |website=mfa.gov.il}}.</ref> From 1949 to 2000, the president was elected for a five-year term, and was allowed to serve up to two terms in office. Since 2000, the president serves a single seven-year term.

Any Israeli resident citizen is eligible to run for president; as there is no minimum age of candidacy, this would even allow a minor to hypothetically be elected. An age limit of 40 was considered, but rejected by the Knesset as unnecessary. The office falls vacant upon completion of a term, death, resignation, or the decision of three-quarters of the Knesset to remove the president on grounds of misconduct or incapacity. Presidential tenure is not keyed to that of the Knesset, in order to assure continuity in government and the non-partisan character of the office. There is no [[vice president]] in the Israeli governmental system. If the president is temporarily incapacitated, or leaves office, the [[speaker of the Knesset]] becomes [[Acting (law)|acting]] president.

The [[1949 Israeli presidential election|first presidential election]] took place on 16 February 1949, and the winner was [[Chaim Weizmann]]. The [[1951 Israeli presidential election|second]] took place in 1951, as at the time presidential terms were linked to the length of the Knesset term (the [[1949 Israeli Constituent Assembly election|first Knesset]] lasted only two years). [[1952 Israeli presidential election|Another election]] took place the following year after Weizmann's death.

Since then, elections have been held in [[1957 Israeli presidential election|1957]], [[1962 Israeli presidential election|1962]], [[1963 Israeli presidential election|1963]] (an early election following [[Yitzhak Ben-Zvi]]'s death), [[1968 Israeli presidential election|1968]], [[1973 Israeli presidential election|1973]], [[1978 Israeli presidential election|1978]], [[1983 Israeli presidential election|1983]], [[1988 Israeli presidential election|1988]], [[1993 Israeli presidential election|1993]], [[1998 Israeli presidential election|1998]], [[2000 Israeli presidential election|2000]], [[2007 Israeli presidential election|2007]], [[2014 Israeli presidential election|2014]], and [[2021 Israeli presidential election|2021]]{{Update after|2028|07|09}}. Six elections (1951, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1978, and 1988) have taken place with no opposition candidate, although a vote was still held.

[[Isaac Herzog]] was [[2021 Israeli presidential election|elected 11th President on 2 June 2021]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=אזולאי |first1=מורן |last2=נחשוני |first2=קובי |last3=שומפלבי |first3=אטילה |last4=כהן |first4=גלעד |date=2021-06-02 |title=יצחק הרצוג נבחר לנשיא ה-11 של מדינת ישראל |language=he |work=ynet |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/r1Ye3TN900 |access-date=2021-06-02}}</ref> His term started on 9 July.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Isaac Herzog elected 11th President of the State of Israel by wide margin |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/voting-begins-in-race-for-president-watch-669876 |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>

==Powers and responsibilities==
[[File:Office of the President of Israel by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|left|Office of the President of Israel (2007)]]

The president's fundamental role within the machinery of Israel's [[uncodified constitution]] is to "...stand at the head of the State", representing the state of Israel abroad and fostering national unity at home.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s231|title=Basic Law: The President of the State|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> In this capacity, the president personifies the Israeli state, sanctions the decisions of legitimate constitutional authorities, and guarantees the execution of the public will.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.idi.org.il/articles/6409|title=The Israeli Presidency: Unnecessary Institution or Vital Symbol?|author=Dana Blander|publisher=The Israel Democracy Institute|publication-date=25 March 2014|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.idi.org.il/articles/35063|title=The President—A Rubber Stamp or a Shield of Democracy?|author=Dana Blander|publisher=The Israel Democracy Institute|publication-date=11 July 2021|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> Put another way, the presidency serves as a national symbol that seeks to reinforce the core values of the state and to give a voice to the diversity of Israeli society in the performance of its official functions.<ref name="The institution of the presidency">{{Cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.il/en/institution/|title=The institution of the presidency|publisher=Office of the President of the State of Israel|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> In these respects, the powers of the president of Israel are generally equivalent to those held by heads of state in other parliamentary democracies and are largely dictated by [[Basic Laws of Israel|Basic Law: The Presidency]], which was passed in 1964.<ref name="Function">{{Cite web |title=The Function and Purpose of the Presidency |url=http://www.president.gov.il/defaults/default_en.asp |website=president.gov.il |publisher=Office of the President of Israel |url-status=dead |access-date=5 July 2003 |archive-date=8 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208110935/http://www.president.gov.il/defaults/default_en.asp }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Existing Basic Laws: Full Texts |url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_yesod1.htm |website=knesset.gov.il |publisher=Knesset (parliament of Israel)}}</ref> The Basic Law: The Government also makes provision for the powers of the president in relation to Government formation.<ref name="Function" />

However, unlike heads of state in most other parliamentary republics, the president is not the ''nominal'' chief executive. Rather, [[Basic Law: The Government]] explicitly vests executive power in the [[Cabinet of Israel|Government]] (as the Cabinet is officially called), with the [[Prime Minister of Israel|prime minister]] as its head.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s760|title=Basic Law: The Government, Section 1|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> Likewise, most presidential powers are either exercised in accordance with the strictures of the Basic Laws or on the binding [[Advice (constitutional law)|advice]] of the Government. Indeed, most presidential acts require the countersignature of the prime minister or another minister designated thereby to have legal effect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s291|title=Basic Law: The President of the State, Section 12|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> Correspondingly, the presidency occupies a largely ceremonial role in the conduct of state business. Nevertheless, these constitutional limitations do not extend to the exercise of those discretionary functions comprising the president's [[reserve power]]s.

The presidency enjoys [[Sovereign immunity|immunity]] from both civil suit and criminal prosecution.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s293|title=Basic Law: The President of the State, Sections 13 and 14|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> Thus, the president is [[Sacrosanctity|inviolable]] before the courts of law for any matter concerned with the performance of his or her official functions. The purpose of this substantive immunity is to guarantee the institutional independence of the president from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.<ref name="The institution of the presidency"/> This arrangement effectively makes the presidency – in the words of one constitutional scholar – Israel's "fourth branch of government", allowing successive presidents to exercise nonpartisan influence (as opposed to party-political policymaking power) in their dealings with politicians, to assure the continuity and stability of state institutions, and to hold dialogue with the public on various charitable causes and issues of national import.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.il/en/%d7%94%d7%a8%d7%a9%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%94%d7%a8%d7%91%d7%99%d7%a2%d7%99%d7%aa-%d7%a2%d7%9c-%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%a1%d7%93-%d7%94%d7%a0%d7%a9%d7%99%d7%90%d7%95%d7%aa/|title=The Fourth Branch of Government: On the Institution of the Presidency|author=Yinon Guttel-Klein|publisher=Office of the President of the State of Israel|publication-date=21 June 2023|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>

===Routine functions===
The president signs bills passed by the Knesset into law, except those bills that pertain to the president's powers, and ratifies international or bilateral treaties approved by the Knesset.<ref name="Function" /> Acting on the advice of the Government, the president is also charged with [[Letter of credence|endorsing the credentials]] of Israeli ambassadors abroad and [[Agrément|receiving the credentials]] of foreign diplomats to Israel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s272|title=Basic Law: The President of the State, Section 11 (a)(4)|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> Likewise, the president is responsible for appointing a wide array of public officials, including judges, the governor of the [[Bank of Israel]], the president of [[Magen David Adom]], the president of the [[Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities]], and members of the Council on Higher Education, the National Academy of Science, the Broadcasting Authority, the Authority to Rehabilitate Prisoners, the Chief Rabbinical Council and the [[Wolf Foundation]]. Judges are appointed by the president pursuant to the nominations of the [[Judicial Selection Committee (Israel)|Judicial Selection Committee]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s523|title=Basic Law: The Judiciary, Section 4|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> All other presidential appointments are made on the advice of the Government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s272|title=Basic Law: The President of the State, Section 11 (a)(6)|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>

===Reserve powers===
In addition to routine functions exercised on the advice of the Government or in accordance with the strictures of the Basic Laws, the president enjoys personal discretion in matters of Government formation, parliamentary dissolution, and granting pardons. These functions comprise the reserve powers of the presidency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.idi.org.il/articles/35063|title=The President—A Rubber Stamp or a Shield of Democracy?|publisher=The Israel Democracy Institute|author=Dana Blander|publication-date=21 July 2021|access-date=24 October 2024}}</ref>

====Formation of the Government====
The president's most important power, in practice, is to lead the process of forming a Government. Israel's [[Israeli system of government#Electoral system|electoral system]] and [[Politics of Israel#Political parties and elections|fractured political landscape]] make it all but impossible for one party to govern alone, let alone win an outright majority of Knesset seats. After each election, the president consults with party leaders to determine who is most likely to command a majority in the Knesset. Following such consultations, the president assigns a Knesset member the task of forming a Government. If the nominee is successful in forming a Government that can command the confidence of the Knesset, then said Knesset member becomes the [[prime minister]]. If a nominee fails to form a Government, then the president assigns the task anew. If a government is not formed within the timeframe stipulated in [[Basic Law: The Government]], then the president dissolves the Knesset and calls for fresh elections.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s794|title=Basic Law: The Government, Sections 7 to 14, 28 to 30|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>

====Dissolution of the Knesset====
The prime minister may request, by virtue of section 29 (a) of Basic Law: The Government, that the president dissolve the Knesset whenever the Government has lost its majority and is incapable of functioning.<ref name="Function" /> The president may refuse such a request, effectively dismissing the prime minister from office and triggering the resignation of the Government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s931|title=Basic Law: The Government, Section 29|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> The exercise of this authority by the president serves to prevent a prime minister from [[abuse of power|abusing their power]] – namely, beating the Knesset into submission through multiple [[snap election]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/dissolution-of-parliament-primer.pdf|title=Disslution of Parliament|author=Eliot Bulmer|publisher=International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)|publication-date=2017|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>

====Presidential clemency====
The president has broad power to pardon, reduce, or commute the sentences of both soldiers and civilians, including to refuse requests for such clemency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Israel_2013#s272|title=Basic Law: The President of the State, Section 11 (b)|publisher=The Constitute Project|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> The president reaches a decision regarding the prerogative of clemency at his or her own discretion, after receiving information from the applicants, requesting the opinion of other parties, and consulting the [[Ministry of Justice (Israel)|minister of justice]] or the [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|minister of defense]], as the case may be. Each Israeli president adopts a different approach to how they handle clemency, which influences their decision making.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.il/en/clemency/|title=Presidential Pardons|publisher=Office of the President of the State of Israel|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>

===Other activities===
The president confers the dignity of [[Righteous Among the Nations]] on the recommendation of [[Yad Vashem]], presents the [[Wolf Prize]] on the recommendation of the Wolf Foundation, and awards the [[President's Medal (Israel)|Presidential Medal of Honor]], the President's Fund for Outstanding Doctoral Students, and the Presidential Award for Volunteerism in his absolute discretion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/about-the-program.html|title=The Righteous Among the Nations: About the Program|publisher=Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wolffund.org.il/the-wolf-prize/|title=The Wolf Prize|publisher=Wolf Foundation|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://main.knesset.gov.il/en/about/lexicon/pages/wolfprize.aspx|title=Wolf Prize|publisher=The Knesset|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.president.gov.il/en/awards|title=Presidential Prizes and Awards|publisher=Office of the President of the State of Israel|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> The President also participates in the awarding of the [[Israel Prize]], which is held annually on [[Independence Day (Israel)|Yom Ha'atzmaut]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://main.knesset.gov.il/en/about/pages/building/exhibitisraelprize.aspx|title=MKs who received the Israel Prize|publisher=The Knesset|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref> Moreover, the president serves as the keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies of the half-yearly [[Knesset]] conference, as well as at the annual official ceremonies for [[Yom HaZikaron|Yom Hazikaron]] and [[Yom HaShoah]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

==Presidential backgrounds==
Most Israeli presidents were involved in national politics or [[Zionism|Zionist]] activities before taking office. Some were also distinguished in other fields. For example, Chaim Weizmann was a leading research chemist who founded the [[Weizmann Institute of Science]] in [[Rehovot]]; [[Zalman Shazar]] was an author, poet, and journalist; and [[Chaim Herzog]] was a military leader, attorney, and diplomat.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

The first Israeli presidents were born in the former [[Russian Empire]]. The first native-born president, as well as the first with a [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardi]] background, was [[Yitzhak Navon]]. The first president with a Western European background was Chaim Herzog, who originally came from [[Belfast]], [[United Kingdom]]. The first president with a [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] background was [[Moshe Katsav]], who was born in [[Iran]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

The first president to be born in the modern state after [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|Israel's declaration of independence]] is [[Isaac Herzog]]. He is also the first son of a former Israeli president to also become president. As of 2024, the only other presidents with close family ties were [[Chaim Weizmann]] and his nephew [[Ezer Weizman]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

==Political affiliation==
All Israeli presidents from [[Yitzhak Ben-Zvi]] to [[Ezer Weizman]] were members of, or associated with, the [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]] and its predecessors, and have been considered politically moderate. Moshe Katsav was the first [[Likud]] president. These tendencies were especially significant in the April 1978 election of Labor's [[Yitzhak Navon]], following the inability of the governing Likud coalition to elect its candidate to the presidency. Israeli observers believed that, in counterbalance to Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]]'s polarizing leadership, Navon, the country's first president of Sephardi origin, provided Israel with unifying symbolic leadership at a time of great political controversy and upheaval. In 1983, Navon decided to re-enter Labor politics after five years of non-partisan service as president, and Chaim Herzog (previously head of military intelligence and [[Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations|Ambassador of Israel to the United Nations]]) succeeded him as Israel's sixth president. Likud's [[Moshe Katsav]]'s victory over Labor's [[Shimon Peres]] in 2000 (by secret ballot) was an [[Upset (competition)|upset]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

[[Albert Einstein]], a Jew, but not an Israeli citizen, was offered the presidency in 1952,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eban |first=Abba |author-link=Abba Eban |date=17 November 1952 |title=(Letter reprinted online) Offering the Presidency of Israel to Albert Einstein |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Politics/einsteinlet.html |access-date=18 October 2016 |website=JewishVirtualLibrary.org}}</ref> but turned it down, stating: "I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Albert Einstein on His Decision Not to Accept the Presidency of Israel |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Quote/Einstein_On_Presidency.html |access-date=18 October 2016 |website=JewishVirtualLibrary.org |publisher=citing The Einstein Scrapbook (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002)}}</ref> [[Ehud Olmert]] was reported to be considering offering the presidency to another non-Israeli, [[Elie Wiesel]], but he was said to be "very not interested".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Stern Stern Hoffman<!--not a typo apparently; many instances of his name like this--> |first1=Gil |last2=Keinon |first2=Herb |date=18 October 2006 |title=Olmert backs Peres as next president |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Olmert-backs-Peres-as-next-president}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.president.gov.il/en/ President of the State of Israel] official website home page
* [https://www.president.gov.il/en/institution/ The institution of the Presidency] at the official website 
* [https://main.knesset.gov.il/en/about/lexicon/pages/president.aspx President of the State] at the [[Knesset]]
* [https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/activity/documents/BasicLawsPDF/BasicLawThePresident.pdf BASIC-LAW: THE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE] Unofficial English translation of the Basic Law as amended through 1 May 2022 at the [[Knesset]]
* [https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/About/History/Documents/kns5_basiclaw_president_eng.pdf BASIC-LAW: THE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE] Unofficial English translation of the Basic Law as passed 16 June 1964 at the [[Knesset]] 
* Blander, Dana [https://en.idi.org.il/articles/35063 The President—A Rubber Stamp or a Shield of Democracy?] 11 July 2021 at the [[Israel Democracy Institute]]

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{{Israeli presidential elections}}

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[[Category:Presidents of Israel| ]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in Israel]]
[[Category:Presidents by country|Israel]]