Draft:Isaac Herzog

Isaac Herzog
Isaac Herzog
Name	Isaac Bougi Herzog
Other Names	Bougi
Personal Details
Birth Place	Israel
Religion	Jewish
	v; t; e;

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Isaac Bougi Herzog is an Israeli lawyer and politician who has served as the eleventh president of the Israel since July 2021. He also has a record of serving as a member of the Knesset (parliament), leading the Labor Party, and serving as the Leader of the Opposition in Israel. He became the president of the Israel after the Knesset (the parliament of the Zionist regime) elected him as the successor to Reuven Rivlin with a majority of 85 votes out of 120 cast.

Overview

Isaac Herzog was born on September 22, 1960, in Tel Aviv to an Irish father. Herzog's mother was born in the city of Ismailia in the Egypt and received her early education at French schools in Cairo and Ismailia. Both of his parents have roots in Eastern Europe, specifically Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. His father was Major General Chaim Herzog, who later served as the sixth president of the Israel between 1983 and 1993. He served in the ranks of the Zionist organization Haganah, a military bloc during the Britain colonial period over Palestine. He was a division officer during the 1948 War and later founded an environmental association.

His uncle, Abba Eban, was the Foreign Minister of Israel, and his other uncle, Yaakov Herzog, served as the Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office and also worked as a diplomat. The name Isaac Herzog traces back to his grandfather, Isaac Isaac Halevi, the first Chief Rabbi of the state of Israel. The nickname "Bougi" was given to him by his mother during his childhood and has remained with him throughout his life.

Education

In the summer of 1975, after his father was appointed as the Israeli ambassador to the UN, the family immigrated to New York, where he continued his education, obtaining his high school diploma and academic degrees from Cornell and New York.

Military and Legal Career

After returning to Israel at the end of 1978, he joined the Israel Defense Forces for mandatory service, serving as an officer in Military Intelligence Unit 8200, and was discharged from reserve service with the rank of Major. Despite his membership in the Knesset, he continued to serve in the reserve unit. In 1985, while studying law at Tel Aviv University, he joined the Labor Party. He began his career as a lawyer in 1987 (1366 SH) and, after a few years, became a senior partner in a law firm specializing in commercial and communications sectors.

Careers

Isaac Herzog entered politics in 1988 when he served for two years as the Minister of the Economic and Social Council under Finance Minister Shimon Peres.
In 1992, he was one of the initiators of the Labor Party's primary elections; he also contributed to drafting the constitution and served as the legal advisor to the Elections Committee.
During the 1992 election campaign, he served as a special advisor to Yitzhak Rabin and assisted in his election as Prime Minister.
In 1994, he was elected leader of the Labor Party.
In 1996, Herzog served as a special advisor to Prime Minister Shimon Peres and as the chairman of the Labor Party's Elections Committee for the Knesset elections.
Between 1998 and 1999, he worked as a special advisor to Ehud Barak, the leader of the Labor Party. After Barak was elected Prime Minister in 1999, Herzog was appointed as the Cabinet Secretary, a position he held until the Prime Ministerial elections in February 2001, when Barak lost to Ariel Sharon and resigned as party leader.
Between 2000 and 2003, Herzog, among other roles, served as the head of the Anti-Drug Authority.
In 2002, he left his legal career to compete on the Labor Party list for the Knesset elections and won a parliamentary seat.

Knesset Opposition Member

In the Knesset, between 2003 and 2006, he served as the opposition coordinator in the Finance Committee, fighting against the economic measures proposed by Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then the Finance Minister. He also served as a member of the Knesset Committee for the Protection of the Environment.
In 2005, following Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the Labor Party's entry into the government, Herzog was elected as the Minister of Construction and Housing within the party center.
In 2006, he ranked first in the Labor Party's primary elections for the Knesset electoral list and was appointed Minister of Tourism in the government of Ehud Olmert, where he aided in the reconstruction of the sector damaged after the "July War" against Hezbollah.
During the "July War" and in its aftermath, he served as a member of the "Small Ministerial Council for Political and Security Affairs" (Cabinet) and was one of the most prominent official spokespeople in international media.
During the Gaza War in 2008, Olmert appointed him as the coordinator of government activities to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Opponent of Netanyahu and Advocate of Peace

During his years as a member of the Knesset, Isaac Herzog was a staunch opponent of the far-right tendencies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With the onset of preparations for the early elections in the Israel in 2015, Herzog allied with former Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni on a list named "Zionist Camp," agreeing that, should they win, they would alternate leadership in forming the government. In his platform, he called for the downfall of the Likud party led by Netanyahu and criticized the party's policy of obstructing the peace process with the Palestinians, as well as its unfavorable stance toward then-U.S. President Barack Obama regarding the Arab–Israel conflict. However, Herzog failed to gain power and was defeated by Netanyahu in the March 2015 elections by a margin of six seats. In 2017, he lost the internal election of the Zionist Union party to Avi Gabbay, resigned from the Knesset, and subsequently assumed the presidency of the Jewish Agency in 2018.

Inferiority Complex

As a child, his mother called him "Bougie," a nickname denoting a delicate, tender, and pampered child; although the term eventually became a source of irritation for him, it remained attached to him.
The Israeli right-wing party, particularly Netanyahu, has used this nickname to belittle him, conveying to Israeli society that he is incapable of bearing the heavy responsibilities associated with holding the office of Prime Minister.
Isaac lived in New York City while his father, Herzog, served for three years as the Permanent Representative of the Israel to the UN, where Isaac completed his secondary education before studying law at Tel Aviv University.

Political activities

Isaac Herzog's political career began in 1999 when he was appointed as an advisor on youth affairs to Ehud Barak, then Prime Minister of Israel, a position he held until 2001.
Following the parliamentary elections held in 1999, Herzog was interrogated on suspicion of misusing funds from Ehud Barak's election campaign; however, during the investigation, he maintained his "right to silence." He was subsequently acquitted, and the case against him was closed in 2003.
In 2005, Herzog ranked second in a vote by members of the Labor Party regarding party ministers who were forming a government in coalition with Likud and Agudat Israel.
He was appointed Minister of Construction and Housing but resigned after ten months, leaving the governing coalition alongside other members of his party.
In 2006, Ehud Olmert was tasked with forming the thirty-first government in Israel's history, and Herzog was appointed Minister of Tourism.
He was placed second on the party list, following Ehud Barak, the then-party leader, with which he would contest the elections for the 18th Knesset.
Following Netanyahu's victory in forming a government after those elections, Herzog was appointed Minister of Welfare.
After the dissolution of the 19th Knesset and the commencement of preparations for early Israeli elections, Herzog allied with former Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni on a list he named the Zionist Camp, agreeing with her on a rotating presidency should he succeed in forming a government.
At the core of his platform, he called for the ouster of the Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, criticizing the party's policy of obstructing the peace process with the Palestinians and its failure to engage positively with Barack Obama, President of the United States.
However, in the March 2015 elections, he failed to gain power, losing to Benjamin Netanyahu by a margin of six seats; he accepted defeat, congratulated Netanyahu, and wished him success.
In the 2017 internal elections of the Zionist Union, he was defeated by Avi Gabbay and submitted his resignation from the Knesset to assume the role of Chairman of the Jewish Agency in 2018.
According to the Israel Broadcasting Authority, "The office of the President in Israel is conceived within the framework of Israel's parliamentary system; however, his position is ceremonial and symbolic, representing the unity of the people, and his powers are specified in a Basic Law."
The head of government in Israel holds an office but does not possess extensive powers.
The most significant of these powers include authorizing a specific Knesset member to form a government following elections and granting pardons to individuals convicted of crimes based on recommendations from the Ministry of Justice.
In 1985, while studying law at Tel Aviv University, he joined the Labor Party and began practicing as a lawyer in 1987.
Between 1988 and 1990, he served as Minister of the Economic and Social Council under Finance Minister Shimon Peres.
During the 1992 election campaign, he served as a special advisor to Yitzhak Rabin, former Prime Minister of Israel, assisting him in his election to the premiership; prior to Rabin's election in 1994, he served as a member of the Labor Party bureau.
In 1996, during the general election campaign, Herzog served as a special advisor to Prime Minister Shimon Peres and as chairman of the Labor Party list's election committee for the Knesset elections.
Between 1998 and 1999, he served as a special advisor to the leader of the Labor Party.
Following Barak's election as Prime Minister in 1999, Herzog was appointed Secretary of the Government, a position he held until the prime ministerial elections in February 2001, in which Barak lost to his rival Ariel Sharon and subsequently resigned.
In 2002, Herzog left his legal profession to compete on the Labor Party list for the Knesset elections and was elected as a member.

References

Privacy Policy, date of publication: n.d., date accessed: 29 January 2024.
His mother was born in Egypt and he supports peace with Palestine.. Who is the new Israeli President?, date of publication: 02-06-2021, date accessed: 29 January 2024.
His mother was born in Egypt.. Herzog, the "lawyer" of peace, becomes President of Israel, date of publication: 2021/6/2, date accessed: 29 January 2024.