Yaacov Tsur, president of the Jewish National Fund and a former Israeli Ambassador to France appeared today to be the leading Presidential candidate as the Labor Party started the process of selecting a successor to President Zalman Shazar. Israel’s new President will be elected by the Knesset on May 25. The prerogative for selecting candidates for the prestigious but largely ceremonial office traditionally belongs to the majority party.
According to some observers, Tsur’s election is a virtual certainty because he appears to have Premier Golda Meir’s personal support. But two other candidates have been mentioned by Labor Party MKs. They are Supreme Court Justice Eliyahu Mani and Deputy Knesset Speaker Yitzhak Navon, both prominent members of the Sephardi community. Arye Eliav, former secretary general of the Labor Party supports Mani. Navon is supported by the younger wing of the party, by its Jerusalem branch and by former Rafi followers of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan.
Gahal, the largest opposition faction, has not endorsed any candidate. But one of its leaders, Elimelech Rimalt, recently told a Haifa audience that Gahal favored Judge Mani. The National Religious Party, a coalition partner, reportedly leans toward State Comptroller E.I. Nebenzahl who is Orthodox.
The Labor Party leadership bureau will meet tomorrow with the executive of the party’s Knesset faction to discuss the various candidates. On Thursday, the Labor Alignment’s Central Committee will meet with the full Knesset faction in Tel Aviv, hopefully to select a candidate.
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