The next President of Israel will be a Sephardi, Premier Menachem Begin told a meeting of the Likud Executive, thus agreeing with the views of Finance Minister Simcha Ehrlich, Housing Minister Gideon Patt and Moshe Nissim, all members of the Liberal Party wing of Likud.
Begin’s announcement earlier this week, however, disappointed many members of the Liberal Party who had hoped that Dr. Elimelech Rimalt, a Liberal Party leader, would be the Likud candidate for the Presidency. Fear was expressed that if no appropriate candidate is found in the Sephardi community it would become too late to ask Rimalt to present his candidacy. The Presidency was promised to the Liberals after a Herut Knesseter, Yitzhak Shamir, became Knesset chairman. The term of President Ephraim Katzir expires in May. The President of Israel is elected by the Knesset by secret ballot.
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