A consensus is growing in Israel that President Yitzhak Navon will not seek a second term in office when his incumbency expires later this year but that he will also not immediately reenter partisan politics.
Navon, who completed a successful 10-day visit to the U.S. during which he met with President Reagan and other top Administration officials, has said he would announce his future plans next month.
Haaretz reported that in a conversation with intellectuals at author Elie Wiesel’s New York home, Navon declared, “There are stories in my belly that are crying let us out.” The President has said in the past that when he ends his office he would “impose upon himself” a cooling-off period before returning to active politics. This has been taken in some Israeli circles to mean that Navon, a former Labor Party MK, dose not intend to challenge Premier Menachem Begin in early elections.
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