Shimon Shetreet and President Ruby Rivlin –SHIMONSHETREET.COM
Is former Israeli Cabinet Minister Shimon Shetreet a candidate for the Presidency of Israel? He has said as much calling it his life’s mission. Current Israel President Ruby Rivlin’s seven-year term will be up next May.
Meir Shetreet said, “In this complicated period of crisis and deepening divides, Israel needs an experienced person with discretion and a good eye who can faithfully fulfill the important role.”
If you are wondering who exactly Shimon Shetreet is, you are not alone.
A lifetime Labor Party man, Mr. Shetreet served as a member of the Knesset for Labor for two terms, from 1988 to 1996. He was also a Cabinet Minister for four years in his second term. Shetreet was the Minister of Religious Affairs, Science, Culture and Sports and Industry and Trade. Four different cabinet posts in four years. Or maybe he had all those jobs at the same time. In Israel you never know.
He also lost in a bid to become Mayor of Jerusalem in the 90s, but did serve as a deputy mayor. People may remember him best of all for his gaffe during the 1996 Kneset elections.
As Prime Minister Shimon Peres was in a tight race against then challenger Binyamin Netanyahu, Mr. Shetreet for some reason decided to declare publicly that he would be a good candidate to someday succeed Peres as leader of the Labor Party. This gave the impression that Shetreet felt Peres’ time was up and that he would lose the election. Not surprisingly, Shetreet never returned to the Kneset.
If he does run, it will be an uphill battle. Many top Labor figures ahead of him in line are expected to announce their candidacies. And the Labour Party is not what it used to be, holding just 3 seats in the Kneset today. Also, the Likud Party leads the government and who knows what promises Netanyahu has made to his coalition partners.
אזרחיות ואזרחי ישראל, יש ביכולתי לאחות את הקרעים בעם ולשמש פה לכולכם בתקופה מורכבת זאת. צפו >> pic.twitter.com/TL4YSnLzzF
— שמעון שטרית (@Shetreet) September 7, 2020
No word yet on who, if anyone, from the political establishment will endorse his campaign.
Shimon Shetreet was born in Morocco in 1946. His family came to Israel in 1949. Shetreet is a lawyer by profession and holds a Doctor’s degree from the University of Chicago school of Law.
From SHIMONSHETREET.COM
Professor Shimon Shetreet is currently a Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He holds the Greenblatt chair of public and international law and is the head of the Sacher Institute of Legislative Research and Comparative Law.
