When Detroiters land in Israel (something we are hoping that will return soon to a regular occurrence), I feel that it is very accurate when I tell them that they are here at the most interesting of times. Well, June 2021 is a most interesting time that will no doubt be recorded in the history books as a period of exciting change. This month, Israel saw a change of guard, both the role of Prime Minister and the Presidency. After over a dozen years and four challenging elections in two years, Israel has a new Prime Minister, Naftali Bennet, of the “Yemina” party, who, to date, is Israel’s youngest and first kippa wearing premier. The Knesset also voted in a new President, in accordance with the national presidential time table of seven years. Unlike the Prime Minister, this is a ceremonial, apolitical position. The popular Reuven “Rubi” Rivlin is ending his term this summer and Isaac “Bougie” Herzog will take office as Israel’s 11th President. He is also the first President who is the son of a former President; his father Haim Herzog held the position from 1983 as Israel’s 6th President.
The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, along with most Jewish communities in the Diaspora, has a strong, warm and long relationship with Bougie Herzog. He has visited the community several times and often mentions his affection for Detroit Jewry. After heading Israel’s Labor Party and leading the opposition in the Knesset, Herzog was unanimously elected in June 2018 as the Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), a position that he has held for three years. As a teen, he attended high school in New York and American Jewish camps in the summer. As a college student he attended NYU and Cornell. From his teen years through his current role as Chairman of JAFI, Herzog has been well immersed in the character, diversity, needs and challenges of Diaspora Jewry. Of 120 Knesset members, 87 voted for him (the other contender was Miriam Peretz, a prominent educator, public speaker and recipient of the Israel Prize), making his election the largest victory in Israel’s presidential history. This victory seems to reflect a gifted, passionate leader who is seen as a unifying figure, able to connect people in a diverse parliament and the Jewish world.