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President Shimon Peres |
The Website of the President |
Temporary Incapacity |
Lexicon of Terms |
The President of the State
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The President is the head of state. The origin of the name is in the title of
the head of the Sanhedrin (the supreme Jewish political, religious and judicial
body in Eretz Yisrael) from the first century B.C.E. to the fifth century
C.E. The Basic Law: the President of the
State, which was passed in 1964, dealt with the status of the President, his
election, qualifications, powers and work procedures. The President is elected in a secret vote by the Knesset plenum for a single term of seven years. The functions of the President include: Participation in ceremonies and official visits as representative of the state within Israel and abroad; the granting of credentials to Israel's diplomatic representatives to other countries; the acceptance of the credentials of foreign diplomats in Israel; the opening of the first session of a new Knesset; receiving reports from government meetings recommending the pardoning of prisoners or the reduction of their sentences. Lastly, following elections to the Knesset, the president consults with all the elected parliamentary groups and then officially assigns the task of forming a new government to the head of the parliamentary group with the best chances of forming a government. Presidents since the establishment of the state:
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