Isaac Herzog

Biography

Isaac (also spelled as Yitzhak) Herzog, aka "Bougie," is the son of General Chaim Herzog, who served two terms as the Sixth President of Israel from 1983 to 1993, and Aura Ambache, founder of the Council for a Beautiful Israel. His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland from 1922 to 1935 and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1936 to 1959.

Herzog's father was born in Ireland and his mother was born in Egypt; their families were of Eastern European Jewish descent (from Poland, Russia, and Lithuania). He has two brothers and a sister.

Herzog was born in Tel Aviv. When his father served as Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations for three years, Herzog lived in New York and attended the Ramaz School. In the following years, while also studying in high school, Herzog gained an advanced academic education at Cornell University and New York University.

When he returned to Israel at the end of 1978, he enlisted in the IDF and served as a major officer in Unit 8200 of the Intelligence Corps.

Herzog studied law at Tel Aviv University. He worked at a law firm founded by his father, Herzog, Fox & Ne'eman.

Herzog is married to Michal, a lawyer, and has three sons. He resides in his childhood home in the Tzahala neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

Political career

Although he did not win a seat in the 1999 elections, Herzog served as government secretary in Ehud Barak's cabinet until 2001 when Barak was defeated by Ariel Sharon in a special election for Prime Minister. In 1999, he was also investigated in the 'Amutot Barak' scandal (a scandal involving allegations that the party funding law was violated), but maintained his silence, similar to the American "pleading the 5th". The Attorney General, therefore, decided to close the case against him due to lack of evidence. From 2000 until 2003, he served as chairman of the Israel Anti-Drug Authority.

Herzog won a seat in the 2003 election as a member of the Labor Party, and was appointed Minister of Housing and Building at his request when Labor joined Ariel Sharon's coalition government on 10 January 2005. However, on 23 November 2005, he resigned from his cabinet post along with the rest of the party.

Prior to the 2006 elections, Herzog won second place on Labor's list in the party's primaries. He was initially appointed Minister of Tourism in Ehud Olmert's Kadima-led coalition, but was reassigned to the Social Affairs ministry in March 2007 after Yisrael Beiteinu was awarded the Tourism Ministry following their late entry to the governing coalition, and was also appointed Minister of the Diaspora, Society and the Fight Against Antisemitism. He was again second on the party's list for the 2009 elections. Following the election, he was appointed Minister of Welfare & Social Services and Minister of the Diaspora, Society, and the Fight Against Antisemitism. However, he resigned from the cabinet after Ehud Barak left the Labor Party to establish Independence in January 2011.

Herzog is chairman and whip of the Israeli-Australian Parliamentary Association. He is also one of the few Knesset members who still serves in the military reserve (with the rank of Major).

In 2011 Herzog was an unsuccessful candidate for the Labor Party leadership. He finished third in the primaries that year, after Shelly Yachimovich and Amir Peretz.

Opposition leader

On 22 November 2013 Herzog was elected leader of the Labor Party, defeating incumbent Shelly Yachimovich by 58.5% to 41.5%. In doing so, he became Leader of the Opposition. Whereas Yachimovich focused first on socioeconomic issues, Herzog prioritizes security and resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Ten days after the election, Herzog met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to pledge his support for the two-state solution.

Herzog has reportedly reached out to Shas leader Aryeh Deri to increase cooperation between the two opposition factions.

In June 2014, Herzog criticized PM Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to engage the international community, failing to present a proposal for peace with Palestinians, and failure to work effectively with the President of the United States, Barack Obama. Herzog declared that Netanyahu's "loathing and hostility for Barack Obama” was one of his greatest failures, since it put Israel's security at risk.

With the governing coalition dissolving and new elections expected in March 2015, Herzog called on Hatnua and Kadima parties to join his Labor Party in forming a new coalition. In an interview with YNET, he stated, "I am capable of replacing Netanyahu. I will do everything in order to establish a bloc before the elections." Shortly thereafter, Herzog and Tzipi Livni, who was justice minister and is head of a centrist faction, announced they would campaign on a joint slate in the upcoming election in an effort to keep Netanyahu, leader of the Likud Party, from securing a fourth term as prime minister. The joint list was named Zionist Union, winning 24 seats to Likud's 30 in the 2015 election, making it the largest Opposition faction.

In July 2017, Herzog was eliminated in the first round of the Labor party primaries. Avi Gabay went on to win the leadershp elections, however Herzog remained official leader of the opposition in the Knesset, since Gabay is not currently an elected MK.