The Knesset -Israeli Parliament on Tuesday, elected Reuven Rivlin, a seasoned Likud Party politician, former minister and Parliament speaker, as the Semitic nation’s next president.
Rivlin, 74, scion of a well-known Jerusalem family will replace Shimon Peres, 90, whose seven-year term ends in late July. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also a Likud member, has personal differences with Rivlin and begrudgingly endorsed him for the presidency. The premier Netanyahu had tried for months to block his candidacy.