1993 Israeli Presidential Election

Under the procedure then governing Israel's presidency, the president was elected by the 120 members of the Knesset in a secret ballot rather than by popular vote. Candidates required the support of at least ten Knesset members to stand, and the president served a five-year term that could be renewed once.[7][6]

The election followed the completion of Chaim Herzog's presidency.[1] Weizman had commanded the Israeli Air Force from 1958 to 1966, served as defense minister, and participated in the negotiations that culminated in the Camp David Accords.[2] Born in Tel Aviv in 1924, he served as a fighter pilot with the British Royal Air Force during World War II and in 1947 joined eight other pilots in founding what became the Israel Air Force.[8] He was also the nephew of Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president.[1]

Weizman's path back to national office followed a period of political controversy. In late 1989, he faced accusations concerning unauthorized contacts with PLO members. After the National Unity Government broke up in March 1990, he distanced himself from politics and resigned his Knesset seat in February 1992.[2][9] His election to the presidency the following year marked his return to national office.[2]

The governing Labor Party nominated Weizman, while Likud put forward Dov Shilansky, a Knesset member and former Speaker of the Knesset.[4] Shilansky was born in Lithuania in 1924, immigrated to Israel aboard the Altalena in 1948, served as a Likud Knesset member from 1977 to 1996, and was Knesset speaker from 1988 to 1992.[10]

Shilansky entered the contest shortly before the election and was selected despite objections from Likud members who preferred a candidate without a distinct political identity. He secured the stated support of 53 opposition Knesset members and hoped to attract additional votes from Shas and individual Labor legislators.[11] Rabbi Ovadia Yosef withdrew Shas's public support for Weizman after Shilansky entered the race, while Rabbi Kaduri backed Shilansky and presented him with an amulet.[11]

Labor subsequently reached an agreement with Shas under which Shas would support Weizman for president and Labor would support Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron for Sephardi chief rabbi. Shilansky continued his campaign in the hope that some Labor Knesset members would defect from their party's position.[11]

The Knesset convened on March 24, 1993, to elect Israel's seventh president by secret ballot.[1][6] At the end of the initial count, officials appeared to have found 124 ballots, four more than the Knesset's total membership. Members who had already left the building were called back.[5]

Accounts differ over whether officials then conducted another count of the original ballots or an entirely repeated vote. One account explicitly describes a repeat vote after an initial tally of 68 for Weizman, 55 for Shilansky, and one abstention, while a later account describes the ballots being counted again.[11][5] During the interval, members waited in the plenary chamber, read newspapers, and, in one account's phrasing, "carefully went to eat dry cakes in the cafeteria." The additional count established that 120 members had voted, and Knesset Speaker Shevah Weiss apologized and accepted responsibility for the error.[5]

The result most consistently reported for the decisive ballot was 66 votes for Weizman, 53 for Shilansky, and one white ballot.[3][4] A 2000 Ynet account instead reported 55 votes for Shilansky and one abstention, while a later English-language Ynet report gave him 56 votes.[10][11] Weizman was declared Israel's seventh president.[3]

Weizman succeeded Chaim Herzog on May 13, 1993.[1][6] During his presidency, he made personal visits to Israelis injured in terrorist attacks and to bereaved families. The National Library of Israel recounts that he declined to use armored vehicles, saying, "I won't travel in such a car while Israelis are being blown up on buses."[12] During the July 1993 "Accountability" campaign against Hezbollah terrorism, he visited northern Israeli communities under shell fire, remained overnight, and slept in a bunker with IDF soldiers.[13]

Weizman was reelected to a second term in May 1998. He resigned in July 2000 amid allegations of bribery relating to his earlier service as a lawmaker and cabinet minister; charges were not brought because the statute of limitations had expired.[2] His presidency lasted from May 1993 until July 2000.[2][6]

Weizman also undertook diplomatic engagements early in his presidency. In January 1994, he visited Turkey as one of three senior Israeli or Turkish officials whose visits preceded Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller's November 1994 trip to Israel. The Washington Institute placed these exchanges in the period of expanding relations following the September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles.[14]

Several details of the election are recorded inconsistently. The Congressional Record and the Jewish Virtual Library give March 24, 1993, as the election date.[1][2] A Center for Israel Education timeline instead labels its entry March 23, although the Center's separate election page confirms the 66-53 result.[3][15]

Sources also disagree about when Weizman assumed office. The Congressional Record and My Jewish Learning give May 13, 1993, while Encyclopedia.com states May 14.[1][9] A Jewish Virtual Library timeline lists March 13, before the March 24 election date reported by other sources, making that timeline entry impossible to reconcile with the documented sequence.[16]

The decisive vote is most commonly given as 66 for Weizman, 53 for Shilansky, and one white ballot.[3][4] A 2000 Ynet retrospective gives Shilansky 55 votes and records one abstention, while Ynet's English-language obituary of Shilansky gives him 56 votes.[10][11]

Descriptions of the counting irregularity also vary. A later Ynet account says 124 ballots initially appeared to have been cast but that a further count established that 120 members had voted.[5] The 2000 Ynet account reports an initial tally totaling 124 and a repeat-vote tally totaling 122 without explaining the difference.[11]