Globes reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to press Prof. Elhanan Helpman, into accepting the job of Governor of the Bank of Israel. At the same time, Netanyahu is continuing to look for an appropriate candidate to replace Prof. Stanley Fischer who quits at the end of the June.
Helpman is Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade at Harvard University and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Globes notes he is Netanyahu's preferred candidate but has informed the PM both orally and in writing that he is not prepared to take the job.
Helpman is currently in Israel to take part in the farewell conference for Fischer. Globes adds, sources close to Netanyahu insist that the last word has not yet been said on Helpman's possible appointment, and it is hoped that he will reconsider out of "Zionist" motives and the possibility of "leading the economy into faster growth."