With the election of Israel's next President only a month away, it is still not clear who will be running - but some potential candidates have begun to make their move.



The election will be held in a secret ballot among the 120 Knesset Members this coming June 13, it was decided today (Wednesday). MK Ruby Rivlin (Likud), a former Knesset Speaker and Minister of Communications, has officially announced his candidacy for the high post. Highly-regarded among his Knesset colleagues, Rivlin visited the spiritual leader of the Sephardic hareidi-religious Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, this morning (Wednesday), and asked for his blessing.



During the half-hour meeting, Rabbi Yosef asked the presidential contender several questions about his positions, and concluded with the wish that all his [Rivlin's] prayers should be answered for the best.



Rivlin is considered to have a pro-religious outlook. Shas officials say it is not impossible that Rabbi Yosef will instruct the party faction as a whole to vote for Rivlin, while telling individual MKs to vote for the likely Kadima-Labor candidate, Shimon Peres.



Senior Shas figures were quoted as saying anonymously that Rabbi Yosef's inclination is to support Shimon Peres, but that the final decision will be dependent on the developments of the next two months.



Peres, for his part, has not denied that he seeks to be President - but he is now considering trying to succeed Ehud Olmert as Prime Minister should the latter choose to resign. Olmert is under strong pressure to quit in the face of the Winograd Commission findings.



If in fact Peres withdraws from the presidential race, Kadima's candidate would be MK Dalia Itzik, who is currently both the Knesset Speaker and the Acting President. For religious reasons, Shas would certainly not support a woman for President.



It is widely assumed that Peres lost the last election seven years ago to Moshe Katzav when Shas, contrary to the expectations of many, voted for Katzav.



The only other declared candidate in the race is MK Collette Avital of Labor. Tel Aviv's Chief Rabbi, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yisrael Meir Lau, is also considering running.



Rabbi Yosef does not support Rabbi Lau for President, being of the opinion that "rabbis belong in Beit Yahav [the seat of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem] and not in the President's House." So say Shas sources.



Rabbi Lau has at least one active opponent: Left-wing MK Shelly Yechimovitch (Labor). The former Voice of Israel Radio broadcaster essentially blackmailed Rabbi Lau Tuesday night when she warned him not to submit his candidacy. "I warmly recommend to Rabbi Lau not to consider running," she said, "for if he does so, stories of the past will be revealed - including those that have not been publicized and that would be worth his while to avoid."



Yechimovitch has come under fire for either basing her threats against Rabbi Lau on unfounded rumors, or for not going to the police with her information.



Yechimovitch recently called upon Defense Minister Amir Peretz to resign - though she herself has no plans to quit despite her strong support of Peretz ever since she entered politics a year and a half ago.