Yehuda Glick at Menachem Begin Heritage Center
Yehuda Glick at Menachem Begin Heritage CenterHezki Baruch

In the summer, Knesset members will gather to elect a new president for the State of Israel, as the term of President Reuven Rivlin comes to an end. Apart from Isaac Herzog, who will probably put himself up for election, former Knesset member Yehuda Glick is also declaring his candidacy for the position.

In an interview with Israel Hayom, Glick said, "I would expect that specifically right now we will put all things aside and find what unites us. Instead, there are clashes all day, haredi and secular, 'Balfourists' against 'Bibists', academics and manual laborers, the First Israel and the Second Israel. Even the struggle between the people of the periphery and the kibbutzniks has returned to our lives over the Hasi Stream."

The distress Glick is talking about leads him to what he defines as his life’s mission in the coming months. "I have made a decision that I am running for president. I want to be the next president of the State of Israel. I feel I have the ability. I do not want to sound like a magician, but precisely because I do not feel exalted over the people, I can do this job well. ".

Glick does not hesitate to criticize incumbent President Reuven Rivlin. "The president talks about four tribes, I told him that I think he forgot two great tribes - the traditional and the Diaspora Jewry. There are a lot of people who are not in the tribes that the president mentioned, they are not Arabs, haredim, religious or secular. While he comes from the world of the values of Beitar, many in the people felt that he came to preach - and they do not like it. So another thing happened - a large part of the public did not connect with him, we got became a president of a half-nation. If there is a president of a half-nation, then there is no need for a president. We have enough arguments and wars. "

Regarding his chances of being elected, he expresses optimism. "So far I have met with about 40 MKs, haredi, secular, left-wing, right-wing, Arab. I have heard from many of them a realistic assessment that this Knesset will not elect the next president - because we are on the way to elections. You hear it from both Likud members and Blue and White. I can say that I received encouragement, although not everyone said they would support me, but I received encouragement, both from people who are deep on the right and from those who are deeply rooted on the left."

On a possible run against former Knesset member Isaac Herzog, Glick responds, "Buji [Herzog] is a good man who does sacred work in the Jewish Agency. It would be a pity for him to stop it."