Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog and Israel Prize recipient Miriam Peretz on Wednesday announced their candidacies for the upcoming presidential election in Israel.
Herzog, who previously led the Labor party and served in the Knesset for 15 years, is the son of Chaim Herzog, Israel’s sixth president, who served from 1983 to 1993.
In announcing his run Wednesday morning, Herzog cited both his work as a lawmaker and his family history.
“My personal family history and the many years of experience in public work that I bring with me have taught me never to take for granted the miracle of Israel’s existence,” Herzog said.
"Being obligated to Israel's future is my family's inheritance, and it is the center of my life and my legacy to my children."
For his presidential run, Herzog has taken an unpaid leave of absence from the Jewish Agency.
Herzog will formally submit his candidacy to the Knesset, with the required signatures of 10 MKs, later Wednesday.
Peretz, the recipient of the 2018 Israel Prize and a bereaved mother who lost two of her sons in the IDF, also threw her hat into the ring Wednesday afternoon,
Former Likud MK and Temple Mount activist Yehudah Glick is also expected to submit the required signatures to enter the race.
The election, held in the Knesset via secret ballot, is slated to take place on June 2nd.