Shimon Peres backs Zionist Union’s Isaac Herzog for PM

Israeli statesman Shimon Peres has endorsed Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union Party, with just days until the election.

Former President and Prime Minister Peres released a memo which said: “I support Isaac Herzog to be prime minister.”

“I have known Isaac Herzog and his family for many years.. and I have seen him up close fill a number of senior positions excellently, as well as taking part in serious and impactful discussions on Israel’s future.”

He said Herzog would be “a cool-headed leader who has maintained his honesty and is full of responsibility and dedication to the Israeli public.”

It concluded, that he was convinced Herzog is “worthy” to be PM and if elected, he’d know how to “bridge the gaps” and “unite Israeli society with the glue of solidarity and hope.”

The endorsement for the leader of the Zionist Union Party came after they opened up a surprise lead over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party.

Two major polls published this week ahead of Tuesday’s vote suggest Tzipi Livni and Issac Herzog’s centre-left party is set to take 24 seats compared to Likud’s 21.

However, the research by Israel’s Channel 2 and the Shiluv Institute indicate that right-wing and religious party’s will hold sway, attracting a total of 58 seats compared to just 54 for centre-left parties – out of a total of 120 in the Knesset.

A Likud statement responded by calling the veteran Peres a ‘typical left winger’, as “the architect of the Oslo Accords.”

He was a “supporter of the disengagement [from Gaza], and he supports withdrawing from Judea and Samaria.”

“Only a vote for Likud, and the closing of the gap between Likud and the Labor party, will prevent the formation of a government that will make concessions that will allow for the establishment of a second terror state in the heart of Israel.”

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