Moshe Katsav

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Moshe Katsav (Courtesy: Israeli Knesset)

Moshe Katsav (Hebrew מֹשֶׁה קַצָּב Mōšeh Qaṣṣāḇ), born December 5, 1945) is the current President of Israel (since 2000). He is married to Gila Katsav.

Moshe Katsav was born in Yazd, Iran. He moved with his family to Tehran when he was an infant; in August 1951, they emigrated to Israel. He remains fluent in Persian. Katsav joined the Likud party and became the mayor of Qiryat Mal'akhi, a small town in Israel. He was subsequently elected as a Member of the Knesset.

Pres. Moshe Katsav accompanied by Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg reviewing IDF honor guard at his swearing ceremony in the Knesset

After serving as Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, Katsav vied for the position of President, running against Shimon Peres. In a surprising upset, he defeated Peres to become the president of Israel, being elected by the Knesset on July 31, 2000. He took 63 votes (over 57 for Peres), two more than the required majority of 61, and was sworn in on August 1. He is the first President of Israel to have been sworn in for a seven-year term as well as the first candidate from the right wing Likud party to be elected to the office.

The office of the Israeli President is largely ceremonial, with no executive powers save pardoning prisoners and commuting sentences. Nevertheless, each president emphasizes different aspects of the role during his tenure. Though expected to remain neutral from Israeli politics and represent the entire nation, most presidents have expressed their views in statements or actions. Katsav supported the unsuccessful 2002 cease-fire plan between Israel and the Palestinians (rejected by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon) and refused to pardon Yigal Amir, the convicted murderer of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

In July 2006 allegations have surfaced that Katsav has (or had), a habit of acting improperly towards women, im multiple occasions acting in a manner openly described as sexual harassment. Strangely enough, Katsav himself started this circus by initiating a complaint with the Attorney General about a woman who was allegedly trying to blackmail him. The affair is unfolding in the Israeli media and getting bigger, with more women coming forward daily. [link]

Trivia

On April 8, 2005 Katsav sat near Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (also born in Yazd) during the funeral of Pope John Paul II, due to the fact that all world leaders present were arranged in alphabetical order by the name of their state (see picture). President Katsav later told the press that he shook Khatami's hand and spoke to him in Persian and that he greeted Bashar al-Assad during the funeral service's traditional "exchange of peace". Khatami denied shaking hands and conversing.

Moshe Katsav

Trivia

See also