By Stan Goodenough
Jun 11, 2007
Israel's Knesset (parliament) is set to vote for a new State President Wednesday, and predictions are that veteran left-wing politician Shimon Peres will get the job.
Pundits were in agreement Monday that former Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) and the Labor Party's Collette Avital will be trounced in the vote.
Israel's President is mostly a ceremonial figurehead who represents the country at various state functions and events. He is not supposed to be involved in politics - though a number of previous presidents have abused the office to do so.
The post has been filled by Knesset Speaker Dalia Yitzhik since former President Moshe Katsav was forced to step down a few months ago under a flood of accusations of sexual misconduct that have yet to be proven in a court of law.