Israeli lawmakers to vote for next figurehead president

The Israeli parliament is set to choose the country’s next president

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli parliament Wednesday is set to choose the country's next president, a largely figurehead position that is meant to serve as the nation's moral compass and promote unity. The election will be conducted at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and the 120 lawmakers will cast their votes anonymously. Two candidates are running — Isaac Herzog, a veteran politician and scion of a prominent Israeli family, and Miriam Peretz, an educator who is seen as a down-to-earth outsider. Herzog, 60, is a former head of Israel’s Labor Party and opposition leader who unsuccessfully ran against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the 2013 parliamentary elections.