Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (Hebrew: יצחק "בוז׳י" הרצוג, romanized: Yitskhak "Buzhi" Hertsog; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the 11th president of Israel.

He served as Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2018 and was the Labor Party candidate for prime minister during the 2015 Israeli legislative election.

[3] When his father served as permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations for three years, Herzog lived in New York City and attended the Ramaz School.

He was initially appointed Minister of Tourism in Ehud Olmert's Kadima-led coalition but was reassigned to the Social Affairs ministry in March 2007 after Yisrael Beiteinu was awarded the Tourism Ministry following their late entry to the governing coalition, and was also appointed Minister of the Diaspora, Society and the Fight Against Antisemitism.

In January 2009 he was appointed by PM Ehud Olmert as the Israel Government Coordinator for the provision of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza.

[4] Ten days after the election, Herzog met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to pledge his support for the two-state solution.

[12] Herzog reportedly reached out to Shas leader Aryeh Deri to increase cooperation between the two opposition factions.

Herzog declared that Netanyahu's "loathing and hostility for Barack Obama" was one of his greatest failures, since it put Israel's security at risk.

[16] The joint list was named Zionist Union, winning 24 seats to Likud's 30 in the 2015 election, making it the largest Opposition faction.

[18] In an interview on Ynet news, Herzog stated that he views intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews as a plague to which there must be a solution.

[19] On October 24, 2018, Herzog led a resolution to reaffirm the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors' commitment to the principles of a democratic Israel as emerging from the Declaration of Independence.

During the visit, Herzog addressed the "baggage of the past", which he said "never disappears of its own accord", and underscored that the Israeli-Turkish relationship would be determined by both states' actions.

[31] On 29 March 2022, Herzog conducted a historic first public visit by an Israeli leader to Amman, Jordan, during which he met King Abdullah II, with whom he discussed to deepen the Israeli–Jordanian relationship, maintain regional stability, and bolster peace and normalization.

[32] Further to his declared objective of embarking on a journey within Israeli society, and as part of his public engagements in Israel and visits to its diverse communities, on 29 October 2021 Herzog participated in a memorial for the victims of the 1956 Kafr Qasim Massacre and apologized on behalf of the State of Israel, making him the first Israeli official to ask for forgiveness at the official ceremony in Kafr Qasim.

The forum oversees a number of working groups focusing on different issues and brings together public officials and private citizens to coordinate efforts to combat the climate crisis.

[36] On 28 November 2021, Herzog lit candles for the first night of Hanukkah at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, attracting left-wing criticism.

[38] In October 2023, Herzog accused the residents of the Gaza Strip of collective responsibility for the Hamas attack on Israel.

[39][40] On 17 October 2023, Herzog said that accusations that Israel caused the al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion were "a 21st-century blood libel".

[45] During Herzog's 2024 visit to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office announced that it was investigating a criminal complaint against him.

[46][47] He called South Africa's genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) a "blood libel" against Jews.