Any Israeli resident citizen is eligible to run for president; as there is no minimum age of candidacy, this would even allow a minor to hypothetically be elected.

The office falls vacant upon completion of a term, death, resignation, or the decision of three-quarters of the Knesset to remove the president on grounds of misconduct or incapacity.

Presidential tenure is not keyed to that of the Knesset, in order to assure continuity in government and the non-partisan character of the office.

[5] In this capacity, the president personifies the Israeli state, sanctions the decisions of legitimate constitutional authorities, and guarantees the execution of the public will.

[6][7] Put another way, the presidency serves as a national symbol that seeks to reinforce the core values of the state and to give a voice to the diversity of Israeli society in the performance of its official functions.

[11] Likewise, most presidential powers are either exercised in accordance with the strictures of the Basic Laws or on the binding advice of the Government.

The purpose of this substantive immunity is to guarantee the institutional independence of the president from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

[8] This arrangement effectively makes the presidency – in the words of one constitutional scholar – Israel's "fourth branch of government", allowing successive presidents to exercise nonpartisan influence (as opposed to party-political policymaking power) in their dealings with politicians, to assure the continuity and stability of state institutions, and to hold dialogue with the public on various charitable causes and issues of national import.

Israel's electoral system and fractured political landscape make it all but impossible for one party to govern alone, let alone win an outright majority of Knesset seats.

[20] The exercise of this authority by the president serves to prevent a prime minister from abusing their power – namely, beating the Knesset into submission through multiple snap elections.

[21] The president has broad power to pardon, reduce, or commute the sentences of both soldiers and civilians, including to refuse requests for such clemency.

[23] The president confers the dignity of Righteous Among the Nations on the recommendation of Yad Vashem, presents the Wolf Prize on the recommendation of the Wolf Foundation, and awards the Presidential Medal of Honor, the President's Fund for Outstanding Doctoral Students, and the Presidential Award for Volunteerism in his absolute discretion.

[citation needed] Most Israeli presidents were involved in national politics or Zionist activities before taking office.

[citation needed] The first president to be born in the modern state after Israel's declaration of independence is Isaac Herzog.

[citation needed] All Israeli presidents from Yitzhak Ben-Zvi to Ezer Weizman were members of, or associated with, the Labor Party and its predecessors, and have been considered politically moderate.

All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions.