President of Israel who is most likely to command a majority in the Knesset. The president awards the Israel Prize on Yom Ha'atzmaut and the Wolf Prize. The president also serves as the main speaker at the opening ceremonies of the half-yearly Knesset conference, as well as at the annual official ceremonies for Yom Hazikaron and Yom HaShoah. Most Israeli presidents were involved in national politics or Zionist activities before taking office. Some were also distinguished in other fields: for example, Chaim Weizmann was a leading research chemist who founded the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot; Zalman Shazar was an author, poet,
Howard Weizmann Howard Weizmann Howard Weizmann was deputy director of the United States Office of Personnel Management. During his tenure, he led efforts to reform the Federal hiring process and worked to help modernize the Federal pension system. He also was responsible for the oversight of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) which manages the annual charitable contributions process for the Federal government. Previous to his appointment, Weizmann served as President of the Private Sector Council (PSC), part of the Partnership for Public Service, a not-for-profit organization that pairs private sector advisers with federal employees to improve agency performance management. Previously, Weizmann served