When Shimon Peres’s term as president of Israel came to an end in July, many in Israel were fearful: Who could fill the shoes of the Nobel Peace Prize winner and elder statesman?

Their fears were deepened by the election of Peres’s successor: Reuven (“Rubi”) Rivlin, a veteran right-wing Likud Party parliamentarian, minister of communications under Ariel Sharon, opponent of the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, and someone opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

However, Rivlin’s CV did not prevent Haaretz, Israel’s leading left-wing newspaper—and frequent critic of the Israeli government—from endorsing him. “Rivlin has preached the need for cooperation … extended a hand to the Arab factions, in sharp contrast to his colleagues on the right,” noted Haaretz, and he had “opposed the wave of nationalist legislation” in the Knesset, Israel’s legislature, and “always maintained independent views, even in the face of strong prime ministers like Ariel Sharon and [Benjamin] Netanyahu, and that is an important trait for a president.”

Rivlin’s brand of Zionism—opposition to any division of Israeli territory coupled with the demand for absolute equality for all citizens—can be traced to his childhood in Jerusalem. Rivlin’s father, Yosef Yoel, was an Arabist who translated the Koran and One Thousand and One Nights into Hebrew. Rivlin was brought up to revere the ideals of coexistence and equality, an education he alluded to in his Presidential acceptance speech:

On a balcony in Jerusalem my father was sitting with two of his friends: one a member of the Muslim Nashashibi family, the other a member of the Christian Faraj family … In genuine friendship they turned to my father and said: “Rivlin, you have nothing to worry about, even if the Germans do reach here, we will protect you all.”

Looking them straight in the eye, my father said: “Montgomery will be victorious, we shall be victorious and Rommel will be defeated. A Jewish state will be established here, and in our state I will not need to protect you both, for you will be full partners and equal citizens.”

Today, the Israeli center-left is feeling pretty good about its wager on Rivlin. His commitment to equality, as well as his rejection of sectarian extremism, has been a key feature of his presidency thus far. His determination to embrace all sections of Israeli society, and to be seen to do so, has been welcomed by the Israeli public.

Read the article in full at World Affairs.