Abraham Burg | |
---|---|
אברהם בורג | |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
1988–1991 | Alignment |
1992–1995 | Labor Party |
1999–2001 | One Israel |
2001–2004 | Labor Party |
Other roles | |
1999–2003 | Speaker of the Knesset |
2000 | Acting President |
Personal details | |
Born | Jerusalem | 19 January 1955
Abraham "Avrum" Burg (Hebrew: אברהם בורג, romanized: Avraham Burg; born 19 January 1955) is an Israeli author, politician and businessman.[1] He was a member of the Knesset, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Speaker of the Knesset, and Interim President of Israel. He was the first Speaker of the Knesset to have been born in Israel after its declaration of independence in 1948. A member of the Labor Party when he was a member of the Knesset, Burg announced in January 2015 that he had joined Hadash.[2]
From the 2000s onwards he has expressed views described as post-Zionist, a label he self-identified with in 2011. He is in favor of Israel negotiating with Hamas, and has called to abandon Herzelian Zionism (calling it a scaffolding that should be removed) in favor of a form of Cultural Zionism, also citing the civic nationalism of France as an example to follow.[3]