Herzog tells party leaders to 'stop climbing trees' and avoid another election

President Isaac Herzog called on Israel's party leaders to accept the outcome of the election and work toward compromise, saying he wants to avoid sending the country back to the polls. He made the remarks on November 1, 2026, at the state memorial ceremony for Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, according to The Times of Israel.

Herzog told the leaders it was time to end the "climbing up trees" and accept what voters had decided, and asked them to come ready with "creative solutions" when he meets them at the President's Residence. Speaking of the consultations he will host, he said: "we will try to place ladders" so that leaders can adjust to the new reality in a measured and careful way, as quoted by political commentator Amit Segal and by N12 correspondent Shoshi Hatuka. The Jerusalem Post characterised the speech as a call for flexibility ahead of coalition negotiations.

What happens next, in Herzog's own account

Herzog laid out the coming steps himself. He said that on Wednesday Justice Noam Solberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee, will hand him the official results, The Times of Israel reported. After that, he said, talks with the parties will get under way at his official residence, which he described as open to every faction and party in the newly elected parliament.

The Central Elections Committee is the body that runs Israeli national elections and certifies their results. Until the official results are formally handed to the president, the consultation process cannot begin.

The president's role in forming a government

Israel's presidency is largely ceremonial, but the formation of a new government is one of the few moments where the office carries real weight. After an election, the president meets representatives of each faction elected to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and asks whom they recommend to serve as prime minister and to assemble a governing coalition. The Times of Israel noted that Herzog will put that question to each party leader during the talks.

Because no single Israeli party typically wins enough seats to govern alone, the person tasked with forming a government must persuade several parties to join forces. When that fails, the country can be pushed into a further election. Herzog's speech was framed explicitly around preventing that outcome.

What 'climbing a tree' means

Herzog's language draws on a common Hebrew political idiom. To "climb up a tree" is to stake out a public position so firmly that retreating from it becomes embarrassing or politically costly. The matching image is the ladder: offering someone a ladder means giving them a face-saving way to climb down.

Herzog acknowledged that this behaviour is a normal feature of campaigning. During an election, he said, candidates predictably climb high, but the campaign is now finished and the results are an established fact. His promise to "place ladders" signals that he intends to use the consultations to help leaders step back from campaign positions without appearing to capitulate.

How the remarks were reported

The speech was carried within minutes by several Hebrew outlets. Ynet's alert summarised the message as Herzog telling party heads that the elections are over and that they should stop climbing trees. News.co.il and N12 published closely matching Hebrew versions of the central passage about the results being a reality and the plan to place ladders. The English rendering in The Times of Israel uses "face the reality"; the Hebrew phrasing is closer to asking leaders to position themselves in front of that reality. The meaning is the same in both, and the reports do not conflict on substance.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports set out the election results themselves, which parties won how much support, or which blocs might be able to form a coalition. They do not say which specific leaders or campaign positions Herzog had in mind when he spoke of climbing trees, or what concrete forms of compromise he might propose. The reports also do not give the calendar date of the Wednesday handover or a timetable for the consultations, and no party leader's response to the speech is included in the material.