Israeli President Isaac Herzog to speak at World Economic Forum on Thursday

As the World Economic Forum’s 54th annual meeting takes place in Davos, Switzerland this week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is slated to give an address before the many powerful leaders attending the five-day summit.

According to the WEF, this year’s meeting will include “over 100 governments from around the world, all major international organizations, the Forum’s 1000 Partner companies, as well as civil society leaders, the foremost experts, today’s youth generation, social entrepreneurs and the media.”

The meeting’s theme this year is “Rebuilding Trust,” and will focus on four areas: “Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World,” “Creating Growth and Jobs for a New Era,” “Artificial Intelligence as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society,” and developing “A Long-Term Strategy for Climate, Nature and Energy.”

Herzog, a WEF “Global Leader of Tomorrow,” spoke to the WEF as recently as 2022. 

In his speech, he described WEF President Børge Brende as a “dear friend,” and said that “with the support of this distinguished World Economic Forum, we have an opportunity to build a future of peace, prosperity and progress for all the sons and daughters of Abraham.”

This year, Herzog will participate in a conversation with WEF President Brende and WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab.

Schwab, who has referred to the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres as a “trusted mentor,” stated the following on behalf of the WEF in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza: 

“We strongly condemn Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel and emphasize the need to release hostages, and stress the importance of protecting the civilian population in Gaza and taking care of the most vulnerable.”

Schwab founded the World Economic Forum in 1971, and it has become one of the world’s most influential international organizations.

Though long known by international leadership, Schwab has recently gained far more attention from the general public, due to his organization’s significant involvement in the global, coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic, his calls for an international “Great Reset” of society, and his belief that artificial intelligence and technological progress is “redefining what it means to be human” and “will compel us to redefine our moral and ethical boundaries.”