When Albert Einstein Was Asked to Become President of Israel

The press kept hounding Albert Einstein. Had he been offered the job as President of Israel? Reportedly, the largely ceremonial position was his for the taking. Would he accept it?

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist kept telling the media, “I never got such a cable.”

It was a half-lie. In secret, Einstein had already been offered the role—which he didn’t want—by the government of Israel, which really didn’t want him to accept it. Now there was a delicate diplomatic dance going on behind the scenes so neither side would be embarrassed by his ultimate refusal.

This intricate drama began to unfold November 9, 1952, with the death of Chaim Weizmann, the first president of the newly established state of Israel. The news media began to speculate on who would hold the office next. (In Israel, the president serves more as a figurehead, not unlike a constitutional monarch, while the prime minister holds the real political power.) Einstein, 73, became the primary focus.

“Maariv, Israel’s most popular daily newspaper at the time, proposed the idea on November 14, 1952, likely as a blend of patriotic vision and journalistic flair,” says Dr. Galina Weinstein, author of Einstein’s Legacy: From General Relativity to Black Hole Mysteries and research associate at the University of Haifa. “A newspaper’s speculative idea snowballed into a real political proposition, directed at one of the most famous people on Earth, who never even lived in Israel and had no political ambitions.”

Referring to Einstein “as the greatest Jew on Earth,” Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion “felt duty-bound to offer (him) the post,” recalled Yitzhak Navon, Ben-Gurion’s political secretary at the time, in a speech at a 1979 symposium on the centennial of the scientist’s birth.

Neither thought it was a good idea but saw no other viable option. Navon later recalled Ben-Gurion saying, “Tell me what to do if he says yes! I’ve had to offer the post to him because it’s impossible not to. But if he accepts, we are in for trouble.”

The reason for the hesitancy was because Einstein, who was then conducting research at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, was viewed as an iconoclastic free thinker who wore frayed sweatshirts to formal events. A passionate humanitarian and committed pacifist, Einstein often spoke his mind on a variety of issues. He strongly supported Israel but was critical of some of its policies, including the treatment of Arabs. The physicist believed Jews should live in peaceful coexistence with their Arab neighbors.

“Einstein was known to voice his support one day and his disillusionment the next,” says Chaya Becker, senior archivist for the Albert Einstein Archives at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “The constant is his disdain for nationalism.”

Privately, Einstein was humbled by the offer but quickly rejected it. He had no interest in leaving the United States, becoming an Israeli citizen and serving in a political capacity. Einstein first learned about the prospect of becoming president from Abba Eban. Israel’s U.S. Ambassador had been instructed by Ben-Gurion to arrange a meeting with the Princeton physicist, which was declined.

“Einstein principally distanced himself from the very nature of political office, which often demands compromise, public theater and tacit endorsement of state actions—actions he might oppose but be powerless to change,” Weinstein says. She adds that Einstein refused because of the “awareness of his social awkwardness and lack of political tact.”

The pressure ramped up after Eban officially offered Einstein the presidency in a letter dated November 17. The physicist finally relented and agreed to a meeting, realizing he couldn’t simply say no to such an important ask. Einstein then met with Navon in New York City the following day.

“He changed his mind because he did not want to hurt the feelings of those who had proposed him for the post,” Navon said at the symposium, adding, “I have the impression that the offer has not caused him any elation or pride, but rather sorrow.”

Einstein stayed true to his convictions but softened his answer. On November 18, he sent a formal, more diplomatic response to Ben-Gurion, stating, “I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it.”

He also wrote, “All my life I have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to exercise official functions.”

“This is the core of his refusal,” Weinstein says. “He is stating, with humility, that his world is that of physics and ideas, not of politics or people.”

Becker adds, “Einstein would have had a difficult time accepting decisions he did not agree with. In the United States, he voiced his opinions on an array of matters, and he was widely quoted in the press, often placing himself in hot water. Ben-Gurion was aware of this, and it troubled him.”

Eventually, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, a more politically astute candidate, was offered the presidency. He was formally elected on December 10, 1952, and served three terms until his death in 1963.

Two days after Einstein officially declined the office, he and Eban met at a reception. At the formal affair, the U.S. ambassador noticed that Einstein was dressed in black tie—but was not wearing socks.

“Einstein…remained himself: eccentric, nonconforming, unimpressed by ceremony,” Weinstein says. “It serves almost as a visual metaphor: Einstein could wear the uniform, but he was never going to fully inhabit the role others wanted to project onto him."