How did Einstein almost become the president of Israel?

Nobel Prize winning astrophysicist Albert Einstein wasn't exactly poised to become the Israeli president, but Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, asked Einstein if he was interested in becoming the country's leader. Though flattered by the idea, Einstein denied any desire for the role.

Einstein declined interest in the Israeli presidency because of his lack of confidence in his interpersonal skills as well as his desire to avoid religious and political fervor for the Israeli cause. He was not a Zionist, and Einstein also believed that Jewish and Arabic people should cooperate rather than divide one another.