Knesset

The Knesset (כנסת, Hebrew for "assembly") is the Parliament of Israel. It is located in Jerusalem, Israel's capital.

History, nature and composition

It is composed of 120 members elected in a single electorate to 4-year terms by a system of party-list proportional representation, but it hardly ever completes a full term.

Related Topics:
Electorate - Party-list proportional representation

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The use of party-list proportional representation has had a profound effect on the nature of Israeli politics and thus on the wider Middle East conflict.

Related Topics:
Party-list proportional representation - Israeli politics - Middle East

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Prior to a national election each party holds an internal election to draft a party list showing who will sit in any Knesset seats it wins during the national election. Ideally this list should contain a full 120 names. As an example, if Likud won 23 seats during a national election those individuals at positions 1-23 on the Likud party list would be granted the seats in the Knesset.

Related Topics:
Election - Likud

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In many democracies, voters elect only a single individual for an electorate. This leads to a direct (even personal) relationship between an elected individual and how well he or she serves constituents of a particular area. Under such a system the elected individual can be held personally accountable to the electorate. Many in Israel feel that their political system prevents them from holding their politicians accountable in this manner. Those with the greatest power in the party (and therefore those who become decision makers at a national level) are typically allocated priority positions on the party list. This means that their chances of failing to be re-elected are low regardless of how well they personally are seen to act.

Related Topics:
Democracies - Voters - Electorate - Political system

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One other effect of the use of party-list proportional representation is to cause the membership of the Knesset to be politically fragmented. Since no one party has ever achieved 61 seats (ie. greater than 50%) in the Knesset, all governments are made up of coalitions, very often containing a number of parties with only a few seats. This has meant that when the major parties like Likud and the Israeli Labour Party want to try to form a government following an election they must negotiate with a variety of parties in an effort to form a coalition containing at least 61 seats. This typically results in compromises of policy and sometimes bizarre political couplings.

Related Topics:
Party-list proportional representation - Coalitions - Likud - Israeli Labour Party

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The Israeli political system is widely regarded as giving disproportionately great power to the minor political parties, who become tie breakers. It has often been the case that the major parties have had to accept (sometimes extreme) minor parties into a coalition in order to be able to form a government. These minor parties are often able to veto and dictate major policy decisions by threatening to leave the coalition should their wishes not be followed, even contrary to the manifesto of the large parties and the most popular views of the Israeli public.

Related Topics:
Israeli political system - Veto - Policy - Manifesto

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This situation has enabled extreme right wing parties, which have always been a political minority, to scuttle several promising peace initiatives over the last few decades, and prevented initiatives towards the separation of religion from the law, for example by allowing secular marriage unaffiliated to any faith, currently only officially sanctioned if performed abroad-(local marriage licenses must declare to be Jewish, Muslim, Christian or any of the other officially recognized religions). Although this issue is viewed favourably by an estimated 70% of Israelis (according to polls), so far it could not be implemented due to the power of small religious parties.

Related Topics:
Extreme right - Religion - Law - Faith - Jewish - Muslim - Christian

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The largest parties, Labour and the Likud are more secular in nature, somewhat comparable to the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States, respectively, though the American parties do not have to contend with pressures from smaller factions. On religion versus secularism in Israel, see also Israel-Politics and Law.

Related Topics:
Labour - Likud - Democratic - Republican - United States - Secularism - Israel

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Regardless of any other factors, a party must receive 1.5% of the popular vote to be awarded even a single seat. This requirement is seen to somewhat mitigate the political fragmentation of the Knesset. However, this lower threshold is among the lowest in the democratised world; most countries with similar systems have set their "single seat threshold" at 5% or more.

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Members of the Knesset have broad legal immunities regarding search, detention, free movement, and prosecution of acts relating to their duties. Members are also expected to avoid improper use of their immunities, conflicts of interest, etc., and transgressions may be dealt with by the Knesset Ethics Committee.

Related Topics:
Immunities - Detention - Free movement - Prosecution - Knesset Ethics Committee

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The 16th Knesset (2003) had 18 women parliament members (15%) and 3 Government ministers (13%). The first (and only, so far) woman as Prime minister was Golda Meir, from 1969 to 1974, who was also the second woman in the world in this role.

Related Topics:
Prime minister - Golda Meir - 1969 - 1974

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Israeli law forbids parliament registration (i.e. standing for election) of anti-democratic, racist or anti-Zionist parties. This law was the basis for court disqualification of the extremist right wing Kach party in 1988, whose manifesto advocated forceful transfer of the Arab population out of Israel, abolition of democracy and establishment of a religious theocracy. It has been argued by some on the Israeli right that all parties running for election be required to abide by a loyalty oath to the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Related Topics:
Israeli law - Zionist - Extremist - Right wing - Kach - 1988 - Arab - Israel - Democracy - Theocracy - Loyalty oath

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The First Knesset (assembled during the War of Independence in 1949) had 3 Arab parliament members. Thereafter it has always included elected representatives among the Arab minority in Israel although in disproportionately small numbers (Arabs comprise about 20% of the population). This may be partly due to low voter participation rate inherent in that sector. There are also allegations of prejudice.

Related Topics:
War of Independence - 1949 - Prejudice

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Alternate views argue that some of the elected Arab Knesset members oppose the very existence of the Knesset, Zionism and the current state of Israel, thus abusing democratic freedom and the intended nature of political participation in it. This allegation cites numerous acts of incitement by Arab Knesset members and meetings with leaders of Arab terrorist organizations abroad. Requests to disqualify Arab Knesset members on these grounds were denied by the Israeli High Court of Appeals, and the pettitioners view this as lack of symmetry in application of the law to Kach and Arab parties, favouring the latter.

Related Topics:
Zionism - High Court of Appeals - Kach

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In 2001, Israel's first Arab minister, Saleh Tarif, was nominated by Ariel Sharon. The current 16th Knesset assembly has 9 Arab parliament members, and 2 Druze.

Related Topics:
2001 - Ariel Sharon - Druze

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The main arab parties are Hadash, Balad and the United Arab List.

Related Topics:
Hadash - Balad - United Arab List

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