Knesset

The Knesset ( ; lit. the gathering or assembly; ) is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.

Role in Israeli Government

The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the president and prime minister (although the latter is ceremonially appointed by the President), approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government through its committees. It also has the power to waive the immunity of its members, remove the President and the State Comptroller from office, and to dissolve itself and call new elections.

The Knesset has de jure parliamentary supremacy, and can pass any law by a simple majority, even one that might arguably conflict with the Basic Laws of Israel, unless the basic law includes specific conditions for its modification; in accordance with a plan adopted in 1950, the Basic Laws can be adopted and amended by the Knesset, acting in its capacity as a Constituent Assembly. The Knesset is presided over by a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker.

Government size

The size of the Knesset, currently at 120 members, has often been a source of cause for proposed reforms. In 1996, then-Justice Minister Yossi Beilin backed the ultimately unsuccessful institution of the so-called "Norwegian law", which would require appointed members of the cabinet to resign their seats in the Knesset and allow other members of their parties to take their positions while they serve in the cabinet; this would have resulted in more active members of the legislature being present in regular sessions and committee meetings. This proposed law has also been favored by other politicians, including Yitzhak Levy (who has backed the raising of total seats to 150) and current prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Elections

The 120 members of the Knesset (MKs) are directly elected to four-year terms, subject to calls for early elections (which are quite common). All Israeli citizens 18 years or older may vote in legislative elections, which are conducted by secret ballot.

Knesset seats are allocated among the various parties using the D'Hondt method of party list proportional representation. However, Israel requires a party to meet an election threshold of 2% of the overall vote to be allocated a Knesset seat. Parties select their candidates using a closed list. Thus, voters select the party of their choice, not any specific candidate.

In practice, the Knesset's ability to legislate has often been limited due to the consequences of Israel's low 2% threshold of eligibility for a party to obtain a seat (one of the world's lowest; though it was previously at 1%, then 1.5%). As a result, no party has ever gained a majority on its own (the most being 56 seats), and thus the government is formed on the basis of a coalition. The inherent instability of the coalitions (the average life span of an Israeli government is 25 months) results in numerous successful no-confidence motions, which automatically dissolve the Knesset and necessitates an early election call.

History

The Knesset first convened on 14 February 1949, following the 20 January elections, succeeding the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's parliament during the Mandate era.

The term "Knesset" is derived from the ancient Great Assembly or Great Synagogue () which according to Jewish tradition was an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism – about two centuries ending c. 70 CE. There is, however, no organizational continuity and – aside from the number of members – little similarity, as the ancient Knesset was an essentially religious, completely unelected body.

The Knesset sits on a hilltop in western Jerusalem in a district known as Sheikh Badr before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, now Givat Ram. It was financed by James A. de Rothschild as a gift to the State of Israel. It was built on land leased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Before the construction of its permanent home, the Knesset met in the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem, the Kessem Cinema building in Tel Aviv and the Froumine building in Jerusalem.

Timeline

February 14, 1949: First meeting of the Constituent Assembly, Jewish Agency, Jerusalem

March 8, 1949-December 14, 1949: Kessem Cinema in Tel Aviv (Migdal HaOpera is situated there today)

December 26, 1949-March 8, 1950: Jewish Agency, Jerusalem

March 13, 1950: Froumine Building, King George Street, Jerusalem.

1950-1955: Israeli government holds architectural competitions for the permanent Knesset building

1955: Government approves plans to build the Knesset in its current location

1957: James A. de Rothschild informs Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion of his desire to finance the construction of the building

October 14, 1958: Cornerstone-laying for new Knesset building

August 31, 1966: Dedication of new building (in the days of the Sixth Knesset)

1981: Construction of new wing begins

1992: New wing opens

2005: Construction of another new wing

Knesset assemblies

Each Knesset session is known by its election number. Thus the Knesset elected by Israel's first election in 1949 is known as the First Knesset. The current Knesset, elected in 2009 is the Eighteenth Knesset.

First Knesset

Second Knesset

Third Knesset

Fourth Knesset

Fifth Knesset

Sixth Knesset

Seventh Knesset

Eighth Knesset

Ninth Knesset

Tenth Knesset

Eleventh Knesset

Twelfth Knesset

Thirteenth Knesset

Fourteenth Knesset

Fifteenth Knesset

Sixteenth Knesset

Seventeenth Knesset

Eighteenth Knesset

Current Knesset

The composition of the current Knesset was determined by the 2009 election. At present there are 18 parties represented in the Knesset on 12 lists (some parties run for election together on joint lists), and Labor has split since the Knesset convened, creating the Independence party.

The parties in the current Knesset are shown in the table below.

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:right" |- !Party !Seats |- |align=left|Kadima |28 |- |align=left|Likud |27 |- |align=left|Yisrael Beiteinu |15 |- |align=left|Shas |11 |- |align=left|Labor |8 |- |align=left|United Torah Judaism |5 |- |align=left|Independence |5 |- |align=left|National Union |4 |- |align=left|Hadash |4 |- |align=left|United Arab List-Ta'al |4 |- |align=left|The Jewish Home |3 |- |align=left|New Movement-Meretz |3 |- |align=left|Balad |3 |- |align=left|Total |120 |}

# United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah. # The National Union is an alliance of Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, Hatikva, Moledet and Tkuma. National Union and The Jewish Home announced a merger on 7 July 2010 for the next election. The combined party will be named National Union-Jewish Home.

February 2009 elections

The Knesset was reconstituted following elections in February 2009, which resulted 28 seats for Kadima, 27 for Likud, 15 for Yisrael Beiteinu, 13 for Labor, 12 for three small religious parties (5 for United Torah Judaism, 4 for National Union and 3 for Jewish Home), 11 for Shas, 7 for two Arab parties (4 for Ta'al, 3 for Balad), 4 for the non-Zionist Hadash, and 3 for the left-wing Jewish party Meretz.

Although the Central Elections Committee attempted to ban the participation of the two Arab parties United Arab List-Ta'al and Balad for alleged disloyalty to the state and support of Israel's enemies, the ban was, by a vote of 8 to 1, overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court, allowing the parties to participate.

Tourism

The Knesset holds morning tours in Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Arabic, German and Russian, on Sunday and Thursday and there are also live session viewing times on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

Security

The Knesset is protected by the Knesset Guard, a protective security unit responsible for the security of the Knesset building and Knesset members. Guards are stationed outside the building to provide armed protection, and ushers are stationed inside to maintain order. The Knesset Guard also plays a ceremonial role, participating in state ceremonies which includes greeting dignitaries on Mount Herzl on the eve of Israeli Independence Day.

See also

Elections in Israel

List of Knesset members

List of Knesset speakers

List of Likud Knesset Members

List of Arab members of the Knesset

Knesset Guard

References

External links

Official website

Planning and Construction History in Photographs

Category:1949 establishments Category:Government of Israel Category:Hebrew words and phrases Israel Category:Buildings and structures in Jerusalem Category:Knesset Israel