Israel's Political System

The Knesset

Seats in Israel's legislative assembly, the Knesset, are assigned through a system of nationwide proportional representation: Rather than electing individual candidates, voters cast ballots for an entire party. Any party receiving more than 2 percent of the vote is assigned a proportional number of seats in the 120-member legislature. Prior to the general election, each party holds an internal election to decide on a list of representatives to occupy any seats the party should win. If, for instance, a party wins ten seats, the first ten names on the slate will become members of the new Knesset. Each Knesset is expected to serve a four-year term. However, if a majority of the representatives agree, they may elect to dissolve the body and hold early elections. The legislature's tenure may also be prolonged beyond four years, though this requires a "special majority" of eighty votes.

The Prime Minister

The elected prime minister is the candidate who receives more than half of the valid votes, provided that he is also a Knesset member. Prime ministers are expected to serve four-year terms, though these may be shortened by a vote of no-confidence in the Knesset. Such votes include naming a replacement candidate, who is given the opportunity to form his or her own government. If that candidate is unsuccessful, the Knesset is dissolved and new elections are held.

To form a new government, a prime minister is given forty-five days to fill cabinet positions and win Knesset approval. Since no single party has ever won a majority of the seats in the Knesset, this requires forming a coalition with other parties in order to win majority approval. In forming a coalition, the prime minister must offer some cabinet positions to members of the smaller coalition partners, as smaller parties often represent the additional votes to pass legislation. These smaller parties often use this influence to further their political agendas.

Political Parties

Israel's major parties are Likud, Labor, and Kadima. Because of the low threshold to gain representation in the Knesset, nine other parties are also represented in the legislature.

The largest parties are:

• Kadima (29 seats). Formed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on November 21, 2005, the Kadima, or Forward, Party seeks to find middle ground in the contentious Israeli political arena. A week after its formation, the party revealed its platform: maintaining a Jewish majority in Israel by making territorial concessions; preserving Israeli control of Jerusalem and large Jewish settlement blocs; and supporting the formation of a demilitarized, terror-free Palestinian state. Many prominent politicians left their parties to join Kadima, including former Labor Party leader Shimon Peres and then-Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. Kadima appeared to be in jeopardy when on January 4, 2006, Sharon suffered a stroke that effectively ended his political career. Sharon's deputy, Ehud Olmert, took hold of the party reins, and helped Kadima win the most seats in the March 28 election.
• Israeli Labor Party (ILP) (19 seats). Prior to the March 28 election, the centrist ILP was a major opposition party in Israel. The party was led by Peres, until his leadership was upset in a November 8, 2005, party primary by Amir Peretz. Peres then quit Labor and joined Sharon's Kadima. The ILP, which once dominated Israeli politics -- appointing every prime minister prior to 1977 when Likud's Menachem Begin was elected -- remains a major player, though it hasn't had a prime minister since Ehud Barak stepped down in 2001. Unlike Likud, ILP members support negotiations with Palestinian groups and withdrawal from the settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. In December 2004, the ILP aligned with Likud in order to implement Israel's disengagement plan. After the March 28 vote, ILP aligned with Kadima to form a government.
• Likud (12 seats). Following the controversial withdrawal from Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the right-wing Likud Party faced a crisis. The decision to evacuate the Jewish settlements, which Likud traditionally views as the country's "unassailable right" to return to the historic "Land of Israel," caused a rift within the party. Likud has maintained a hard line in dealing with Palestinians, opposing statehood and directly targeting terrorist leaders, and many in the party feared the Gaza pullout would lead to attacks against Israel by Palestinian militants. Playing off these fears, former Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu mounted a challenge to then-Prime Minister Sharon's party leadership. Rather than face Netanyahu in a party primary, Sharon split with Likud -- which he helped found¿and formed the centrist Kadima party. Likud did not fare well in the March election, losing twenty-eight seats and making its worst showing in years.
• Shas (12 seats). As its primary platform goals, Shas -- a minority party with waning Knesset influence over the years -- supports a more prominent role for religion within the Israeli state. Party leaders have remained fairly flexible on policies toward Palestinians, a stance that often enables them to affect the balance of power in the Knesset. Shas agreed to join the Kadima-Labor ruling coalition with the stipulation that it did not have to support a further withdrawal from the West Bank settlements.
• Yisrael Beytenu (11 seats). Founded in 1999 by former Likud member Avigdor Lieberman, Yisrael Beytenu, meaning "Israel, our home," is a right-of-center, Zionist party. The party advocates a hard line toward the Palestinian Authority and Arab states, though it supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.