Representatives of Arab Israelis Most Likely Will Preserve Their Seats in the Knesset

• 03.15.2015, 14:40
•  Near East,  World,  Info

On March 17, 2015 early parliamentary elections will be held in Israel. To understand the importance of these elections for Israel and particularly for the Arab Israelis, the political structure of the country should be presented.

Israel is a parliamentary democracy and has legislative, executive and judicial branches. The head of the state is the President. The Speaker, Knesset, Committees, Mayors and Council Heads, Local Councils constitute the legislative branch. The Prime Minister, Government, Ministries, State Comptroller and Ombudsman constitute the executive branch. The Court System and the Attorney General constitute the Judicial System.  In this political system the executive branch, as the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes, is subject to the confidence of the legislative branch.

The President of Israel, who is the head of the state, symbolizes the unity of the nation. The candidates of the president are being nominated taking into consideration their contribution to the state and are being elected by a simple majority of the Knesset. The President is elected for a single term of seven years.  The duties of the President are mainly ceremonial and formal, and are defined by law.

The Knesset, which is the legislative body of the country, consists of 120 members, who are elected by general elections. During the first session of the Knesset the members express their allegiance and then the speaker and the deputy speakers are being elected.  The Knesset serves for four years but can be dissolved by the Prime Minister or by a constructive vote of no confidence, which was the case on December 8, 2014 when with the unanimous vote the Knesset was dissolved and early parliamentary elections were appointed. 

The government (cabinet of ministers) that is responsible for the internal and external affairs of the country is the executive authority of the state. The prime minister appoints members of the Cabinet based on the distribution of votes of the political parties during the elections. The ministers are responsible to the prime minister for carrying out their duties and accountable to the Knesset for their actions. The government also serves for four years.  Until now all governments of Israel have been formed with several parties making coalition, as no party has received enough seats to form a government by itself.

The decisions in the Knesset are passed by the majority vote. In this regard it should be reminded that in the 19^th Knesset there were 12 representatives of the Arab Israelis. With a bill passed by the Knesset the threshold for securing a seat in the Knesset was raised from 2% to 3.25%. This caused much debate as this step was perceived as an obstacle created by the majority of the Knesset to ensure less Arab members in the Knesset. This was the reason why the Hadash, Balad, Taal and the Islamic Movement parties joined the United Arab List, to form the Joint List and together run the elections. According to the latest poll, the Joint List in the upcoming elections may win 12-13 seats, which means they will preserve their previous seats.  

 As for the judiciary, its independence is guaranteed by law and the judges are appointed by the president. Appointments are permanent, but there is a retirement age, which is 70.

Israel does not have constitution, but it has Basic Laws which are adopted by the Knesset the same way as other legislation – by majority vote.