Israeli Government

Israeli Knesset

Israeli Knesset

Israeli Government

Political Figureheads	Branches of Government
Prime Ministers	Executive Branch
Presidents	Judicial Branch
Cabinet Ministers	Legislative Branch (Knesset)
Speakers of the Knesset	Regional and Local Government
IDF Chiefs-of-Staff
Ministers of Defense
Foreign Ministers
Ministers of Finance
Chief Rabbis

The Legislative Branch:  The Knesset

The Knesset is the House of Representatives of the State of Israel. The seat of the Knesset is Jerusalem, and that upon election it has 120 members.

The Knesset fulfills its functions by means of two arms: the Plenary in which all the Knesset members sit and the Knesset Committees.

There are four types of Knesset committees that function on a regular basis:

1.   Permanent Committees (12)

2.   Special Committees (3)

3.   Parliamentary Inquiry

4.   Ethics Committee

In addition, there are two types of committees in the Knesset which convene only when needed:

1.   The Interpretations Committee

2.   Public Committees

The Electoral System

The elections in Israel are general, equal and secret. On the national level they are held at least once every four years, and on the municipal level at least once every five years. Every citizen over the age of 18, whose name appears in the list of voters, may vote.

The Presidency

The President of the State of Israel is elected by the Knesset in a secret vote, and primarily fulfills ceremonial functions as Head of State.

Candidates for the presidency are customarily proposed by the large parties, and are usually well-known public figures. The President is appointed for a period of five years, which can be extended by a further five years.

The functions of the President are defined in the Basic Law: The President of the State. Amongst the President's formal functions are signing laws (even though he has no control over their content), opening the first meeting of the first session of a new Knesset, receiving the credentials of new ambassadors of foreign states, approving the appointment of civil and religious judges, the State Comptroller and the Governor of the Bank of Israel, pardoning prisoners or commuting their sentences, and more.

Freedom of the Press

The institutions of Government in Israel are subject to public scrutiny by the written and electronic media. Public scrutiny is one of the marks and foundations of a democracy, and in Israel it is secured in the principle of freedom of expression which is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, and is currently being secured in a Basic Law.

Since the establishment of the State, the written press has not been Government owned, but until recently the electronic media was fully controlled by the Government. Today there are private radio and television networks side by side with the national ones.

The 32nd Government of the State of Israel, which was formed in March 2009, is made up of the following Ministries:

Agriculture and Rural Development	Immigrant Absorption
Communications	Industry and Trade
Construction and Housing	Justice
Culture and Sports	Prime Minister's Office
Defense	Public Security
Diaspora Affairs	Religious Services
Education	Science
Energy and Water Resources	Social Affairs and Social Services
Environment	Strategic Affairs
Finance	The Interior
Foreign Affairs	Tourism
Health	Transport

The Judiciary

The courts deal with cases of persons charged with a breach of the law. Charges are brought up by citizens against other citizens, by the State against citizens, and even by citizens against the State.

The sessions of the courts of law are usually public, unless it is decided to hold closed hearings under special circumstances. When more than one judge is presiding, and the judges do not agree on a verdict, the opinion of the majority is decisive. Israel does not have trials by jury.

The cases brought to the courts are of two types: Criminal cases and Civil cases. A criminal case is one involving a transgression of the social order, and its intention is to punish the offender, if his guilt has been proven. In a civil case the plaintiff is a private person or association and the defendant is a private person or association. The subject of the trial is the demand that a contract signed between the parties be fulfilled, a debt is returned or compensation is paid for damages caused. In a civil trial there is no punishment, but a duty to pay financial or other compensation.

There are three instances in the regular courts: Magistrate Courts, which have the authority to try light and intermediate offenses, or civil cases in which the sum claimed is no higher than a million shekels (approximately U.S. $300,000); District Courts, which try serious offenses, and civil cases in which the sum claimed is more than a million shekels (approximately U.S. $300,000); and the Supreme Court, which sits in Jerusalem. The number of judges serving on the Supreme Court is determined by the Knesset. The judges elect a permanent President of the Supreme Court and a Deputy from amongst themselves.

The Supreme Court is involved in two realms: The first is to hear appeals for verdicts given by District Courts. In this capacity it is called the Supreme Court of Appeals. The verdict of the Supreme Court of Appeals is final. The second is to hear appeals by persons who feel that they have been wronged by one of the State authorities or statutory bodies. In this capacity the court is called the High Court of Justice. The High Court of Justice functions by means of orders.

In addition to the ordinary courts there are special courts, which are authorized to deal with specific matters only. The most important amongst these are the military courts, the labor courts, and the religious courts. There are religious courts of the four main religious denominations: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze.  Each religious court can only try cases applying to members of its own religious community who are citizens of the State or permanent residents. Since matters of personal status in Israel are usually decided on the basis of religious laws, the religious courts deal with them.