Standing Strong |
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Israel’s Political System |
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Why should Christians be concerned about the political system and the upcoming elections in Israel? Because we are at a point in history where G-d’s promises to His people are coming under attack. Just as we are to be good stewards of the things G-d puts into our hands and use those gifts toward His will, we also must be good stewards of the Land He has given to His people. Understanding the political system of this very important country in the Middle East is vital in such a precarious time, when we are facing the resetting of Israel’s borders, increased terrorist attacks throughout the world, and the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
When we look at any country and how it is handling conflict, we must examine its political system and how it operates, in order to form an educated opinion on the situation. While Israel is a democracy, it is a lot different than the democracy of the United States, which is familiar to this writer. Israel operates under a parliamentary system with proportional representation. This is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the support of the parliament and each party being represented in the government by the percentage of votes received for the party. If the party gets 8% of the votes, it gets 8% of the seats in parliament.
Israel’s government consists of three branches: legislative, executive, and judiciary. The legislative branch is elected at least once every four years. Every party running for election presents a list of candidates. The public votes for the party, and the number of candidates entering the house of representatives is proportional to the percentage of the support the party receives. The house of representatives is called the Knesset and has 120 members. The law does not define the authority of the Knesset, and details regarding the way it functions appear in its regulations. The president assigns the task of forming a government and heading it as prime minister to the Knesset member considered to have the best chance of forming a viable coalition government. To form a government requires a majority of at least 61 of the 120 seats. To date this has been done by forming coalitions, as no one party has filled 61 or more seats by general election. This allows for parties that are represented by a small number of seats to potentially have great power. When forming coalitions, negotiations are made for filling positions as a minister in any one of the 12 standing committees or 3 special committees. If the party with the largest number of seats has 59 seats, they might negotiate with a party that has only 2 seats to make a majority and offer a significant ministerial position in return for the loyalty to form a coalition and run the government. In this system, there are no insignificant parties.
The elections to the legislative branch are general, secret, and equal. They are held once every four years or upon dissolution of the current government. The general public, 18 years old and older, vote for the party they wish to represent them. The parties will be represented in the next Knesset in direct relation to the proportion of votes it gets with a 1.5% minimum necessary to be represented in the legislature.
The government can be dissolved at any time by a no-confidence vote of the legislators or by the prime minister, with the permission of the president, resigning the current government. A government that has resigned or been brought down by a no-confidence vote continues to serve until a new government is elected. Until that time, it is called a transitional government. During the time of the transitional government, the prime minister has the power to appoint ministers without legislative ratification.
The president is elected by the Knesset in a secret vote and serves a term of seven years. The president bears the ancient title of the Head of the Sanhedrin. The president customarily assigns the task of forming a new government to one of the largest represented parties. The president signs laws and treaties, receives credentials of new ambassadors of foreign states, and approves the appointment of judges and the state comptroller. The president also has the power to pardon prisoners on advice of the minister of justice. Additionally, he performs public functions and other ceremonial duties.
The state comptroller is appointed by the president on the basis of the recommendation of the Knesset House Committee. The comptroller is elected for a five-year term and is to examine the legality of activities performed by the supervised bodies on matters of money and property, their frugality, efficiency, and integrity. Once a year, the comptroller provides a report to the Knesset, where it is discussed in the Knesset State Control Committee. The report is published and brought to the public’s attention. The comptroller also serves as public ombudsman, who investigates complaints by private persons against the government.
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Isaiah 11:6 2 Thessalonians 2:15 |
