FAQ: Knesset and Government
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What Are They Without a Constitution?
THE KNESSET
What is the Knesset?
Like many democracies (but unlike the United States), Israel’s political system is a parliamentary democracy, and the Knesset is Israel’s parliament. In a parliamentary democracy, the parliament is the supreme governing body from which all other institutions and offices acquire their authority. The Knesset has 120 members (MKs) and possesses legislative power and certifies the Government’s makeup, including the prime minister who is the head of Government.
How did the Knesset get its name?
In February 1949, Israel’s Constituent Assembly decided to adopt the name “Knesset” for the parliamentary body. The name was derived from the supreme authority of sages (Knesset Hagedolah) organized in Jerusalem after the return from exile in Babylon in the 5th century BCE. The Knesset Hagedolah also had 120 members.
What does the word “Knesset” mean?
The word “Knesset” is derived from the root meaning “to gather.” A synagogue in Hebrew is a “Beit Knesset,” (בית כנסת) or a house of gathering. Similarly, the Knesset is a place where the Israeli state and its representatives gather.
How do Knesset elections work? 1
Elections are held every four years, unless a majority of the previous Knesset calls for early elections—a frequent phenomenon. Each political party vying for seats submits a list of 120 candidates. After popular elections, the number of Knesset seats allocated to each party is divided proportionally based on voter support (parties must receive a minimum of 3.25% of the total vote to have any representation). For example, if a party receives 25% of the popular vote, it will be allotted 30 of the 120 seats, which will be filled by #1-30 on the list it submitted prior to the election. Dozens of parties run in elections, but typically between 8-14 actually receive enough votes to be allocated seats in the Knesset.
THE GOVERNMENT 2
What is the Government?
The Government of Israel is made up of a select number of MKs (and sometimes officials not elected to the Knesset) who become ministers and oversee the functioning of various state departments, such as the Foreign, Defense, or Justice ministries. The Government is formed by the leadership of the various parties that make up the majority ruling coalition. The Government is headed by the prime minister—who generally leads the pre-election list of the largest party (but not always, as was the case with Naftali Bennett in 2021-2022).
How is the Government formed?
An incoming Israeli Government must receive a vote of confidence from a majority of Knesset Members. Since no single party in Israel has ever held an absolute majority of Knesset seats, all of Israel’s Governments have been coalition Governments, a group of parties whose combined strength forms a majority. After elections, the President (a largely ceremonial post) appoints one MK—generally the leader of the largest party—to try to recruit a majority of MKs to support a Government coalition. In order to entice other parties to support his or her Government, the MK tasked with forming a coalition offers other party leaders influence in setting Government policy, as well as ministerial positions. Oftentimes, when MKs accept a ministerial post, they resign from the Knesset (and are replaced by other party members) in order to devote more time to Government work.
THE KNESSET AND THE GOVERNMENT: ROLES AND RELATIONSHIP
What does the Knesset do? How does it work?
The Knesset has the power to enact and repeal laws with the vote of a simple majority (i.e. 3 out of 5 votes, 33 out of 62, or 61 out of 120). It can also adopt and amend Basic Laws (some of which require a special majority of at least 61 MKs). The Knesset supervises Government activities through various committees, approves the Government’s makeup (and can vote to dissolve the Government), and makes appointments to other important offices.
What does the Government do? How does it work?
When a new Government is formed, the new prime minister presents its basic guidelines, which constitute the new Government’s work plan. As head of the Government, the prime minister makes foreign and domestic policy decisions which are voted on and approved by the Government. The Government is composed of ministers, most of whom are the heads of government departments.
Who has ultimate decision-making power, the Knesset or the Government?
In theory, the two are meant to resemble a system of checks and balances, where the Government only gains and retains power based on the “confidence” or consent of the Knesset (the Knesset is the legislative branch and the Government its executive counterpart). However, in practice, the Government controls the Knesset, which is the case in many parliamentary democracies, because the Government controls a majority voting bloc in the Knesset and therefore can pass and repeal legislation as it chooses. The Government’s near-total control over the Knesset’s operation is one of the main issues cited by critics of Israel’s system of government.
1 For a video explanation of Knesset elections, see here.
2 “The Government” is intentionally capitalized in order to distinguish the specific Israeli governing body from the general notion of government.
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