POLITICS OF ISRAEL

By: Benedict Gombocz

GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL Government ( ממשלה

Parliamentary :(حكومةrepublic and multi-party democracy

President ( המדינה נשיאالدولة  Shimon :(رئيس

Peres Prime Minister

( הממשלה  الحكومة ראש رئيس ): Benjamin Netanyahu

Knesset Speaker: Reuven Rivlin

Supreme Court President: Dorit Beinisch

KNESSET REPRESENTED PARTIES Kadima Likud Yisrael Beiteinu Shas Labor United Torah Judaism Independence National Union Hadash United Arab List-Ta’al The Jewish Home New Movement-Meretz Balad

YEARS OF ISRAELI LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS AND THE WINNING PARTY 1949: Mapai 1951: Mapai 1955: Mapai 1959: Mapai 1961: Mapai 1965: Alignment 1969: Alignment 1973: Alignment 1977: Likud 1981: Likud 1984: Alignment 1988: Likud

YEARS OF ISRAELI LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS AND THE WINNING PARTY – CONT. 1992: Labor Party 1996: Labor Party 1999: One Israel 2003: Likud 2006: Kadima 2009: Likud

KADIMA Centrist and liberal party Founded on 24 November

2005 by moderates from Likud largely to endorse the issue of Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disagreement party

Became the largest party represented in the Knesset after 2006 elections with Ehud Olmert as party chairman following Sharon’s stroke and won 29 out of 120 total seats

Won most seats in 2009 elections under Tzipi Livni’s leadership, but became an opposition party for the first time after Likud-led government was created

LIKUD Major center-right party Founded in 1973 by Menachem

Begin in an alliance with both right-wing and and liberal parties

Its victory in 1977 elections was a big turning point in Israel’s political history; was the first time the left lost power

Was the ruling party for most of the 1980s, but lost the Knesset elections in 1992

Saw a major split in 2005 after a convincing win in 2003 elections, during which its leader Ariel Sharon abanonded the party to create the Karima Party

YISRAEL BEITEINU Nationalist party founded in

1999 Describes itself as “a

national movement with the clear vision to follow in the brave path of Zev Jabotinsky”, the founder of Revisionist Zionism

Traditionally represents immigrants from the former Soviet Union

Takes a hard line toward the peace process and Israeli Arabs with its 2009 election slogan “No loyalty, no citizenship”

Won 15 seats in 2009 elections, its most to date; is third largest Knesset represented party

SHAS Ultra-orthodox religious party Founded in 1984 under the

leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, an ex Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi

Primarily represents the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews

Currently the fourth largest Knesset represented party

Has joined coalition governments with Labor and Likud since 1984 ; holds four cabinet posts in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government

LABOR Social-democratic and

labour Zionist party Founded in 1968 by merger

of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi

Observer member of both Socialist International and Party of European Socialists

All Israeli Prime Ministers were associated with the Labor movement until 1977

Split in the party in 2011 resulted in election of Shelly Yachimovich as party leader

UNITED TORAH JUDAISM Alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat

Israel, two small Israeli Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) parties represented in the Knesset

Founded in 1992 Joined Ariel Sharon’s coalition in 2004 and

split its two constituent factors of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel

Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel revived their alliance under the banner of United Torah Judaism to not waste votes and get maximum representation in the 17th Knesset; they united again for the 18th Knesset elections in 2009 and won give mandates, which lost them one seat

INDEPENDENCE Center-zionist party Founded on 17 January

2011 by Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak after he and four other Labour Party MKs declared their secession from the caucus

In the words of the announcement, it aims to be “centrist, Zionist, and democratic” and to form itself as a separate party

NATIONAL UNION Alliance of nationalist

parties Founded in 1999 Consisted of four parties

in 2009 elections: Moledat, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma

Brought into the National Unity Government after Ariel Sharon won the 2001 Prime Ministerial elections

Was opposed to the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip

HADASH Jewish and Arab socialist front

of organizations that runs for the Knesset

Founded in 1977 Currently has four members in

the 120-seat Knesset Won five seats in its first

electoral test but was reduced to four seats in elections of 1981

Kept all four of its seats in 1984 elections

Promotes evacuation of all Israeli settlements, a complete withdrawal of all territories captured in Six-Day War, and establishment of a Palestinian state in those territories

UNITED ARAB LIST Israeli Arab and Islamist Party representing and supported

by Israeli Arabs; not related to the original United Arab List from the late 1970s and early 1980s

Founded in 1996 and was joined in an electoral alliance by the Arab Democratic Party (which held two seats in the outgoing parliament elected in 1992 legislative election) and the southern faction of the Islamist Movement

Originally went under the title of Mada-Ra’am, with Mada as the acronym and common name for the Arab Democratic Party

Entered an alliance with Ahmad Tibi’s Ta’al party in 2006 elections; the alliance received four seats, three of which were taken by the United Arab List

Endorses creating a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as a capital; and equal rights for Israel’s Arab minority

TA’AL Israeli-Arab and anti-Zionist party Founded in the mid 1990s Ran in 1996 elections under the name Arab

Union, but gained only 2,087 votes (0.1%) Ran on the Balad list in 1999 elections in which

it received a seat and broke away from Balad on 21 December

Ran on a joint list with Hadash in 2003 elections Abandoned the alliance with Hadash on 7

February 2006 and ran on a joint list with United Arab Front in 2006 elections; ran as Ra’am-Ta’al (Ra’am is the Hebrew acronym for the UAL)

THE JEWISH HOME Right-wing national religious Zionist party Founded in November 2008 by a merger of National

Religious Party, Moledat and Tkuma Was originally without a name; five names were

proposed: HaBayit HaYehudi (“Jewish Home”), Shorashim (“Roots”), Atzma’ut (“Independence”), Shalem (Whole), and Amihai (“My Nation Lives”)

“Jewish Home” was chosen in an on-line ballot Five of the top six slots went to former NRP

members when Jewish Home announced its candidate list for the upcoming elections

Won three seats in 2009 legislative election

NEW MOVEMENT-MERETZ Left-wing, Zionist, Green ,

social democratic party Founded in 1992;

previously known as Meretz, then Yachad, and then Meretz-Yachad

Emphasizes peace with the Palestinians, human rights (particularly for ethnic and sexual minorities), religious freedom and environmentalism

Was formed by an alliance of three left-wing parties: Ratz, Mapam and Shinui

BALAD Arab nationalist, democratic socialist, anti-Zionist

party; sometimes referred to as the “National Democratic Alliance”

Founded in 1995 Its stated purpose is the ‘struggle to transform the

State of Israel into a democracy for all its citizens, irrespective of national or ethnic identity’

Opposed to the idea of Israel as a solely Jewish state and favors its recasting as a binational state

Also advocates that Israel grant recognition to the Palestinian Arabs as a national minority

Has objected to all proposed state budgets on the grounds that they have discriminated against the Arab minority

SHIMON PERES Ninth and current President of

Israel Born on 2 August 1923 in

Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishneva, Belarus)

Previously served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister; has been a member of 12 total cabinets in a political career spanning more than 66 years

Was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and, excluding a three-month-long hiatus early in 2006, continued to serve in 2007, when he became President

Is the world’s oldest de jure head of state at 88 years old

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU Current Prime Minister of Israel;

also served as Prime Minister between 1996 and 1999

Born on 21 October 1949 in Tel Aviv; is the first Israeli prime minister born after the state’s establishment

Also serves as Chairman of Likud; Knesset member; Health Minister of Israel; Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel; Economic Strategy Minister of Israel

Received worldwide attention when French President Nicolas Sarkozy called him “a liar” at the 2011 G-20 summit in Cannes

REUVEN RIVLIN Current Knesset

speaker Born on 9 September

1939 in Jerusalem Ran in the election for

President in 2007 Withdrew after the first

round of voting when it was clear that Shimon Peres would inevitably win in a run-off

Served in the 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th Knessets

DORIT BEINISCH Current President of the

Supreme Court of Israel Born on 28 February

1942 in Tel Aviv Was appointed to be

President of the Supreme Court of Israel on 14 September 2006 following Aharon Barak’s retirement

Is the first woman to be President of the Supreme Court

RESULTS OF LEGISLATIVE ELECTION, 2009 – MAP

SUMMARY OF 10 FEBRUARY 2009 KNESSET ELECTION RESULTS Kadima: 22.47% Likud: 21.61% Yisrael Beiteinu: 11.70% Labor Party: 9.93% Shas: 8.49% United Torah Judaism: 4.39% United Arab List-Ta’al: 3.38% National Union: 3.34% Hadash: 3.32% New Movement-Meretz: 2.95% The Jewish Home: 2.87% Balad: 2.48%

THE END ( النهايةסוף )