Dictionary:

Knesset

  (knĕs'ĕt')

The unicameral parliament of Israel.

[Modern Hebrew Kneset, from Mishnaic Hebrew kəneset, assembly, from Aramaic kəništā, from kənaš, to assemble.]

For more information on Knesset, visit Britannica.com.

The parliament of Israel.

The Knesset is unicameral, with 120 members who are elected for a term of four years. A majority may call for early elections. The Knesset's power of judicial review is limited, but it can, with special majorities (that is, fixed numerical requirements that may be more than a majority of those present and voting on a given occasion), change the Basic Laws - the constitution. (Only simple majorities - more than half of those present in the Knesset at any given time, which could be less than half of the 120 Members of Knesset - are necessary to make ordinary legislation.) The Knesset chooses the prime minister, the cabinet, and the symbolically important president of the state, and it can dismiss the government through a no-confidence vote. In addition to legislative duties, it has broad investigative powers. It must be in session for at least eight months of each year. Members enjoy wide legislative immunity.

Most of the Knesset's work is done by standing committees. The legislative process is similar to those of most other countries. After a first reading, a bill is sent to committee where it may be studied and amended, after which it returns to the full Knesset for second and third readings. Israel has a classical parliamentary system; the Knesset has relatively little political independence. Committee membership corresponds to party strength in the Knesset, and deputies are restrained by their parties under tight discipline. Knesset members may introduce private bills, question members of the government, and present motions for debate of subjects not on the government's agenda. However, these rarely have a significant impact.

Knesset members are subordinate to political parties because of the electoral system, a single national constituency in a proportional representation system. Voting is by party lists. Until 1992 parties needed only 1 percent of the votes to win a seat, and the result of this system was the presence of numerous small parties. There has never been a time when a single party had a majority in the Knesset; coalitions have always been necessary. When the threshold was raised to 1.5 percent in 1992, the number of parties dropped markedly.

Structural characteristics strengthen the role of the executive at the expense of parliamentary independence. It has been estimated that 95 percent of the bills are introduced into the Knesset by the government. Knesset debate on them, both in committees and on the floor, seldom leads to any outcome other than that desired by the coalition members.

Bibliography

Arian, Asher. "Politics in Israel. The Second Generation." In Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 10. Chatham, NJ: 1985.

Hazan, Reuven. Reforming Parliamentary Committees: Israel inComparative Perspective. Columbus: Ohio State University, 2001.

Mahler, Gregory. The Knesset: Parliament in the Israeli PoliticalSystem. Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1981.

— WALTER F. WEIKER
UPDATED BY GREGORY S. MAHLER

The parliament of Israel.

Knesset כנסת
Type	Unicameral
Speaker of the Knesset	Dalia Itzik, Kadima since May 4, 2006
Deputy Speaker	Majalli Wahabi, Kadima since May 4, 2006
Members	120
Political groups	Kadima Labour-Meimad Shas Likud
Last elections	March 28, 2006
Meeting place	Knesset, Jerusalem, Israel
Web site	www.knesset.gov.il

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The modern Knesset building, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, used since 1967

The Knesset (Hebrew: כנסת‎, Assembly) is the legislature of Israel. It is located in Jerusalem, the capital and seat of government of the State of Israel.

The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset enacts laws, elects the prime minister (although he is ceremonially appointed by the President), supervises the work of the government, reserves the power to remove the President of the State and the State Comptroller from office and to dissolve itself and call new elections.

The Knesset first convened on February 14, 1949. Every 4 years (or less if early elections are held, as is often the case), 120 members of the Knesset (MK) are elected by Israeli citizens who must be at least 18 years old to vote. The Government of Israel must be approved by a majority vote of the Knesset.

The Knesset has de jure parliamentary supremacy and can pass any laws by a simple majority, even those that conflict with the Basic Laws of Israel, as it is also a Constituent Assembly. Nonetheless, the Knesset's right to function effectively has been greatly curtailed due to the inherent flaws of the low threshold party list proportional representation that usually results in a fractious government dependent on unstable coalitions. Hence, de facto, the Supreme Court of Israel has greatly expanded its authority through judicial review to nearly every aspect of Knesset legislation at the expense of the Knesset's authority.^[1]

The Knesset is guarded by the Knesset Guard.

Knesset location and building

The Knesset is located in Givat Ram, on a hilltop in western Jerusalem, which before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War was an Arab settlement called Sheikh Badr. The building was financed by James A. de Rothschild as a gift to the State of Israel.

Before the construction of its permanent home, the Knesset met in several locations:

1. February 14, 1949: First meeting of the Constituent Assembly, Jewish Agency building, Jerusalem.
2. March 8, 1949-December 14, 1949: Sittings held in the Kessem Cinema in Tel Aviv. (Migdal HaOpera situated there today).
3. December 26, 1949-March 8, 1950: Reconvenes in the Jewish Agency building, Jerusalem.
4. March 13, 1950: Temporary location at "Froumine Building", King George Street, Jerusalem.

History of the Knesset building

1. 1957: James A. de Rothschild informs Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion of his decision to bequeath funding for a permanent Knesset building.
2. October 14, 1958: Laying of the cornerstone for new Knesset building.
3. August 31, 1966: Dedication of the new building during the sixth Knesset.
4. 1981: Construction of new wing, opened in 1992.
5. 2005: Additional wing under construction.

The Knesset building is built on land leased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.^[2]

The Knesset Assemblies

Each Knesset session is generally known by its election number. Thus the Knesset elected by Israel's first election in 1949 is known as the First Knesset. The current Knesset, elected in 2006 is the Seventeenth Knesset.

• First Knesset
• Second Knesset
• Third Knesset
• Fourth Knesset
• Fifth Knesset
• Sixth Knesset
• Seventh Knesset
• Eighth Knesset
• Ninth Knesset
• Tenth Knesset
• Eleventh Knesset
• Twelfth Knesset
• Thirteenth Knesset
• Fourteenth Knesset
• Fifteenth Knesset
• Sixteenth Knesset
• Seventeenth Knesset

Composition of the 17th Knesset

The composition of the seventeenth Knesset was determined by the 2006 election. At present there are 18 parties represented in the Knesset on 12 lists (some parties run for election together on joint lists). Though it has not yet happened in the current session, in every Knesset to date parties have split up during the Knesset's term, leading to the creation of new parties or resulting in MKs sitting as independents.

The parties in the current Knesset are shown in the table below. Those in bold are part of the governing coalition.

Party	Seats
Kadima	29
Labour-Meimad	19
Likud	12
Shas	12
Yisrael Beiteinu	11
National Union*-National Religious Party	9
Gil (Pensioners)	7
United Torah Judaism**	6
Meretz-Yachad	5
United Arab List-Ta'al	4
Hadash	3
Balad	3

* The National Union is an alliance of Moledet, Tkuma and the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party.

** United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah.

See also

• List of Knesset members
• List of Knesset speakers
• List of Likud Knesset Members
• Arab Knesset members

References

1. ^ Models of Judicial Review Constitution for Israel
2. ^ Palestinians want Greek patriarch expelled Ecumenical News, 23 March 2005

External links

• Official website
• Official website (English)
• Parliamentary Groups in the Knesset
• Arab Influence Promoted in Israeli legislature by Ynetnews

Israeli parliamentary elections
1949 | 1951 | 1955 | 1959 | 1961 | 1965 | 1969 | 1973 | 1977 | 1981 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 1999 | 2003 | 2006
Israeli prime ministerial elections
1996 | 1999 | 2001

Coordinates: 31°46′36″N, 35°12′19″E

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