How is the Israeli legislator different than the US legislator?

Answer 1

There are really four main differences between a U.S. legislator and an Israeli Member of the Knesset.

1) Legislative/Executive Powers: The Knesset serves both as the legislative body and the body from Israel's chief executives. As a result, an Israeli legislator can often have executive duties that correspond to the U.S. Presidency or Cabinet officials.

2) Constitutional Authority: The Israeli Members of the Knesset generally have normal legislative sessions, but they can also convene for the purpose of passing Basic Laws, which are effectively equivalent to U.S. Constitutional Amendments. The rules for passing Basic Laws require much more agreement between Knesset members and more stringent voting requirements, but unlike the U.S. which requires authorities outside of the legislature to pass Constitutional Amendments, the Knesset is wholly responsible for passing Basic Laws.

3) Limited Authority: The U.S. Congress has authority limited to those enumerated in Article I, Section 8, with all remaining powers being vested in the US States. For example, the U.S. Congress cannot pass laws regarding marriage and divorce law. This is based on the aspect of federalism in the United States, but since Israel is a unitary state, the Knesset has the authority to make any laws that are not in violation of rights protected by the Basic Laws.

4) Independence of Opinion: The political parties in the U.S. are simply a bellwether of a politician's political opinions, but each U.S. politician is an individual whose views may differ from the traditional views of the party. The political parties in Israel establish a platform and all of the members of those parties are required to support all of the views of that party and dissent is sufficient to be excommunicated from the political parties.