What is Israel's form of government and how is it effective?

Answer 1

Israel has a proportionally elected parliamentary democracy. Israel has two separate governmental branches: the legislative-executive branch and an independent judiciary. The Israeli Military (IDF) is subject to the will of the civilian government and does not reserve any special powers or rights.

Legislative-Executive
The Knesset or Israeli Parliament is composed of members who are elected by all Israeli citizens (regardless of race, gender, or religion) and are seated in accordance with the percentage (roughly) of the votes for those parties. After an election, different parties will try to strike agreements with one another to form a coalition that has 61 or more seats (>50% of the Knesset). From this coalition, typically the head of the largest party will become the Prime Minister or the Chief Executive. Other MKs (members of the Knesset) will get posts in the different ministries of the Israeli government and coordinate affairs. The coalition will pass and implement laws designed to improve Israeli society according to what the Knesset rules. Additionally, the Knesset can also pass Basic Laws which are far more permanent than normal laws (similar to a US Constitutional Amendment), but these require a larger percentage of the Knesset to agree to the changes.

Judiciary
Israel has an independent court system which hears cases brought both by Israeli citizens and those on appeal from the military courts in the West Bank from Palestinians. The Israeli courts are designed to be politically impartial and will apply laws approved by the Knesset. The Israeli Supreme Court will occasionally invalidate a law in whole or in part if it violates a Basic Law or if it clearly causes more harm than benefit.

In terms of effectiveness, the Israeli government is effective due to a well-trained bureaucracy, well-armed military and police, and a strong sense of nationalism.