POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN ISRAEL SPRING 2019 Session 7 Maya Hadar IRE215 § Government and Politics in Israel § Executive branch § Legislating branch § Political parties § Is Israel a Democracy? § The upcoming elections (next week!) On The Agenda 2 Israeli Politics § Independence => 14 May 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate (from the League of Nations) over Palestine expired § The Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and declared the establishment of the State of Israel § Political Institutions: (non) Constitution, Courts, Parliament § Cabinets in Israel were dominated by Ashkenaz Jews (80%) Israeli Politics § Constitution => Israel does not have a formal constitution. The constitutional system is based on: § The declaration of Establishment (1948) e.g. individual liberties § Basic laws (e.g., “the Law of Return”) § Regular laws, bureaucratic decisions and court rulings § Amendments to the constitution => proposed by the government/ Knesset § Passage requires a majority vote of Knesset members and subject to Supreme Court judicial review § 11 of the 13 Basic Laws have been amended at least once, latest in 2018 Developing incrementally § Government type => *Parliamentary Democracy § Executive functions are exercised by members of the parliament appointed by the prime minister to the cabinet § The prime minister may be removed from power whenever he loses the confidence of a majority of the ruling party or of the parliament § Next elections: April 9, 2019 (next week) Israeli Government 5 A democratic form of government in which the party with the greatest representation in the parliament (or a coalition), forms the government and its leader becomes prime minister § Is Israel an ethnic democracy? A political system that combines a structured ethnic dominance with democratic, political and civil rights for all. Both dominant & minority ethnic groups have citizenship and are able to fully participate in the political process § Is Israel an ethnocracy? A type of political structure in which the state apparatus is controlled by a dominant ethnic group/s to further its interests, power and resources § Is Israel a contested liberal democracy? Liberal democracy is a liberal political ideology & a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of classical liberalism Is Israel a Democracy? 6 Executive Branch § Chief of state => President Reuven Rivlin (since 2014) § Head of government => Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (since 2009, reelected in 2015) § Netanyahu formed the current center-right coalition § The ‘Likud’ (centre-right to right-wing) political party currently dominates § Minor parties play an important role in Israeli politics Executive Branch § Cabinet => selected by the prime minister and approved by the Knesset § President elect=> the president is indirectly elected by the Knesset for a 7 year term (max 1); elections last held on 10 June 2014 § Following Parliamentary elections, the president (in consultation with party leaders) tasks a Knesset member (usually the head of the largest party) with the task of forming a government Legislative Branch § *Unicameral Knesset => 120 seats, members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote § Members serve 4-year terms *Some governments are split into two houses => bicameral legislatures (e.g., the US Congress is made up of two chambers: the Senate + the House of Representatives) When there is only one house => unicameral (uni "one," camera "chamber”) Parlimentary Elections => § The country is a single electoral district which elects pre-determined party lists to the Knesset (parliament) § Citizens above 18 years of age can vote (including Arab Israelis, not Palestinians in The West Bank/Gaza Strip) Israeli Political System § “Grading” of politicians within the party lists is determined by parties’ internal election § In order to enter the 120 seats Knesset, a party need to pass a 2% votes’ threshold § Beyond the threshold, lists receive seats based on their votes’ share Elections => Israeli Political System Political Parties Right wing Political Parties The ‘Likud’ § Israel’s largest right-wing party § In 1977, the party broke the three-decade electoral monopoly of the Labor Party and its antecedents. Since then, it has been a dominant force in Israeli politics § Was part of the government in the last Knesset § Opposes the Two-State Solution Leader: Benjamin Netanyahu Current Seats: 30 Established: 1973 Political Parties Center Political Parties Kahol Lavan § New party, built from a merger between two centrist parties (Benny Gantz’s ‘Hosen Leyisrael’ and Yair Lapid’s ‘Yesh Atid’) § Gantz retains the number one slot on the list (rotation with Lapid every 2.5 years if the party is selected to lead a government after the elections § Supports a Two-State Solution Leader: Benny Gantz Current Seats: N/A Political Parties Left wing Political Parties Labor ‘Ha’avoda’ § Currently Israel’s biggest center-left party § After the establishment of the state, the party governed Israel uninterrupted for almost thirty years. Labor has not held the premiership since 2001 § Labour’s domination of the government (1948-1977) was reflected in its prominence in two other major Israeli institutions: the Histadrut and the IDF § Supports the Two-State Solution Leader: Avi Gabbai Current Seats: 19 Political Parties Sectorial Parties Political Parties United Arab List ‘Balad’ § The United Arab List is a conservative Islamist party and Balad is a pan-Arab nationalist party. The two factions previously ran in the predominantly Palestinian Joint List in 2015 § Opposition in Last Knesset § Opposes the Two-State Solution Leaders: Masud Ghnaim (United Arab List) & Jamal Zahalka (Balad) Current Seats: 7 Elections 2019 § Number of eligible voters: 5.8 Million (total population 8.97M) § 79% Jewish, 16% Arab, 5% miscellaneous § Group of voters by age => 40-59 (32%), 25-39 (30%), 60 or older (25%), and 18-24 (14%) § Number of parties: 43 Elections 2019 § The public decided who sits in the Knesset (parliament) § The Knesset elects the government § The government is formed by the leader of one of the large factions who received an approval by the state’s President (a symbolic actions) to negotiate other factions for forming a coalition The Political System: Coalitions § If he can’t form a coalition, permission is given to the next faction with the highest likelihood to try its best § If these attempts fail => new elections The Political System: Coalitions § The logic of coalition formation in multiparty parliaments is based on ideological compromises => membership and leadership of Knesset committees, government portfolios and pre-commitments to budget specific policies § Parties which have a credible threat power to switch between coalitions can maximize their payoffs from the bargaining process § Parties which are more cohesive as factions, can maneuver collectively and receive higher payoffs (e.g., The German Bundestag) § Non cohesive parties dismantle and cannot enforce coalitional agreements on their members (e.g., Italian Parliament, British Parliament at the moment) The Government § After the coalition is formed, it needs to receive the Knesset’s approval (vote of investiture) to start its reign § Once elected by the Knesset, as long as the government does not lose the confidence of 61 members of Knesset (MK’s)- it survives § When at least 61 MK’s votes no-confidence against the government, it needs to appoint one of its members as the potential head of a new coalition => coalition formation process starts again § If the Prime Minister resigns (or is declared unfit to rule due to illness) => same process is initiated Policy Making § The Prime Minister leads the policy making processes in the government § These processes are based on the coalition formation policy guidelines § Policy making is restricted by: § The government’s budget (decided by the government + Knesset and enforced by the Treasury) § Knesset’s approval § Bureaucratic implementation § Judicial review § Increasing influence of civil society on policy making processes but the main locus of power is in the hands of the government/treasury A Comparative Perspective § US Presidential system => full division of powers, usually complete terms in office (rare- impeachment), bargaining between the White House and Congress (two chambers), two large parties § Westminster model => A decisive PM leading her party and government, two strong parties, one effective chamber, no inter-party coalitions Next Session... 27 § Israeli foreign policy & international relations 28 Thank You For Your Attention! Questions???