POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN ISRAEL SPRING 2020 Session 6 Maya Hadar IRE215 § Israeli Independence § Israeli Political System § President, Prime Minister § The three branches (Executive, Legislative, Judiciary) § Coalition Formation & Policy Making § Parliamentary Elections § Israeli Politics: Historical Review § Unique traits § Contemporary Political Parties § Election 2020 § Jewish vs. Democratic § Is Israel a Democracy? On The Agenda For Today2 Israeli Independence § Independence => 14 May 1948, on the day 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 § Israel is a Parliamentary Democracy, a form of government in which: § The people hold political power and rule through elected representatives § The party with the greatest representation in the parliament forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister § Executive functions are exercised by members of the parliament appointed by the prime minister to the cabinet § Laws are made by majority vote and signed by the head of state, who does not have an effective veto power § The Prime Minister can be removed from power if he loses a vote of ‘no confidence’ § Canada, UK, Italy, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, New Zealand … 4 Government Type Israeli Political System § Constitution => Israel does NOT have a formal constitution. Underlying principles are expressed in: § 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/Parliament (aka ‘Knesset’) § Passage requires a majority vote of Knesset members, subject to judicial review of the Supreme Court § 11/13 Basic Laws have been amended at least once, latest in 2018 Developing incrementally § Head of State=> President Reuven Rivlin (since 2014) § Elected by the Knesset for a 7-year term (max) § Last elections held on June 2014 Israeli Political System § Prime Minister => Head of the executive branch, Binyamin Netanyahu (since 2009, reelected in 2015) § Netanyahu formed the last center-right coalition § 2 rounds of elections in 2019 => No coalition § 3rd elections in March 2020: still negotiating … Israeli Political System Legislative Branch § Unicameral* Knesset => 120 seats, members are elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote- no ‘seat saving’ § Members serve 4-year terms § Situated in Jerusalem Israeli Political System *Bicameral legislatures: Governments that split into two houses (e.g. US Congress is made up of two chambers: Senate + House of Representatives). When there is only one house => Unicameral (uni: one, camera: chamber) § The Supreme Court (Jerusalem) has two functions: 1. High Court of Justice (Bagatz), hearing Petitions made by any person (not only citizens or residents) against public bodies and governmental authorities 2. Final court of appeals mainly hearing appeals of judgments and decisions pronounced in the District Courts Judiciary Branch Israeli Political System § Consists of 15 Justices and two Registrars § The head of the Supreme Court and the entire judicial system is the President of the Supreme Court (currently Justice Esther Hayut) § Following general elections, the president (in consultation with party leaders) tasks a Knesset member (usually the head of the largest party) with forming a government (by forming a coalition) § If he can’t form a coalition, the mandate to do so is given to the head of the second largest party § If both fail => New elections Executive Branch Israeli Political System Coalition Formation § Post elections, each party is endowed with a level of political power § The logic of coalition formation in multiparty parliaments is based on ideological compromises (Membership and leadership of parliament committees, government portfolios and pre-commitments to budget specific policies) reached following a bargaining process § Parties which are more cohesive as factions can maneuver collectively and receive higher payoffs (e.g., The German Bundestag) § Non-cohesive parties find it hard to enforce coalitional agreements on their members and at times dismantle (e.g., Italian Parliament, British Parliament before Brexit) Coalition Formation § The ruling coalition consists of a subset of the parties in the specific political environment and decides the distribution of resources (budgets, etc.) § A ruling coalition needs to: § Contain enough powerful members to win against any alternative coalition that may challenge it § Be self-enforcing: No sub-coalitions should be able to secede and become the new ruling coalition Policy Making § The Prime Minister leads policy making processes in the government § Based on 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 § After a coalition is formed, it needs to receive the Knesset’s approval (vote of investiture) to start its reign Executive Branch Israeli Political System § Government => Appointed by the Prime Minister, approved by the Knesset § Upon approval, the Government survives as long as it does NOT lose the confidence of 61 members of Knesset (MK’s) § When at least 61 MK’s vote ‘no-confidence’ against the government, it must appoint a potential head of a new coalition => Coalition formation process starts § If the Prime Minister resigns/declared unfit to rule due to illness => Same process initiated Parliamentary/General Elections => § The country is a single electoral district which elects pre-determined party lists to the Knesset § “Grading” of politicians within party lists determined by parties’ internal election § Citizens above 18 years of age can vote (including Arab Israelis, not Palestinians in The West Bank/Gaza Strip) § In order to enter the 120 seats’ Knesset, a party need to pass a 3.25% votes’ threshold § Beyond the threshold, lists receive seats based on their votes’ share Israeli Political System For more info concerning elections in Israel please watch these two short videos => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzpWIXg3HtM https://www.youtube.com/embed/hm_Az2jPdvg Israeli Political System § 1948-late 1970s => Dominance of the Labor party through coalitions (Ben Gurion, Meir) § Dominance was challenged by the (right-wing) Likud party after the 1973 ‘Yom Kippur War’ § 1977 => Victory of Likud (Begin) also through coalitions and alliances § 1979 Peace with Egypt § 1980s => Likud experiences hardships, but Labor didn’t manage to dominate the Parliament Israeli Politics: Historical Review § 1988 => Governments of National Unity (politically unstable) § Likud + Labor allied to form a coalition after both lost many seats to small religious parties § 1992 => Labor (Rabin) won (44 seats) => Coalition with left wing parties (Meretz & Tzomet) § 1994: Peace with Jordan § 1995: Rabin’s commitment with peace led to his murder by a Jewish extremist Israeli Politics: Historical Review § 1996 => Likud’s victory with a 6-party coalition (Netanyahu: no interest in advancing peace talks) § 1999 => Labor (Barak) § Barak’s peace plan rejected by Yasser Arafat (then Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian National Authority) in 2000 § 2001-onwards => Likud dominated/ National unity governments § 2005-2009: Olmert’s ‘Kadima’ party (centrist party established by moderates from Likud) following contested Likud leadership issue § 2009-2020 => Netanyahu as Prime Minister Israeli Politics: Historical Review § Small Parties are more influential than the mandate given to them by the public (larger parties need them to form coalitions) § National Security (mainly responses to terrorism) and the Israeli Palestinian conflict dominate any other policy issues (foreign, environmental policy etc.) § Right wing political parties dominant more easily due to the short intervals of episodes of high intensity fighting in recent decades (as part of the Israeli Palestinian conflict) Israeli Politics: Unique Traits Israeli Main Political Parties Right Wing Parties New- Joint list of three right wing parties The ‘Likud’ § Israel’s largest right-wing party (conservative) § 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 § Netanyahu was first prime minister in 1996, and since 2009 § After multiple investigations for corruption that resulted in a pending inditement, and failing to form a government after two elections in 2019, he decisively saw off a party leadership challenge in December 2019 Leader: Benjamin Netanyahu Established: 1973 Israeli Main Political Parties Center ‘Labor’ united with ‘Gesher’ for the 2020 elections Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) § New liberal party, a merger between three centrist parties (‘Hosen Leyisrael’, ‘Yesh Atid’, ‘Telem’) § Former military chief Gantz retains the number one slot in the list (rotation with Lapid if the party is elected to lead a government) § Main opposition to Likud, but both are similarly hawkish on annexations in the Jordan valley § Gantz campaigned on an anti-corruption, anti-Netanyahu platform Leader: Benny Gantz Established: February 2019 Israeli Main Political Parties Left Wing Parties Labour – Gesher – Meretz Union for 2020’ elections Labor-Gesher-Meretz § Israel's main leftwing party for large parts of its history Leader: Amir Peretz Established: January 2020 § After the establishment of the state, the Labor party governed Israel uninterruptedly for almost thirty years (1948-1977) § Labor has not held the premiership since 2001, terminal decline in 2019 § For the 2020 elections they've combined with another left-of-center party Israeli Main Political Parties Sectorial Political Parties Israeli Political Parties The ‘Joint List’ § A political alliance of the main Arab political parties in Israel (Balad, Hadash, Ta’al + the United Arab List) formed in 2015 § Leader: Ayman Odeh § The third biggest group in the last parliament § The alliance estimated to have received 82% of the Arab vote (2015) § Allied with Jewish religious parties in the past, were prepared to back Gantz to oust Netanyahu (pre elections) Elections 2020 § Recap: It was the third national election in 11 months, after Netanyahu and military chief Gantz both failed to form a coalition government § Concerns that coronavirus fears and election fatigue would hit turnout were dispelled => 71% of the electorate had voted, 7.3% increase from the September 2019 elections § 4,579,931 eligible voters have cast their ballots § 14 special polling stations for 5,630 Israelis quarantined due to exposure to the coronavirus (over 70% turnout) Elections 2020: Results § Best results in 3 last elections despite Netanyahu’s pending inducement (charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust) § Natural allies of Likud: Far-right nationalists and Jewish religious parties § Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud gained the most public support, but needs the support of other parties to form a government § Likud gained 36 seats, with a total of 59 for his right-wing alliance (shy of a 61-seat parliamentary majority) 31 The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel => “ … we, members of the People's Council, representatives of the Jewish Community of Eretz-Israel and of the Zionist Movement, are here assembled on the day of the termination of the British Mandate over Eretz-Israel and, by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel”. Jewish vs. Democratic 32 The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel => “ … The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations…” Jewish vs. Democratic 33 § Israel was established as a Jewish democracy § Based on Liberal-Democratic values AND Jewish values § Precedence of Judaism over liberalism? § The state should strive to safeguard equal rights and liberties for all its citizens => § Interests of both Israeli Jews and Arabs should be equally accommodated § Civic duties across ethnic groups (army/civil service, paying taxes, etc.) Jewish vs. Democratic Yes, but not without flaws in its political and electoral systems § Although all votes are counted, only votes of parties that pass the threshold (continuously increasing) count § Votes for smaller parties which do not pass the threshold are discarded § If smaller parties pass the threshold but don’t sign agreements with larger parties, their votes are meaningless (unless they become part of the ruling coalition) § Politicians who become ministers are usually not experts in the subject of their position; they rely on an experienced staff, the “deep state,” bureaucrats (e.g. directors general of ministries and professionals) who provide continuity and expertise, but are unaccountable to voters Is Israel a Democracy?34 Yes, but not without flaws in its political and electoral systems § Members of its Knesset are not individually elected by, and accountable to the voters in multi-district/constituency elections § According to Israel’s system of Proportional Representation, citizens do NOT vote not for an individual candidate (representing a particular district), but for a party’s national list § Israeli voters have no direct access to Knesset members => Not a ‘true’ representative democracy § Corruption scandals involving public officials resulted in a loss of confidence in politicians and parties and a decline in voter turnout Is Israel a Democracy?35 § 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 can 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?36 Next Session... §Israeli Foreign Policy & International Relations 37 Questions? Feel free to email the lecturer => hadar@fss.muni.cz 38