There’s a common Jewish folk proverb, “Two Jews, three opinions.” We all like to laugh at this because it is a reflection of how varied Jewish beliefs are and how strongly we defend these beliefs in the presence of other Jews. In a room of twenty people, this proverb is something that everyone can chuckle over. But what happens when you bring together over five million Jews; throw in the political, religious, social and military realities of the Middle East; add in over one million Muslims, 140,000 Christians, and 113,000 Druze for good measure then toss in a healthy dose of Israeli cynicism?*

In short, you get the Israeli elections. These are the people who will elect the 17th government of Israel on March 28, 2006.

For Americans who are familiar with a mainly two-party, democratic republic or Canadians who are used to a less representational parliamentary democracy, it is often difficult to understand the multi-party parliamentary democracy of Israel. But if we want to be active Reform Zionists in North America, it is crucial for us to have a grasp on just exactly who is leading the Jewish state and how they came to be in positions of leadership. The first step in accomplishing this is to understand exactly how the Israel government is elected.

What is the Knesset?
The Knesset is the name of the Israeli parliament. This name is derived from Knesset Hagadol (The Great Assembly), the representative Jewish council convened in Jerusalem by the judges Ezra and Nehemiah in the 5th century B.C.E. As there were 120 members of the Knesset Hagadol , there are 120 members of the modern Knesset—MK’s for short.

How are MK’s elected?
MK’s are elected by secret ballot based on nation-wide proportional representation (the entire country represents one electoral district). The number of seats which every party receives in the Knesset is proportional to the number of voters who voted for that party. The leader of the party which receives the most votes is elected as the Prime Minister. Unlike most of the Western parliamentary democracies, the system in Israel is followed in an extreme manner—the only limitation is a 2% qualifying threshold. In other words, a party must receive at least 2% of the total votes in order to be elected. This means that the Knesset is by far one of the most representational governments in the world. If 5% of the country votes for one party, then that party directly receives 5% of the seats in the Knesset (6 seats).

How do the elections work?
In the Israeli electoral system, voters do not vote for a particular candidate on the list (as is the case in the Canadian parliamentary elections). Rather, they cast their vote directly for a party. The voters elect the Knesset directly, rather than through an electoral college (as is the case in the election of the President in the United States). The Knesset elections typically take place once every four years, but the Knesset or the Prime Minister can decide to hold early elections and, under certain circumstances, can serve for more than four years.

Related Questions

Just how representational is the Knesset?
If every single eligible citizen voted in the upcoming elections (all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 who are registered to vote and are present in the country on Election Day are entitled to vote, regardless of religion, ethnic origin or other factors); approximately 5,018,287 people would vote (according to the Israel Government Portal). Assuming this, only 100,366 votes (2% of the total voters) would be required for a party to receive seats in the Knesset. In such a result, this party would receive 2 seats. As it is, Israel enjoys quite a high voter turnout. In the 1999 and 2003 elections, voter turnout was at 78% and 67%, respectively.* Israeli elections are run according to strict principles: one nationwide district, equality, direct elections, secrecy and proportionality. As a result, the Knesset truly is representative of all Israeli citizens.

How does the Israeli political system compare to the American and Canadian systems?
The American Electoral College system and the Canadian plurality voting system are such that there is not necessarily an elected government which directly represents every voting citizen of the country. If you vote for a party that is not elected in a voting district/constituency, then it is quite possible that your political views will not be represented in the federal government. Because all of Israel represents one electoral district and the qualifying rate of 2% of the vote is so low, almost all Israelis are able to elect an MK who represents their political views. Links for more information on the American and Canadian election systems can be found in the Resources section.

Taking Action

Represent Yourself!
This iTorah has delved into the mechanics of Israeli Knesset elections. Following, we will learn about the different parties of the Knesset and what ideologies they represent. At this point, you can start gearing up to hold mock-Knesset elections of your own in synagogue! Start to plan a program for your temple youth group or talk to your clergy and educators about including such a section in your Hebrew high school or other programs—this could even be a program for the synagogue as a whole! Make sure you, the other leaders and the participants have a good grasp of the Israeli election procedures. This week’s iTorah is a great start, you can learn more at the links below and next week’s iTorah will give you even more information.

Politics Now!
Bring Israel right into your school. Initiate a discussion about the benefits and challenges of Israel’s parliamentary democracy. Americans can contrast the vastly different electoral system with their own, while Canadians can look at the intricacies of two different types of parliament. This is a great topic for classes in politics, world issues, world history, modern civilization and so many more—not to mention extracurricular clubs!

iTorah Lishmah
Your place in cyberspace to explore the lessons further!
See what others think about this topic and tell others what you think at our online discussion forum.

Is Israel’s government too representational? Is Israel’s electoral system a benefit, as it truly represents the dynamic views of the citizens? Or is the system a detriment, as it hampers the government from accomplishing any long term goals?

Resources

Inspired by this week’s iTorah? Want to learn more? Check this out…

Official Knesset Elections Website: Information directly from the Knesset

USElections.com: A non-partisan web site with information on all levels of American elections

Elections Canada: The independent body which facilitates Canadian electoral law and policy

NFTY.org Israel Central: Find Israel election resources and more.

*According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics

Jesse Paikin in his fourth year at York University in Toronto, Ontario, double-majoring in Philosophy and Religious Studies with a little theatre and jazz guitar kicked in for good measure. Jesse grew up in the North American Federation of Temple Youth - Northeast Lakes Region (NFTY-NEL), serving as Rosh Tzion (Israel Chair) and President of his NFTY Region. He has also spent five summers at the Union for Reform Judaism Kutz Camp and was a song-leader with NFTY in Israel. Jesse currently works at Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) Canada (the Canadian Association of Reform Zionists) as Campaign Manager for the World Zionist Congress elections. He also sits on the KESHER Leadership Council and is a KESHER-ARZA Fellow. Jesse hopes that one day he will be able to do something really cool for the world. In the meantime, we’ll just have to sit back and deal with his antics.

Copyright ©2006 Union for Reform Judaism Department of Lifelong Jewish Learning and the Youth Division