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ELECTIONS IN ISRAEL
General elections in Israel will be held on 22 January 2013.
They will determine the 120 new members of the 19th
Knesset, Israel's parliament.
For more Information, have a look at:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.mfa.gov.il
The Knesset: www.knesset.gov.il
The Central Elections Committee: www.tinyurl.com/b35c7dw

A PARLIAMENTARY
DEMOCRACY
ISRAEL IS A UNICAMERAL
PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY
BASED ON SEPARATE
LEGISLATIVE (THE KNESSET),
EXECUTIVE (THE
GOVERNMENT) AND JUDICIAL
BODIES
VOTERS
President:
Israel's head of state is its
President. The Knesset elects
the President. While the
President has many official
duties, it is largely an apolitical
ceremonial position.
Judiciary:
Israel has an independent and
professional judicial system.
The Supreme Court, the head
of the judicial pyramid, is the
authorized interpreter of
Knesset laws.
LEGISLATURE:
The Knesset, Israel's
parliament, has 120 members.
It enacts laws, supervises the
work of the government and
has some quasi-judicial
functions.
Executive:
The Prime Minister heads the
government. The President
chooses the PM from the
Knesset members after the
elections. The PM then
appoints the ministers in his
cabinet.
The system is based on the principle of separation of powers, in which the executive branch (the
government) is subject to the confidence of the legislative branch (the Knesset) and the independence
of the judiciary is guaranteed by law.

ISRAEL'S
ELECTION
PROCESS
Elections
are by secret
ballot.
The entire
country constitutes a
single electoral
constituency. Candidates
represent national parties,
not electoral districts or
local constituencies.
The Knesset,
the Israeli
parliament, is elected
directly by the voters,
not through a body
of electors.
Every Israeli
citizen aged 18 or
older on election day
has the right to vote.
All votes
cast are equal
in weight.
The 120 Knesset
seats are assigned in
proportion to each
party's percentage of the
total national vote. The
minimum required
threshold is 2%.
KNESSET ELECTIONS
ARE BASED ON A
VOTE FOR A PARTY
AND NOT FOR
INDIVIDUALS.

ELECTION
DAY
Free public transportation is
available to voters who happen
to be outside their polling
districts on this day. Special
arrangements are made to allow
soldiers on active duty, hospital
patients, prison inmates and the
disabled to vote.
ELECTION DAY IS A HOLIDAY IN ORDER
TO ENABLE ALL POTENTIAL VOTERS TO
PARTICIPATE.
WHO CAN VOTE?
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR ELECTED OFFICE?
Every citizen aged 21 or older is eligible for
election to the Knesset, unless they are
excluded by a legal exception.
Every Israeli citizen
who has reached the
age of 18 on election
day.
Israelis of all ethnic
groups and religious
beliefs, including
Arab-Israelis,
participate in the
process.
The Israeli voting
method is
user-friendly, even
to voters with
limited knowledge
of Hebrew or
Arabic.
Voters select a slip
of paper that
represents their
chosen party, put
the slip in an
envelope and then
place the envelope
in the ballot box.

CAMPAIGN
FINANCING
The State of Israel covers most of the parties' budgets.
Only a small fraction of party financing originates from
other sources.
A treasury allocation for election campaigns is granted to
the parties. Each party receives an equal basic allocation.
Parties who win seats in the new Knesset and/or had
members serving in the outgoing Knesset receive extra
funds.
In the last elections in February 2009, the treasury paid
out 160 million shekels (approximately USD 38 million) in
party financing.
The law concerning non-public
financing - such as contributions and
membership dues - is extremely strict
and limits the amounts that
contributors may donate.
Every party
receives an allotment
of television and radio
advertising minutes, which is
provided free of charge. It is
prohibited to purchase
broadcasting time for
election advertising above
that allotment.

PARTIES
COMPETING LISTS OF THE UPCOMING
19 TH KNESSET ELECTIONS
Party Name
PARTY NAMES IN BOLD LETTERS STAND FOR
PARTIES REPRESENTED IN THE PREVIOUS KNESSET.
Chairperson
New
Am Shalem
Brit Olam Legeulat Yisrael
Chaim Bekavod
Da-am - Workers Party
Dor Bonei Haaretz
Eretz Hadasha
Green Leaf - Liberal List
Habayit Hayehudi
Hadash - Democratic Front for Peace and Equality
Hatenua
Hatikva Leshinui
Hayisraelim
Israel Labor Party
Kadima
Koach Lehashpia
Kulanu Haverim
Light
Likud Yisrael Beitenu
Meretz - Israel's Left
Mitkademet Liberalit Democratit
Moreshet Avot
National Democratic Assembly (Balad)
Netzach
One Future - fighting the new drug
Otzma Leyisrael
Shas
The Economics Party
The Green and Young for a Green Future in Israel
The Pirates
Tzedek Hevrati
United Arab List - Arab Mov’t for Renewal - Arab Democratic Party
United Torah Judaism
We are Brothers
Yesh Atid
Rabbi Chaim Amsallem
Ofer Lifschitz
Ruth Danino
Asama Agvaria
Efraim Lapid
Eldad Yaniv & Rani Blair
Yaron Lerman
Naftali Bennet
Mohammad Barakeh
Tzipi Livni
Aataf Kariawai
David Cone
Shelly Yachimovich
Shaul Mofaz
Aryeh Samarly
Sharon Knafu
Yaron Yadan
Benyamin Netanyahu
Zahava Galon
Alexander Radko
Yar-Zanbar, Ilan Meshicha
Jamal Zahalka
Haim Epstein
Yehezkel Shtelzer
Arieh Eldad & Michael Ben-Ari
Eliyahu Yishai
Yulia Shamalov Berkovich
Amir Meltzer
Shem Tov, Ohad Yaakov
Gad Haran
Ibrahim Sarsur
Yakov Litzman
David Ababa
Yair Lapid
PARTY LISTS ELECTED, OUT OF THE TOTAL THAT COMPETED IN PREVIOUS ELECTIONS:
30
20
Knesset No_
12
1
15
2
12
3
12
4
11
5
13
6
12
7
9
8
13
9
10
10
15
11
15
12
10
13
11
14
15
15
13
16
12
17
12
18
10
Number of
lists elected

THE FIRST KNESSET 1949
ELECTIONS FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY WERE HELD ON 25 JANUARY 1949, ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS AFTER
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY BECAME THE FIRST KNESSET.
Herut
Yemenite Association
WIZO
Fighters' List
Maki
Mapam
Sephardim & Oriental Communities
Democratic List of Nazareth
United Religious Front
In the first national elections,
86.9% of eligible voters cast
their votes (434,864 out of
506,567). The number of
votes needed for a Knesset
seat was 3,592. However, the
minimum threshold for a party
to be represented in the
Knesset was 1% of the total
votes, which in 1949 came to
4,346 votes.
The Knesset took its
name and fixed its
membership at 120 from
“the Knesset
Hagedolah” (the Great
Assembly), which
convened in Jerusalem
after the return of the
Jews from the
Babylonian exile in the
fifth century B.C.E.
General Zionists
Progressive Party
Mapai

THE 18 TH KNESSET
2009-2013
Balad
United Arab List/AMR/ADP
Hadash
Meretz
Labor Party
National Union
Habayit Hayehudi
Yisrael Beiteinu
In the last national elections,
64.7% of eligible voters cast their
votes (3,373,490 out of 5,278,985).
The number of votes needed for a
Knesset seat was 27,246. However,
the minimum threshold for a party to
be represented in the Knesset was 2%
of the total votes, which in 2009 came
to 67,470 votes.
Kadima
United Torah Judaism
Likud
Shas

FORMING THE
GOVERNMENT
After the elections, the President
assigns the task of forming the
government to a Knesset member. This
Knesset member is usually the leader
of the largest party or the head of a
coalition of 60+ members. The chosen
Knesset member has up to 42 days to
form the new government.
When a
government has
been formed, the
Prime Minister
announces its
composition, the
basic guidelines of
its policy and the
office each
minister will hold.
If that Knesset member is
not successful, the President
may choose another Knesset
member. She/he has 28 days
to form a government.
THE PROPOSED GOVERNMENT IS INSTALLED WHEN AT
LEAST 61 OF THE 120 KNESSET MEMBERS EXPRESS THEIR
CONFIDENCE.
So far, no single party has won 61 seats and every Israel
government to date has been based on a coalition of several
parties.

ISRAEL’S PRIME MINISTERS
THE PRIME MINISTER IS SELECTED FROM AMONG THE KNESSET MEMBERS.
THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL CHOOSES THE KNESSET MEMBER CONSIDERED TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF FORMING A VIABLE COALITION GOVERNMENT.
IN 1996 AND 1999, ISRAEL HAD DIRECT ELECTIONS FOR PRIME MINISTER. THE DIRECT ELECTIONS LAW WAS RESCINDED IN 2001.
DAVID BEN-GURION
Terms of office: 1948-1953 and1955-1963
MOSHE SHARETT
Term of office: 1954-1955
LEVI ESHKOL
Term of office: 1963-1969
GOLDA MEIR
Term of office: 1969-1974
MENACHEM BEGIN
Term of office: 1977-1983
YITZHAK SHAMIR
Terms of office: 1983-1984 and 1986-1992
YITZHAK RABIN
Terms of office: 1974-1977 and 1992-1995
SHIMON PERES
Terms of office: 1984-1986 and 1995-1996
EHUD BARAK
Term of office: 1999-2001
ARIEL SHARON
Term of office: 2001-2006
EHUD OLMERT
Term of office: 2006-2009
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
Terms of office: 1996-1999 and 2009-2013

KNESSET COMMITTEES
This is only a partial list. The Knesset has many other committees and
This is only a partial list. The Knesset has many other committees and
sub-committees dealing with a range range of additional issues.
Public Petitions Committee
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
Internal Affairs and Environment Committee
Committee for Immigration, Absorption and
Diaspora Affairs
Committee on Drug Abuse
Committee on the Status of Women
Labor, Welfare and Health Committee
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Constitution, Law and Justice Committee
Economic Affairs Committee
Science and Technology Committee
Ethics Committee
Education, Culture, and Sports Committee