The Central Elections Committee’s CEO, Orly Addes, and chairman, Supreme Court Justice Uzi Vogelman, visit the committee’s Logistics and Operations Center during preparations Feb. 23, 2021, to supply 15,000 voting stations a month later. (Photo by Yossi Zamir, Israeli Government Press Office)
Israel entered a period of political instability when its governing coalition fell apart in December 2018 over the issue of Haredi military service. The articles, activities and other digital resources below provide insights into how and why Israel’s Knesset elections in April and September 2019 failed to produce a new government, leading to a third election within a year on March 2, 2020. The urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic helped break the political logjam with a unity government featuring a rotation agreement for prime minister between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, but that government failed to survive into 2021. For the fourth time in less than two years, Israelis are electing a new Knesset on March 23, 2021.
CIE election resources — videos, documents, activities, analyses and more — help learners of all ages and specific educational levels understand the Israeli political system beyond the current campaign, including a list of all Israeli prime ministers with the results of every Knesset election. To enhance electoral education, we provide a series of nine questions about how the system developed, how it works, and how it compares with other democracies, both parliamentary and presidential.