Results of Israel’s Elections
Israel’s 25 Knesset elections and three direct elections for prime minister have resulted in 14 different people serving as prime minister, in addition to one person, Yigal Allon, who served only on an interim basis….
Nachman Shai: Veteran Labor Voice seeks Return to Knesset
Former three-term Knesset member is motivated to run in the March 23 elections to create a better Israel for his children and grandchildren, provide a voice for the vital senior population, topple Prime Minister Netanyahu, and restore the Labor Party’s legacy.
Shlomo Avineri – “Democracy in Israel: Past, Present, and Future”
Hosted by the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA All rights reserved to Professor Avineri and the Nazarian Center Transcribed by the Center for Israel Education, Atlanta, Ga. January 15, 2021. Transcript Dov…
Hannukah: Predictions, Politics, the Pandemic, and Accountability
Do you think any of the Maccabees would have guessed that the one jar of oil would have kept the menorah burning in Mod’in for eight days rather than one? If one had predicted yes or no, there probably would not have been either good or bad consequences in the years after 165 BCE.
Proven Success in Israel Education: Context, Sources and Perspective
Using original sources and employing perspective are keys to substantive Israel education. Failure to use either, handicaps and prejudices learning about Israel. When documents and texts or a broad overview of the literature in a field are not employed, there is a strong possibility that the educator either has a personal political agenda or, is covering up for their own lack of knowledge of what they are teaching. This premise is true for teaching any country’s history and through the lens of any discipline. I reside in the discipline of history.
Origins of Yom Hashoah: Holocaust Memorial Day
Using original sources, learners will explore the origins of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, in Israel. The unit includes historical discussion on the importance of commeorating the tragedy of the Holocaust and different proposals that were put forward in the Land of Israel both before and after the creation of the state doing so. A writing prompt is included for use in school settings.
As Israel’s Kingmaker Gets Off the Fence, Gantz Gets a Boost
Israel’s third round of elections last week seemed inconclusive at first, but the deadlock may now be broken. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did better this time than in September’s round two, but his gains were insufficient to form a new government. Potential kingmaker Avigdor Liberman jettisoned his previous idea of getting the two top parties to join forces; instead, personal antipathy and policy differences have led him to definitely state that he will not join any government Netanyahu leads.
Israeli Election Day is still surprisingly low-tech
Election season in Israel is traditionally a raucous affair. But unlike the lead-up to Election Day, the voting process is staid, tedious and – despite the sporadic appearance of politicians and celebrities coming to cast their votes – pretty unglamorous. No electronic polling stations. No online voting. Only paper chits, envelopes, a cardboard partition and a box in which to cast one’s ballot. ISRAEL21c presents a photographic retrospective of 7 decades of queuing, cardboard boxes and paper chits that keep Israel’s democracy going.
A New Political Card
Has the “Deal of the Century” injected energy into Israel’s third election and perhaps provided an incentive for Arab Israelis to turn out in higher numbers than September? Election rallies for the Arab parties in Israel rarely garner much attention or excitement. But recent policy proposals engineered thousands of miles away may have re-energized a once stagnant and unreliable voting bloc. Arik Rudnitzky uses the village of Bartaa as a possible case study.
Third Time’s a Charm?
On March 2, Israelis will head back to the polls for a third time in twelve months. This previously unimaginable situation has left many asking: How did we get here? The short answer is that, perhaps in an uncharacteristically surprising fashion for politicians, everyone kept their promises. Yohanan Plesner presents the key issues to look out for in Israel’s unprecedented third election and what – if anything – will determine if a stable government will finally be formed.
Israelis Believe Netanyahu’s Investigations Will have the Greatest Impact on the Vote
January’s Israeli Voice Index found that 32% of Israelis believe Netanyahu’s investigations will be the issue with the greatest impact on voters in the upcoming Knesset elections, followed by other considerations such as the cost of living and housing, security, religion and state and Jewish-Arab relations.
The Widening Military–Political Gap in Israel
Over the last decade, the gap between the military and political elites in Israel has increased and eventually peaked in 2019, when a group of senior officers who had just retired from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) formed a new party – led by three former chiefs of staff – and called for the replacement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. This gap has developed because Israel’s previous governments have represented a new kind of polarizing, right-wing politics beyond what is considered a shared national common sense.
What Will the 23rd Knesset Look Like?
New record low of number of lists; Left-Center shrinks from eight lists in 2013 to three today; women’s’ representation continues to dither – less than 30 women MKs are expected.
Is Prime Minister Netanyahu Setting a Global Precedent?
A comparative survey of the statutory provisions in various countries that apply when the head of the executive branch is suspected or convicted of a criminal offense: It turns out that in most democracies the legal situation is ambiguous. Cases in which the head of the executive branch is suspected or convicted of criminal activity, although no longer so rare today, continue to pose a new challenge to the judicial, political, and public systems, as well as, of course, to the individual in question.
Explainer: Immunity for the Prime Minister
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Immunity for the Prime Minister—IDI experts explain Israel’s immunity law, what happens when it’s requested and what the implications may be for the political system.
After Indictment – 59% of Israelis Think Netanyahu Should Step Aside
The November 2019 Israeli Voice Index revealed that 35% of the general public thinks that now that Attorney General Avichai Mandelbilit has decided to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – he should resign and stand trial. 37% of Likud voters agree with this sentiment. The survey also found that 82% of the public thinks that it will not be possible to form a government in the remaining days before the December 11th.
Security Tasks Awaiting the Next Israeli PM
Whichever Israeli government ends up coming to power will be faced with a set of urgent security challenges that are coming from a range of arenas, all at the same time. Critical decisions on these challenges and establishing a defense budget will be the order of the day for the PM and his security and diplomatic ministers.
Despite The Election Tumult, Israeli Democracy Dodged A Bullet
The ultimate result of September’s election in Israel is still unclear. We do not yet know what type of coalition will be formed, when it will come together, or who will head it. We do know, however, that Israeli democracy had dodged a bullet. This is because, no matter who takes the reins of government or even if Israel holds a third round of elections, a radical assault on our judicial system has been halted.
Netanyahu and Gantz Need to Learn the Hebrew Word “Mamlachtiut”
In Israeli history books, the term is conjured every time the nation faces a major juncture that requires individuals and factions to transcend partisan loyalties. Judging from their behavior in the recent elections, Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz both appear to be fuzzy on the meaning of the word.
What Israel’s Past Leaders Can Teach Us About Its Current Problem
David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon would have faced up to the moment. Even though they did not share the same ideologies, they did share a common view of leadership and the role of the prime minister. First and foremost, they understood what was important. They never shied away from making painful decisions in which they put the state, not their political needs, first.
Two Weeks to Election Day: IDI Poll Reveals Jewish Israelis are in Favor of a Unity Government
Two weeks to the elections Jewish Israelis show a strong preference for a unity government while Arab Israelis prefer a center-left wing government led by Gantz. Also over the past five months there has been a steady decline in the public’s optimism about the future of Israel’s democracy and security.
Is a New Wind Blowing through the State Comptroller’s Office?
The State Comptroller’s Office is the only institution outside of the defense establishment that conducts comprehensive and independent audits of security matters; hence its importance to national security. In the view of newly-appointed State Comptroller and Ombudsman Matanyahu Englman, an audit is meant to be a constructive process that addresses issues of national value; the audit process is a tool that supports the government and prime minister; audits that are liable to affect real-time decision making should be avoided; and the Comptroller should also report on the success of those audited. By contrast, his predecessor, retired judge Yosef Shapira, stressed that the State Comptroller is not the government’s in-house auditor and that audits do not depend on the good will of any external party.
The Nation-State Law, One Year Later: What has Changed?
From a practical standpoint, the Nation State law’s ramifications are not yet clear. Neither its opponents nor its supporters ever claimed that it would immediately create a totally new situation in Israel. By its nature, a constitutional amendment of this sort, at the vaguest and most general level possible of the definition of the state, years will go by before all its provisions have been interpreted and before they trickle down to substantive changes on the ground.
The Role of the Court in Reaching Judicial Decisions that Concern the State of Israel’s National Security
Since its establishment, the State of Israel has committed itself to the principles of the rule of law and the protection of human rights, both in times of combat and in times of calm. Israel’s battle against threats to its national security must be waged within the framework of the law, and in accordance with the legal norms practiced among the family of democratic nations. One of the supervisory and control mechanisms to ensure that these legal norms are indeed followed is judicial review conducted by the Israeli Supreme Court in relation to matters of national security. The judicial review, which is not intended to replace, and cannot replace, the operational decision making process of IDF commanders, is not only a key element of national security; in many respects it is the source of Israel’s strength and reflects the State’s commitment to the rule of law.
