Knesset


The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the president and prime minister, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government, among other things. In addition, the Knesset elects the state comptroller. It also has the power to waive the immunity of its members, remove the president and the state comptroller from office, dissolve the government in a constructive vote of no confidence, and to dissolve itself and call new elections. The prime minister may also dissolve the Knesset. However, until an election is completed, the Knesset maintains authority in its current composition. The Knesset meets in its building in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.
Members of the Knesset are elected nationwide through proportional representation.

Name

The term "Knesset" is derived from the ancient Knesset HaGdola or "Great Assembly", which according to Jewish tradition was an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism – about two centuries ending c. 200 BCE. There is, however, no organisational continuity and aside from the number of members, there is little similarity, as the ancient Knesset was a religious, completely unelected body. Members of the Knesset are known in Hebrew as חֲבֵר הַכְּנֶסֶת, if male, or חַבְרַת הַכְּנֶסֶת, if female.

History

The Knesset first convened on 14 February 1949 in Jerusalem following the 20 January elections, replacing the Provisional State Council which acted as Israel's official legislature from its date of independence on 14 May 1948 and succeeding the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's representative body during the Mandate era. Before the construction of its current location, the Knesset met in Tel Aviv, before moving to the Froumine building in Jerusalem.
The Knesset building sits on a hilltop in western Jerusalem in a district known as Sheikh Badr before the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, now Givat Ram. The main building was financed by James de Rothschild as a gift to the State of Israel in his will and was completed in 1966. It was built on land leased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, later purchased in the 1990s. Over the years, significant additions to the structure were constructed, however, these were built at levels below and behind the main 1966 structure as not to detract from the original assembly building's appearance.
Despite numerous motions of no confidence being tabled in the Knesset, a government has only been defeated by one once, when Yitzhak Shamir's government was brought down on 15 March 1990 as part of a plot that became known as "the dirty trick".
However, several governments have resigned as a result of no-confidence motions, even when they were not defeated. These include the fifth government, which fell after Prime Minister Moshe Sharett resigned in June 1955 following the abstention of the General Zionists during a vote of no-confidence; the ninth government, which fell after Prime Minister Ben-Gurion resigned in January 1961 over a motion of no-confidence on the Lavon Affair; and the seventeenth government, which resigned in December 1976 after the National Religious Party abstained in a motion of no-confidence against the government.

Timeline

  • 14 February 1949: First meeting of the Constituent Assembly, Jewish Agency, Jerusalem
  • 16 February 1949: Name "Knesset" approved for the Constituent Assembly; number of members fixed at 120; the Knesset starts convening in Tel Aviv
  • 26 December 1949 – 8 March 1950: Knesset moved to Jerusalem; first convened at the Jewish Agency building
  • 13 March 1950: Knesset moved to the Froumine House, in King George Street, Jerusalem
  • 1950–1955: Israeli government holds architectural competitions for the permanent Knesset building. Ossip Klarwein's original design won the competition
  • 1955: Government approves plans to build the Knesset in its current location
  • 1957: James de Rothschild informs Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion of his desire to finance the construction of the building
  • 14 October 1958: Cornerstone-laying for new Knesset building
  • 30 August 1966: Dedication of new building
  • 1981: Construction of new wing begins
  • 1992: New wing opens
  • 2001: Construction starts on a large new wing that essentially doubles the overall floorspace of the Knesset compound.
  • 2007: New large wing opens

    Government duties

As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the president, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government through its committees. It also has the power to waive the immunity of its members, remove the president and the State Comptroller from office, and to dissolve itself and call new elections.
The Knesset has de jure parliamentary supremacy, and can pass any law by a simple majority, even one that might arguably conflict with the Basic Laws of Israel, unless the basic law includes specific conditions for its modification; in accordance with a plan adopted in 1950, the Basic Laws can be adopted and amended by the Knesset, acting in its capacity as a Constituent Assembly. The Knesset itself is regulated by a Basic Law called "Basic Law: the Knesset".
In addition to the absence of a formal constitution, and with no Basic Law thus far being adopted which formally grants a power of judicial review to the judiciary, the Supreme Court of Israel has since the early 1990s asserted its authority, when sitting as the High Court of Justice, to invalidate provisions of Knesset laws it has found to be inconsistent with Basic Law. The Knesset is presided over by a Speaker and Deputy Speakers, called the Knesset Presidium, which currently consists of:
PositionNameFactionParty
SpeakerAmir OhanaLikudLikud
DeputyNissim VaturiLikudLikud
DeputyMeir CohenYesh AtidYesh Atid
DeputyHanoch MilwidskyLikudLikud
DeputyErez MalulShasShas
DeputyEvgeny SovaYisrael BeiteinuYisrael Beiteinu
DeputyMoshe SolomonReligious Zionist PartyReligious Zionist Party
DeputyOrit Farkash-HacohenNational Unity PartyNational Unity Party
DeputyMoshe RothUnited Torah JudaismAgudat Yisrael

Knesset committees

Knesset committees amend bills on various appropriate subjects.
Knesset members are assigned to
committees, while chairpersons are chosen by their members, on recommendation of the House Committee, and their factional composition represents that of the Knesset itself. Committees may elect sub-committees and delegate powers to them, or establish joint committees for issues concerning more than one committee. To further their deliberations, they invite non-voting people, like government ministers, senior officials, and experts in the matter being discussed. Committees may request explanations and information from any relevant ministers in any matter within their competence, and the ministers or persons appointed by them must provide the explanation or information requested.
There are four types of committees in the Knesset. Permanent committees amend proposed legislation dealing with their area of expertise, and may initiate legislation. However, such legislation may only deal with Basic Laws and laws dealing with the Knesset, elections to the Knesset, Knesset members, or the State Comptroller. Special committees function in a similar manner to permanent committees, but are appointed to deal with particular manners at hand, and can be dissolved or turned into permanent committees. Parliamentary inquiry committees are appointed by the plenum to deal with issues viewed as having special national importance. In addition, there are two types of committees that convene only when needed: the Interpretations Committee, made up of the Speaker and eight members chosen by the House Committee, deals with appeals against the interpretation given by the Speaker during a sitting of the plenum to the Knesset rules of procedure or precedents, and Public Committees, established to deal with issues that are connected to the Knesset.
Permanent committees:
  • House Committee
  • Finance Committee
  • Economic Affairs Committee
  • Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
  • Interior and Environment Committee
  • Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs Committee
  • Education, Culture, and Sports Committee
  • Constitution, Law and Justice Committee
  • National Security Committee
  • Committee for Special National Infrastructure Projects and Jewish Religious Services
  • Labor and Welfare Committee
  • Health Committee
  • Science and Technology Committee
  • State Control Committee
  • Committee on the Status of Women
Special committees:
  • Committee on Drug Abuse
  • Committee on the Rights of the Child
  • Committee on Foreign Workers
  • Committee of Public Inquiries
  • Committee for the Supervision of the Fund for Israeli Citizens
  • Committee on Young Israelis
  • Committee for Bridging Social Gaps in the Periphery
  • Central Elections Committee
  • Public Petitions Committee
The other committees are the Arrangements Committee and the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee is responsible for jurisdiction over Knesset members who violate the rules of ethics of the Knesset, or are involved in illegal activities outside the Knesset. Within the framework of responsibility, the Ethics Committee may place various sanctions on a member, but is not allowed to restrict a member's right to vote. The Arrangements Committee proposes the makeup of the permanent committees following each election, as well as suggesting committee chairs, lays down the sitting arrangements of political parties in the Knesset, and the distribution of offices in the Knesset building to members and parties.