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{{WIP}}
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{{Infobox legislature  
{{Infobox legislature  
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| coa_pic            =
| coa_pic            =
| session_room      =
| session_room      =
| house_type        = {{wp|Bicameralism|Bicameral Legislature}}
| house_type        = {{wp|Unicameralism|Unicameral Legislature}}
| leader1_type      = [[President of Yisrael|President]]
| leader1_type      = Majority Leader of the Knesset
| leader1            = [[Noah Feldman]]
| leader1            = [[Oren Saddi]]  
| party1            = ([[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RC]])
| party1            = ([[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|NLP]])
| election1          =
| election1          =[[Yisraeli general election, 2024|February 5, 2024]]
| leader2_type      = Leader of the Bais Kohen
| leader2_type      = Minority Leader of the Knesset
| leader2            = [[Yosef Landau]]
| leader2            = [[Binyamin Goldschmidt]]
| party2            = ([[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RC]])
| party2            = ([[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]])
| election2          =  
| election2          = [[Yisraeli general election, 2024|January 14th, 2024]]
| leader3_type      = Leader of the Bais Yisrael
| members            = '''142'''
| leader3            = [[Binyamin Goldschmidt]]
| structure1         = Yis Knesset composition 1.20.24 IC.svg
| party3            = ([[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RC]])
| structure1_res    = 260px
| election3          =
| structure1_alt     = Current composition of the Royal Knesset
| members            = '''150'''<br>'''30''' (Bais Kohen)<br>'''120''' (Bais Yisrael)
| political_groups1  = '''[[Government of Yisrael|HRM Government]] (76)'''
| structure2         = Yis Knesset 2018.png
*{{legend|#FFE135|[[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|National Liberal Party]]: 30}}
| structure2_res     = 200px
*{{legend|#add8e6|[[Alternative for Yisrael]]: 25 seats}}
| political_groups1  = {{color box|#0F0FFF}} [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Royalist Conservatives]] (53)<br/>{{color box|#EAA328}} [[Constitutional Liberal Party|Constitutional Liberals]] (50)<br/>{{color box|#C5CE88}} [[Action Yisrael]] (12)<br/>{{color box|#800000}} [[League for New Judea|Northern League]] (5)
*{{legend|#C5CE88|[[Action Yisrael]]: 10 seats}}
| last_election1    = TBA
*{{legend|#48BF91|[[Party of the Left]]: 10 seats}}
| meeting_place      = [[Dervaylik]], [[Yisrael]]
*{{legend|#FFFFFF|{{wp|Independent (politician)|Independents}}: 1 seat}}
 
'''{{wp|Parliamentary Opposition|HRM Opposition}} (66)'''
*{{legend|#0F0FFF|[[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Royalist Conservative Party]]: 47 seats}}
*{{legend|#C0C0C0|[[Torah Achdus]]: 17 seats}}
*{{legend|#800000|[[Christian Voice]]: 2 seats}}
 
'''{{wp|Parliamentary opposition|Other Opposition}} (0)'''
 
| voting_system1    = {{wp|First-past-the-post voting}}
| last_election1    = [[Yisraeli general election, 2024|January 12th, 2024]]
| session_room      = Yis Knesset session room pic 1.jpg
| session_res        = 220px
| meeting_place      = [[Yerushalayim]], [[Yisrael]]
}}
}}


The '''Royal Knesset of Yisrael''' is the {{wp|Bicameralism|bicameral}} {{wp|national legislature}} of the [[Yisrael|Kingdom of Yisrael]]. It is the {{wp|legislative branch}} of the Kingdom and its territories. It currently has 150 members, of whom 30 are elected {{wp|direct election|directly}} by citizens who are registered {{wp|voting|voters}} in the '''Bais Kohen''' (the {{wp|upper house}}) and 120 in the '''Bais Yisrael''' (the {{wp|lower house}}).   
The '''Royal Knesset of Yisrael''' is the {{wp|Unicameralism|unicameral}} {{wp|national legislature}} of the [[Yisrael|Kingdom of Yisrael]]. It is the {{wp|legislative branch}} of the Kingdom and its territories. It currently has 142 members, who are elected {{wp|direct election|directly}} by citizens who are registered {{wp|voting|voters}} on the {{wp|Hebrew calendar#Months|1st of Shevat}} on even years of the [[Ajax|global]] {{wp|Gregorian calendar|secular calendar}}.   


The Knesset, collectively, is charged with {{wp|lawmaking}}, {{wp|Declaration of war|declaring war or authorizing military force}}, the {{wp|power of the purse}}, creating or eliminating public services, the oversight, investigation, and impeachment of sitting government officials, ratifying treaties, and providing the {{wp|advise and consent}} for presidential appointments.
The Knesset is charged with {{wp|lawmaking}}, {{wp|Declaration of war|declaring war or authorizing military force}}, the {{wp|power of the purse}}, creating or eliminating public services, the oversight, investigation, and impeachment of sitting government officials, ratifying treaties, and providing the {{wp|advise and consent}} for presidential appointments.


Legislation may be introduced in the Bais Yisrael by an individual Member of Knesset (MK) or groups of {{wp|Members of Parliament|MKs}}. Per its {{wp|parliamentary}} model, it elects the Leader of the Bais Kohen and Speaker of the Bais Yisrael from its largest or governing party after each election. The Knesset must have an election every two years for the lower house, and a third of the upper house is up for election at each cycle.  
Legislation may be introduced by an individual Member of Knesset (MK) or groups of {{wp|Members of Parliament|MKs}}. Per its {{wp|parliamentary}} model, it elects the Leader of the Knesset from its largest or governing party after each election. The Knesset must have an election every two years. Every four years, the [[Presidency of Yisrael|presidential election]] is run concurrently alongside the Knesset's.


The Knesset is widely-known for its unruly, polarized political atmosphere and unstable deal-making.  
The Knesset is widely-known for its unruly, polarized political atmosphere and unstable deal-making.  


==Houses==
==History==
===Bais Kohen===
 
===Bais Yisrael===
As early as the late {{wp|18th century}}, the influence of [[Arthurista]]n {{wp|Age of Enlightenment|Illumination}} on Yisraeli elites led to debates over the establishment of an advisory or legislative body, elected by the upper strata of society, to advise and help govern the country as the [[Parliament of Arthurista]] governed with the [[Lord Protector of Arthurista]]. Numerous monarchs of the period, even liberal-minded ones, usually rebuffed such concepts, concerned about an infringement of their powers and {{wp|divine right to rule}}.
 
However, by the late 1800s, a consensus among both elites and the general populace, influenced by {{wp|popular consent}} movements in [[Messidor Union|Aɣmatia]], Arthurista, and [[Latium]], advocated for some sort of elected advisory legislative body. [[Monarchy of Yisrael|King]] [[Meir II of Yisrael|Meir II]] (1871-1909), a modernizing royal who himself had spent time in countries with these political reforms as a teenager before taking the throne, agreed.
 
In 1901, his royal decree created and promulgated the Knesset as an advisory body. It was elected by a {{wp|Franchise|limited franchise}} of {{wp|landowner}}s, {{wp|taxpayer}}s, {{wp|property owner}}s, and prominent ''{{wp|Rabbi|rabbonim}}''.
 
For most of its 19 years under the absolute monarchy, the Knesset was dominated by modernizing and liberalizing political factions such as the [[Constitutional Liberals (political faction)|Constitutional Liberals]] and [[Reformists (political faction)|Reformists]]. During the [[West Scipian Wars|Second West Scipian War]] and its aftermath, {{wp|reactionary}} King [[Nechemia II of Yisrael|Nechemia II]] (1909-1919) used the wartime atmosphere to restrict the Knesset's growing powers and to reorganize elections to the effect that his supportive [[Royalists (political faction)|Royalists]] and [[Conservatives (political faction)|Conservatives]] took the reins of the majority in the body and blocked proposed liberal reforms. 
 
The Con-Lib faction in the Knesset, increasingly restricted at all turns, eventually revolted, sparking the [[1919 Revolution]]. Liberal parts of the [[Royal Yisraeli Defense Forces|Royal Yisraeli Army]] {{wp|defection|defected}} to an ''ad hoc'' coalition of rioters, {{wp|militia}}s, and other armed constitutional liberal supporters that within the year overthrew Nechemia II's royal government and implemented the [[1920 Constitution]].
 
The early 1920s saw [[Politics_of_Yisrael#First_Party_System_.281922-1941.29|the rise of the First Party System]] between the dominant [[Constitutional Liberal Party]] and Nechemia II's former supporters, the [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Royalist Conservative Party]]. The 1920s and 1930s saw political power anchored in the Knesset and the [[Prime Minister of Yisrael|Prime Minister]]. However, this roughly twenty year period ended with the [[Autocracy regime|1941 Azoulayist coup d'etat]]. The Knesset was suspended indefinitely and never met again until [[Government_of_Yisrael#1952_reforms|its restoration under the restored Kingdom of Yisrael in early 1952]] after the [[Year of Blood]].
 
Since 1952, the Knesset has become an established part of [[Factionalism in Yisrael#Politics|Yisraeli political life]], and has been in continuous operation ever since. Since the 1950s, a number of norms and conventions have been established, both formally and informally. The [[Party leadership of the Yisraeli Knesset|party leaders of the Knesset]] have been organized into permanent institutions within the body, and the decades of [[Right Bloc]] and [[Left Bloc]] led coalitions effectuated a stable {{wp|two party system|system of two party-guided coalition majorities}} within the unicameral chamber.
 
==Role, powers, and duties==
==Role, powers, and duties==
==Members and elections==
===Qualifications===
To qualify to run for the Knesset, one must be:
*A registered voter;
*Aged 24 or older;
*A resident of the Knesset constituency that the candidate is running for at a minimum of six (6) months;
*Free of a felony conviction, or if not, having had obtained a {{wp|pardon}} by the [[Presidency of Yisrael|President of Yisrael]] (federal felony) or [[District system (Yisrael)|District governor]] (non-federal felony).
===Elections===
The 142 members of the Knesset (MKs) are {{wp|Direct election|popularly elected}} from individual {{wp|single-member district|single-member electoral districts}} using {{wp|plurality voting}} to concurrent two-year terms. All Yisraeli citizens 21 years or older who are properly registered to vote and not disqualified due to criminal convictions or other limiting factors may vote in legislative elections, which are conducted by {{wp|secret ballot}}.
===Officers===
{{main|Party leadership of the Yisraeli Knesset}}
The party leadership of the Knesset consists of the '''Majority and Minority Leaders of His Royal Majesty's Government and Opposition''', respectively. These positions evolved from the first sessions of Knesset under [[Government_of_Yisrael#Constitution_and_the_1920s|the constitutional era in the early 1920s]], emerging from questions over the [[1920 Constitution]]'s mention of the Knesset being presided over by the "Leader of the Knesset," a role and description which was left frustratingly vague.
The ascendant [[Constitutional Liberal Party|Constitutional Liberals]] who took an early majority in the first of the empowered Knessets determined the "Leader of the Knesset" to be the "Majority Leader of the Knesset," which would be held by the leader of the majority party or coalition in the unicameral chamber. From this, an implied "Minority Leader" of the official opposition was also recognized by 1924.
The chairmen and -women of the various Knesset committees are also considered "Knesset officers," and these are determined by the ruling party/coalition (who control the organization of each committee). The ruling power chooses internally which of their members on the committee will fill these seats from time to time.
The current Majority Leader is [[Oren Saddi]] ([[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|NLP]]), who has held this position since [[Yisraeli general election, 2024|February 5th, 2024]]. The current Minority Leader is [[Binyamin Goldschmidt]] ([[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RC]]), who has held this role since [[Yisraeli general election, 2024|January 14th, 2024]].
The past 49th and 50th sessions of Knesset (2020-2022; 2022-2024) are the first time both party leaders have had the same {{wp|surname}}: the then-Majority Leader is [[Binyamin Goldschmidt]] ([[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RC]]) and the then-Minority Leader is [[Reuven Goldschmidt]] ([[Alternative for Yisrael|AFY]]).
==Legislative procedure==
==Legislative procedure==
==Current composition==
==Parliamentary composition since 2004==
==Parliamentary composition since 1952==
{{main|Party divisions of the Yisraeli Knesset}}
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=9 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Action Yisrael|AY]]
! [[Alternative for Yisrael|AfY]]
! [[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|NLP]]
! [[Party of the Left|PL]]
! [[Christian Voice|CV]]
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''51st'''
| 2024-2026
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 47
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 17
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 10
| bgcolor=#ADD8E6 | 25
| bgcolor=#FFE135 | 30
| bgcolor=#48BF91 | 10
| bgcolor=#E2DFD2| 2
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 1
| 0
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | [[Yitzchok Katz]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#EAA328 | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Spring_coalitions|Yellow-Light Blue-Gray-Teal-White]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | +10 ([[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|NLP]]-led Spring Coalition to [[Right Bloc]] parties)
|-
|}
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=9 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Action Yisrael|AY]]
! [[Alternative for Yisrael|AfY]]
! [[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|NLP]]
! [[Party of the Left|PL]]
! [[Christian Voice|CV]]
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''50th'''
| 2022-2024
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 62
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 18
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 14
| bgcolor=#ADD8E6 | 19
| bgcolor=#FFE135 | 16
| bgcolor=#48BF91 | 9
| bgcolor=#E2DFD2| 3
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 0
| 0
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | [[Yitzchok Katz]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Flag_coalitions|Blue-Silver]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#acbefb | +47 (to [[United Center Bloc|UCB]]'s 33 seats)/<br> +18 (to all minority parties)
|-
|}
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=12 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Constitutional Liberal Party|CLP]]<sup>2</sup>
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Action Yisrael|AY]]
! [[Alternative for Yisrael|AfY]]
! [[Alliance of Greens, Seculars, and Workers|AGSW]]<sup>2</sup>
! [[League for New Judea|LNJ]]
! [[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|NLP]]<sup>2</sup>
! [[Party of the Left|PL]]<sup>2</sup>
! [[Christian Voice|CV]]<sup>3</sup>
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''49th'''
| 2020-2022
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 64
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 14-13<sup>1</sup>/13-0<sup>2</sup>
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 19
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 17-18<sup>1</sup>
| bgcolor=#ADD8E6 | 25-26<sup>2</sup>
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 1-0<sup>2</sup>
| bgcolor=#800000 | 2-1<sup>3</sup>
| bgcolor=#FFE135 | 0-8<sup>2</sup>
| bgcolor=#48BF91 | 0-5<sup>2</sup>
| bgcolor=#E2DFD2| 0-1<sup>3</sup>
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 0
| 0
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | [[Yitzchok Katz]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Flag_coalitions|Blue-Silver-Maroon]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#acbefb | +43 (to [[United Center Bloc|UCB]]'s 42 seats)/<br> +28 (to all minority parties)
|-
|}
 
'''Footnotes'''
<br><small>1. {{wp|Centrist}} Con-Lib MK [[Shaul Goldfarb]] {{wp|Party-switching|defected}} to the [[Action Yisrael]] party in the [[United Center Bloc]] on December 2, 2020, reducing the Con-Libs from 14 to 13 MKs.</small>
<br><small>2. On April 27, 2021, the [[Constitutional Liberal Party]] [[Constitutional Liberal Party#Dissolution|dissolved itself]], with the establishment and nationalist wings forming the [[National Liberal Party (Yisrael)|National Liberals]] and the far-left populists merging with the [[Alliance of of Greens, Seculars, and Workers]] to form the [[Party of the Left]]. Of the former Con-Lib sitting {{wp|Member of Knesset|Members of Knesset}}, 8 joined the Nat-Libs, 4 (along with the Alliance's 1) joined the Party of the Left, and 1 (former Con-Lib Knesset leader [[Yaakov Luzzatto]]) defected to the AfY.</small>
<br><small>2. In the [[November 7, 2021 special election in the Yarden Valley]], newfound [[Christian Voice]] candidate [[Elyas Khoury]] won in an upset, entering the Knesset as the first of his party with two months left of the 49th session of the Knesset before the 2022 midterm elections. His victory cost the Northern League one of their two seats.
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=9 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Constitutional Liberal Party|CLP]]
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Action Yisrael|AY]]
! [[Alternative for Yisrael|AfY]]<sup>1</sup>
! [[Alliance of Greens, Seculars, and Workers|AGSW]]
! [[League for New Judea|LNJ]]
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''48th'''
| 2018-2020
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 59
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 42-32<sup>1</sup>
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 16
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 12
| bgcolor=#add8e6 | 0-10<sup>1</sup>
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 8
| bgcolor=#800000 | 5
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 0
| 0
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#acbefb | [[Noah Feldman]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Flag_coalitions|Blue-Gray-Maroon]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#acbefb | +4/<br>+20 (with {{wp|supply and confidence}} from [[Torah Achdus]])
|-
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=8 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Constitutional Liberal Party|CLP]]
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Action Yisrael|AY]]
! [[Alliance of Greens, Seculars, and Workers|AGSW]]
! [[League for New Judea|LNJ]]
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''47th'''
| 2016-2018
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 64
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 39
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 18
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 7
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 3
| bgcolor=#800000 | 11
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 0
| 2
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#acbefb | [[Noah Feldman]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | '''[[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Blue]]'''-'''[[League for New Judea|Maroon]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#acbefb | +3<sup>2</sup>
 
|-
| '''46th'''
| 2014-2016
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 41
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 66
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 15
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 9
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 6
| bgcolor=#800000 | 2
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 3
| 1
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#EAA328 | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Spring_coalitions|Gold-Gray-Green-White]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | +5
 
|-
| '''45th'''
| 2012-2014
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 64
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 48
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 16
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 5
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 4<sup>3</sup>
| bgcolor=#800000 | 3
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 2
| 2
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | '''[[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Blue]]'''-'''[[Torah Achdus|Silver]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#acbefb | +8
|-
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=10 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Constitutional Liberal Party|CLP]]
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Action Yisrael|AY]]<sup>4</sup>
! [[Green Party (Yisrael)|GP]]
! [[Yisraeli Labor Party|YLP]]
! [[League for New Judea|LNJ]]
! [[Yisraeli Christian Association|YCA]]<sup>5</sup>
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''44th'''
| 2010-2012
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 58
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 51
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 16
| bgcolor=#C5CE88 | 3
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 2
| bgcolor=##FFC0CB| 2
| bgcolor=#800000 | 5
| bgcolor=#ADD8E6 | 3
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 2
| 4<sup>6</sup>
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#EAA328 | [[Eitan Herzog]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#acbefb | '''[[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Blue]]'''-'''[[Torah Achdus|Silver]]'''  {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#acbefb | +2
|-
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=9 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Constitutional Liberal Party|CLP]]
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Green Party (Yisrael)|GP]]
! [[Yisraeli Labor Party|YLP]]
! [[League for New Judea|LNJ]]
! [[Yisraeli Christian Association|YCA]]
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''43rd'''
| 2008-2010
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 52
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 60
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 13
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 5
| bgcolor=##FFC0CB| 3
| bgcolor=#800000 | 2
| bgcolor=#ADD8E6 | 3
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 4
| 0
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#EAA328 | [[Eitan Herzog]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#EAA328 | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Spring_coalition|Gold-Green-Pink-White]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | +1
 
|-
| '''42nd'''
| 2006-2008
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 57<sup>7</sup>
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 57<sup>7</sup>
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 14
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 3
| bgcolor=##FFC0CB| 2
| bgcolor=#800000 | 0<sup>8</sup>
| bgcolor=#ADD8E6 | 4
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 5
| 0
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#EAA328 | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Spring_coalition|Gold-Green-Pink-White]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | +1<sup>7</sup>
|-
 
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- valign=bottom
! rowspan=2 | Knesset
! rowspan=2 | Years
! rowspan=999 |
! colspan=9 | Knesset
! rowspan=999 |
! rowspan=2 | President
! rowspan=2 | Governing Majority Party
! rowspan=2 | Margin of Majority Control
 
|- valign=bottom
! [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|RCP]]
! [[Constitutional Liberal Party|CLP]]
! [[Torah Achdus|TA]]
! [[Green Party (Yisrael)|GP]]
! [[Yisraeli Labor Party|YLP]]
! [[National Union Party (Yisrael)|NUP]]
! [[Yisraeli Christian Association|YCA]]
! {{wp|Independent (politician)|Ind.}}
! Vacan<br/>cies
 
|-
| '''41st'''
| 2004-2006
| bgcolor=#4080c0 | 46-45<sup>10</sup>
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | 66-67<sup>10</sup>
| bgcolor=#C0C0C0 | 12
| bgcolor=#7CFC00 | 5
| bgcolor=##FFC0CB| 4
| bgcolor=##228b22| 2<sup>9</sup>
| bgcolor=#ADD8E6 | 3
| bgcolor=#FFFFFF | 3
| 3
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#EAA328 | [[Eitan Herzog]]
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#EAA328 | '''[[Spring and flag coalitions#Spring_coalition|Gold-Green-Pink]]''' {{wp|coalition government|coalition}}
| bgcolor=#EAA328 | +4/+5<sup>10</sup>
 
|}
 
'''Footnotes'''
<br><small>1. The [[Alternative for Yisrael]] {{wp|splinter group|split off}} from the [[Constitutional Liberal Party]] on November 7, 2019, at the end of the 48th term of Knesset and about two months from the [[Yisraeli general election, 2020|2020 general elections]]. 10 sitting Con-Lib MKs {{wp|Party switching|defected}} to the new party.</small>
<br><small>2. [[Torah Achdus]] neither sat in {{wp|Parliamentary Opposition|the opposition}} nor had a {{wp|supply and confidence}} agreement with the ruling Conservatives.</small>
<br><small>3. The smaller [[Green Party (Yisrael)|Green Party]] and [[Yisraeli Labor Party]] {{wp|Merger (politics)|merged}} together on February 8th, 2012, three weeks after the [[Yisraeli general election, 2012|2012 elections]], combining their 4 seats (3 Greens, 1 Labor Party).</small>
<br><small>4. The [[Action Yisrael]] party was formed on May 24th, 2009, in advance of the [[Yisraeli general election, 2010|2010 elections]].</small>
<br><small>5. The YCA was found to have illegal ties to [[Yarden revisionist movements|anti-Yisrael]] [[List_of_designated_terrorist_organizations_in_Ajax#List_of_organizations_currently_designated_as_terrorists_by_governments|terrorist groups the Christian Defense League and the Free Yarden Valley Catholic Front]] in the aftermath of the [[2011 Yericho riots]]. Its MKs were arrested by the [[Royal Yisraeli Special Political Police|YeMep]] and the party banned under the [[Domestic Subversive Organizations Act]] before the 2012 elections.</small>
<br><small>6. None of the vacancies resulted in a change of partisan affiliation. All the seats were filled by persons of the same party.</small>
<br><small>7. Vice-President [[Joshua Lieberman]] would often be required to stay on premises for Knesset votes to cast the deciding vote due to the {{wp|hung parliament|evenly-split Knesset}} between HRM Government led by the Con-Lib-Green-Labor-YCA-Indep. coalition (71) and HRM Opposition of the Conservatives and their allies the Torah Achdus party (71).</small>
<br><small>8. The Northern League, although in existence since 1974, had no won any seats since the 1980s. The party had a leadership election in February 14th, 2006, and elected [[David Touro]] as party chairman. Touro rebranded the party as "far right lite" and moderated the more extreme stances of the party as well as recruited credible right-wing activists and buildt needed campaign infrastructure in the [[Yarden River Valley]] and [[Tarsan Jews|ethnic Tarsan Jewish areas]] to field successful candidates for the next election cycle.</small>
<br><small>9. The {{wp|right-wing}} [[National Union (Yisrael)|National Union]] {{wp|Merger (politics)|merged}} with the [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Royalist Conservatives]] several months before the [[Yisraeli general election, 2006|2006 elections]].</small>
<br><small>10. [[Avigdor Korvo]], an MK from [[Ashkelon]], {{wp|party-switching|party-switched}} several days after the election from Conservative to Con-Lib and was given a prominent role on the Knesset Appropriations Committee.</small>
 
==See also==
 
* [[:Category:Political parties in Yisrael|Political parties in Yisrael]]
* [[Politics of Yisrael]]
* [[Party strength in Yisrael]]


{{Template:Yisrael topics|state=expanded}}


[[Category:Legislatures]]
[[Category:Legislatures]]
[[Category:Bicameral legislatures]]
[[Category:Unicameral legislatures]]
[[Category:National legislatures]]
[[Category:National legislatures]]
[[Category:Yisrael]]
[[Category:Yisrael]]
[[Category:Ajax]]
[[Category:Ajax]]

Latest revision as of 23:55, 15 August 2024

The Royal Knesset of the Kingdom of Yisrael

ההכנסה המלכותית של ממלכת ישראל
Type
Type
Leadership
Majority Leader of the Knesset
Minority Leader of the Knesset
Structure
Seats142
Current composition of the Royal Knesset
Political groups
HRM Government (76)

HRM Opposition (66)

Other Opposition (0)
Elections
First-past-the-post voting
Last election
January 12th, 2024
Meeting place
Yis Knesset session room pic 1.jpg
Yerushalayim, Yisrael

The Royal Knesset of Yisrael is the unicameral national legislature of the Kingdom of Yisrael. It is the legislative branch of the Kingdom and its territories. It currently has 142 members, who are elected directly by citizens who are registered voters on the 1st of Shevat on even years of the global secular calendar.

The Knesset is charged with lawmaking, declaring war or authorizing military force, the power of the purse, creating or eliminating public services, the oversight, investigation, and impeachment of sitting government officials, ratifying treaties, and providing the advise and consent for presidential appointments.

Legislation may be introduced by an individual Member of Knesset (MK) or groups of MKs. Per its parliamentary model, it elects the Leader of the Knesset from its largest or governing party after each election. The Knesset must have an election every two years. Every four years, the presidential election is run concurrently alongside the Knesset's.

The Knesset is widely-known for its unruly, polarized political atmosphere and unstable deal-making.

History

As early as the late 18th century, the influence of Arthuristan Illumination on Yisraeli elites led to debates over the establishment of an advisory or legislative body, elected by the upper strata of society, to advise and help govern the country as the Parliament of Arthurista governed with the Lord Protector of Arthurista. Numerous monarchs of the period, even liberal-minded ones, usually rebuffed such concepts, concerned about an infringement of their powers and divine right to rule.

However, by the late 1800s, a consensus among both elites and the general populace, influenced by popular consent movements in Aɣmatia, Arthurista, and Latium, advocated for some sort of elected advisory legislative body. King Meir II (1871-1909), a modernizing royal who himself had spent time in countries with these political reforms as a teenager before taking the throne, agreed.

In 1901, his royal decree created and promulgated the Knesset as an advisory body. It was elected by a limited franchise of landowners, taxpayers, property owners, and prominent rabbonim.

For most of its 19 years under the absolute monarchy, the Knesset was dominated by modernizing and liberalizing political factions such as the Constitutional Liberals and Reformists. During the Second West Scipian War and its aftermath, reactionary King Nechemia II (1909-1919) used the wartime atmosphere to restrict the Knesset's growing powers and to reorganize elections to the effect that his supportive Royalists and Conservatives took the reins of the majority in the body and blocked proposed liberal reforms.

The Con-Lib faction in the Knesset, increasingly restricted at all turns, eventually revolted, sparking the 1919 Revolution. Liberal parts of the Royal Yisraeli Army defected to an ad hoc coalition of rioters, militias, and other armed constitutional liberal supporters that within the year overthrew Nechemia II's royal government and implemented the 1920 Constitution.

The early 1920s saw the rise of the First Party System between the dominant Constitutional Liberal Party and Nechemia II's former supporters, the Royalist Conservative Party. The 1920s and 1930s saw political power anchored in the Knesset and the Prime Minister. However, this roughly twenty year period ended with the 1941 Azoulayist coup d'etat. The Knesset was suspended indefinitely and never met again until its restoration under the restored Kingdom of Yisrael in early 1952 after the Year of Blood.

Since 1952, the Knesset has become an established part of Yisraeli political life, and has been in continuous operation ever since. Since the 1950s, a number of norms and conventions have been established, both formally and informally. The party leaders of the Knesset have been organized into permanent institutions within the body, and the decades of Right Bloc and Left Bloc led coalitions effectuated a stable system of two party-guided coalition majorities within the unicameral chamber.

Role, powers, and duties

Members and elections

Qualifications

To qualify to run for the Knesset, one must be:

  • A registered voter;
  • Aged 24 or older;
  • A resident of the Knesset constituency that the candidate is running for at a minimum of six (6) months;
  • Free of a felony conviction, or if not, having had obtained a pardon by the President of Yisrael (federal felony) or District governor (non-federal felony).

Elections

The 142 members of the Knesset (MKs) are popularly elected from individual single-member electoral districts using plurality voting to concurrent two-year terms. All Yisraeli citizens 21 years or older who are properly registered to vote and not disqualified due to criminal convictions or other limiting factors may vote in legislative elections, which are conducted by secret ballot.

Officers

The party leadership of the Knesset consists of the Majority and Minority Leaders of His Royal Majesty's Government and Opposition, respectively. These positions evolved from the first sessions of Knesset under the constitutional era in the early 1920s, emerging from questions over the 1920 Constitution's mention of the Knesset being presided over by the "Leader of the Knesset," a role and description which was left frustratingly vague.

The ascendant Constitutional Liberals who took an early majority in the first of the empowered Knessets determined the "Leader of the Knesset" to be the "Majority Leader of the Knesset," which would be held by the leader of the majority party or coalition in the unicameral chamber. From this, an implied "Minority Leader" of the official opposition was also recognized by 1924.

The chairmen and -women of the various Knesset committees are also considered "Knesset officers," and these are determined by the ruling party/coalition (who control the organization of each committee). The ruling power chooses internally which of their members on the committee will fill these seats from time to time.

The current Majority Leader is Oren Saddi (NLP), who has held this position since February 5th, 2024. The current Minority Leader is Binyamin Goldschmidt (RC), who has held this role since January 14th, 2024.

The past 49th and 50th sessions of Knesset (2020-2022; 2022-2024) are the first time both party leaders have had the same surname: the then-Majority Leader is Binyamin Goldschmidt (RC) and the then-Minority Leader is Reuven Goldschmidt (AFY).

Legislative procedure

Parliamentary composition since 2004

Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP TA AY AfY NLP PL CV Ind. Vacan
cies
51st 2024-2026 47 17 10 25 30 10 2 1 0 Yitzchok Katz Yellow-Light Blue-Gray-Teal-White coalition +10 (NLP-led Spring Coalition to Right Bloc parties)
Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP TA AY AfY NLP PL CV Ind. Vacan
cies
50th 2022-2024 62 18 14 19 16 9 3 0 0 Yitzchok Katz Blue-Silver coalition +47 (to UCB's 33 seats)/
+18 (to all minority parties)
Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP CLP2 TA AY AfY AGSW2 LNJ NLP2 PL2 CV3 Ind. Vacan
cies
49th 2020-2022 64 14-131/13-02 19 17-181 25-262 1-02 2-13 0-82 0-52 0-13 0 0 Yitzchok Katz Blue-Silver-Maroon coalition +43 (to UCB's 42 seats)/
+28 (to all minority parties)

Footnotes
1. Centrist Con-Lib MK Shaul Goldfarb defected to the Action Yisrael party in the United Center Bloc on December 2, 2020, reducing the Con-Libs from 14 to 13 MKs.
2. On April 27, 2021, the Constitutional Liberal Party dissolved itself, with the establishment and nationalist wings forming the National Liberals and the far-left populists merging with the Alliance of of Greens, Seculars, and Workers to form the Party of the Left. Of the former Con-Lib sitting Members of Knesset, 8 joined the Nat-Libs, 4 (along with the Alliance's 1) joined the Party of the Left, and 1 (former Con-Lib Knesset leader Yaakov Luzzatto) defected to the AfY.
2. In the November 7, 2021 special election in the Yarden Valley, newfound Christian Voice candidate Elyas Khoury won in an upset, entering the Knesset as the first of his party with two months left of the 49th session of the Knesset before the 2022 midterm elections. His victory cost the Northern League one of their two seats.

Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP CLP TA AY AfY1 AGSW LNJ Ind. Vacan
cies
48th 2018-2020 59 42-321 16 12 0-101 8 5 0 0 Noah Feldman Blue-Gray-Maroon coalition +4/
+20 (with supply and confidence from Torah Achdus)
Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP CLP TA AY AGSW LNJ Ind. Vacan
cies
47th 2016-2018 64 39 18 7 3 11 0 2 Noah Feldman Blue-Maroon coalition +32
46th 2014-2016 41 66 15 9 6 2 3 1 Gold-Gray-Green-White coalition +5
45th 2012-2014 64 48 16 5 43 3 2 2 Blue-Silver coalition +8
Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP CLP TA AY4 GP YLP LNJ YCA5 Ind. Vacan
cies
44th 2010-2012 58 51 16 3 2 2 5 3 2 46 Eitan Herzog Blue-Silver coalition +2
Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP CLP TA GP YLP LNJ YCA Ind. Vacan
cies
43rd 2008-2010 52 60 13 5 3 2 3 4 0 Eitan Herzog Gold-Green-Pink-White coalition +1
42nd 2006-2008 577 577 14 3 2 08 4 5 0 Gold-Green-Pink-White coalition +17
Knesset Years Knesset President Governing Majority Party Margin of Majority Control
RCP CLP TA GP YLP NUP YCA Ind. Vacan
cies
41st 2004-2006 46-4510 66-6710 12 5 4 29 3 3 3 Eitan Herzog Gold-Green-Pink coalition +4/+510

Footnotes
1. The Alternative for Yisrael split off from the Constitutional Liberal Party on November 7, 2019, at the end of the 48th term of Knesset and about two months from the 2020 general elections. 10 sitting Con-Lib MKs defected to the new party.
2. Torah Achdus neither sat in the opposition nor had a supply and confidence agreement with the ruling Conservatives.
3. The smaller Green Party and Yisraeli Labor Party merged together on February 8th, 2012, three weeks after the 2012 elections, combining their 4 seats (3 Greens, 1 Labor Party).
4. The Action Yisrael party was formed on May 24th, 2009, in advance of the 2010 elections.
5. The YCA was found to have illegal ties to anti-Yisrael terrorist groups the Christian Defense League and the Free Yarden Valley Catholic Front in the aftermath of the 2011 Yericho riots. Its MKs were arrested by the YeMep and the party banned under the Domestic Subversive Organizations Act before the 2012 elections.
6. None of the vacancies resulted in a change of partisan affiliation. All the seats were filled by persons of the same party.
7. Vice-President Joshua Lieberman would often be required to stay on premises for Knesset votes to cast the deciding vote due to the evenly-split Knesset between HRM Government led by the Con-Lib-Green-Labor-YCA-Indep. coalition (71) and HRM Opposition of the Conservatives and their allies the Torah Achdus party (71).
8. The Northern League, although in existence since 1974, had no won any seats since the 1980s. The party had a leadership election in February 14th, 2006, and elected David Touro as party chairman. Touro rebranded the party as "far right lite" and moderated the more extreme stances of the party as well as recruited credible right-wing activists and buildt needed campaign infrastructure in the Yarden River Valley and ethnic Tarsan Jewish areas to field successful candidates for the next election cycle.
9. The right-wing National Union merged with the Royalist Conservatives several months before the 2006 elections.
10. Avigdor Korvo, an MK from Ashkelon, party-switched several days after the election from Conservative to Con-Lib and was given a prominent role on the Knesset Appropriations Committee.

See also