84-640: The members of the 20th Knesset were elected on 17 March 2015 and sworn in on 31 March 2015. The twentieth Knesset had the highest number of replacements in Israeli history, with at least 27 members leaving mid-term. Eleven of those left due to the Norwegian Law . Knesset Opposition (52) The Knesset ( Hebrew : הַכְּנֶסֶת , romanized : HaKnesset [haˈkneset] lit. ' gathering, assembly ' , Arabic : الْكِنِيسِت , romanized : al-Kinisit )
168-797: A Speaker and Deputy Speakers, called the Knesset Presidium, which currently consists of: 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
252-612: A troika of Yitzhak Shamir, Nathan Yellin-Mor and Israel Eldad . Shamir sought to emulate the anti-British struggle of the Irish Republicans and took the nickname "Michael" after Irish Republican leader Michael Collins . Shamir plotted the 1944 assassination of Lord Moyne , British Minister for Middle East Affairs, and personally selected Eliyahu Hakim and Eliyahu Bet-Zuri to carry it out. Moyne had been targeted due to his perceived role as an architect of British restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine, and in particular,
336-728: A two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . Shamir unified the Likud alliance into one party in 1988. Shamir reluctantly restarted the Israeli–Palestinian peace process at the behest of the United States and Soviet Union which culminated in the Madrid Conference of 1991 . Shamir lost the 1992 Israeli legislative election to Yitzhak Rabin and in 1993 Benjamin Netanyahu replaced him as Likud leader. Yitzhak Yezernitsky
420-478: A February 1992 leadership election , Shamir retained his leadership of Likud, defeating challenges from David Levy and Ariel Sharon. One of Shamir's last acts as Prime Minister was to approve the 16 February 1992 assassination of the leader of Hizbullah , Sheikh Abbas al-Musawi . Shamir was defeated by Yitzhak Rabin 's Labour in the 1992 election . He stepped down from the Likud leadership in March 1993 but remained
504-465: A book which was published in English by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, as Summing Up: An autobiography (1994). Shamir twice served as prime minister (Israel's head of government ). His first stint spanned from 10 October 1983 through 13 September 1984, leading the 20th government during the latter portion of the 10th Knesset . His second stint lasted from 20 October 1986 through 13 July 1992, leading
588-619: A forged passport, with which he entered Israel after the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Lehi became most famous for the Deir Yassin massacre . From April 9 to 11, 1948 around 130 fighters from Irgun and Lehi violated a peace deal with the village of Deir Yassin and killed at least 107 Palestinian Arab villagers, nearly all civilians. Some villagers who had hidden or pretended to be dead were killed by Lehi men on April 10 or 11. News of
672-564: A majority of both Jews and Arabs in Israel are proud to be citizens of the country, both groups share a distrust of Israel's government, including the Knesset. Almost three quarters of Israelis surveyed said corruption in Israel's political leadership was either "widespread or somewhat prevalent". A majority of both Arabs and Jews trusted the Israel Defense Forces , the President of Israel , and
756-528: A member of the Knesset until the 1996 election. For some time, Shamir was a critic of his Likud successor, Benjamin Netanyahu , as being too indecisive in dealing with the Arabs. Shamir went so far as to resign from the Likud in 1998 and endorse Herut , a right-wing splinter movement led by Benny Begin , which later joined the National Union during the 1999 election. After Netanyahu was defeated, Shamir returned to
840-611: A motion of no-confidence against the government. 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
924-643: A narrow right-wing coalition. During this period the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip launched the first Intifada , which was suppressed with force by the Israeli government. Shamir urged the US government to stop granting refugee visas to Soviet Jews, persuading it that they were not refugees because they already had a homeland in Israel and were only moving to the United States for economic reasons. He also termed
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#17330849443121008-528: A powerful anti-Semitic presence?" Shamir replied "They suck it in with their mother's milk! This is something that is deeply imbued in their tradition, their mentality." The comment caused public and diplomatic controversy within Poland as being libelous . Adam Michnik later addressed the comment by stating "the stubborn categorization of Poland as an anti-Semitic nation was used in Europe and America as an alibi for
1092-558: A reign of terror in the Palestine Jewish community. Teachers were beaten up for speaking against them, adults were shot for not letting their children join them. By gangster methods, beatings, window-smashing, and wide-spread robberies, the terrorists intimidated the population and exacted a heavy tribute. ... Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultranationalism , religious mysticism, and racial superiority . After
1176-517: 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
1260-409: A statement upon hearing of his death that read: "[Shamir] led Israel with a deep loyalty to the nation. [The Prime Minister] expresses his deep pain over the announcement of the departure of Yitzhak Shamir. He was part of a marvelous generation which created the state of Israel and struggled for the Jewish people." This was despite previous feuds between the two once-Likud members. He was also mourned in
1344-401: A viable government (extensions can be granted and often are), and then must win a vote of confidence in the Knesset before taking office. The following is a list of Knesset elections: The table below lists the parliamentary factions represented in the 25th Knesset . Each Knesset session is known by its election number. Thus the Knesset elected by Israel's first election in 1949 is known as
1428-455: Is derived from the ancient Knesset HaGdola ( Hebrew : כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה ) 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
1512-561: Is known that mother's food does not contain any ingredients that affect the formation of an infant's consciousness when it grows up and begins to think. These words were a metaphor to express the idea that anti-Semitic feelings or views, as well as many other positive and negative feelings and views, come from the family home. During the Gulf War , Iraq fired Scud missiles at Israel, many of which struck population centers. Iraq hoped to provoke Israeli retaliation and thus alienate Arab members of
1596-460: Is the unicameral legislature of Israel . The Knesset passes all laws, elects the president and prime minister (although the former is ceremonially appointed by the 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
1680-532: The Patria disaster , which was blamed on him. In 1944 Shamir married fellow Lehi member Shulamit , Shamir had first met Shulamit in a detention camp where she was incarcerated after the ship on which she sailed to Mandate Palestine from Bulgaria in 1941 was declared illegal. They would have two children, Yair and Gilada. Shamir's parents and two sisters were murdered in the Holocaust . Shamir claimed his father
1764-514: The 1948 Palestine war , Lehi and the Irgun committed the Deir Yassin massacre of over 100 Palestinians . After the establishment of the Israeli state Shamir served in Mossad between 1955 and 1965. Shamir directed Operation Damocles and resigned from Mossad after Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered end to the program. In 1969 Shamir joined Menachem Begin's Herut Party. Shamir was first elected to
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#17330849443121848-526: The 1969 elections (the Alignment had briefly held 63 seats going into the 1969 elections after being formed shortly beforehand by the merger of several parties, the only occasion on which any party or faction has ever held a majority). As a result, while there have never been more than three numerically major parties at any time and only four parties (or their antecedents) have ever led governments, all Israeli governments have been coalitions. After an election,
1932-419: The 1983 Herut leadership election against David Levy to succeed Begin as leader of Herut, the Likud, and Prime Minister of Israel. Shamir won reelection as party leader in the 1984 Herut leadership election , defeating a challenge from Ariel Sharon . His failure to stabilize Israel's inflationary economy and to suggest a solution to the quagmire of Lebanon led to an indecisive election in 1984 . Shamir lost
2016-733: 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 compound 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
2100-655: The Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was collapsing, Shamir ordered the airlifting of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews , known as Operation Solomon . He continued his efforts, begun in the late 1960s, to bring Soviet Jewish refugees to Israel. Shamir restored diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Israel in October 1991, and following its dissolution, established relations between Israel and his native Belarus in May 1992. Shamir
2184-635: The First Knesset . The current Knesset, elected in 2022, is the Twenty-fifth Knesset. The Knesset holds morning tours in Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Spanish, German, and Russian on Sunday and Thursday, and there are also live session viewing times on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings. The Knesset is protected by the Knesset Guard , a protective security unit responsible for the security of
2268-544: The Herut party headed by Menachem Begin and was first elected to the Knesset in 1973 as a member of the Likud . He became Speaker of the Knesset in 1977, and Foreign Minister in 1980 which he remained until 1986, concurrently serving as prime minister from October 1983 to September 1984 after Begin's resignation. Shamir had a reputation as a Likud hard-liner. In 1977 he presided at
2352-567: The Irgun Zvai Leumi , a Zionist paramilitary group that opposed British control of Palestine. During World War II the Irgun split over the question of whether to support the Axis Powers against the British Empire . Avraham Stern and Shamir sought an alliance with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and formed the more militant breakaway militia group Lehi. Lehi was unable to persuade
2436-588: The Knesset visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat . He abstained in the Knesset votes to approve the Camp David Accords and the Peace Treaty with Egypt . In 1981 and 1982, as Foreign Minister, he guided negotiations with Egypt to normalize relations after the treaty. Following the 1982 Lebanon War he directed negotiations which led to the May 17, 1983 Agreement with Lebanon, which did not materialize. Shamir won
2520-485: The Supreme Court of Israel , but Jews and Arabs reported similar levels of mistrust, with little more than a third of each group claiming confidence in the Knesset. 31°46′36″N 35°12′19″E / 31.77667°N 35.20528°E / 31.77667; 35.20528 Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( Hebrew : יצחק שמיר , listen ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky ; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012)
2604-549: The University of Warsaw , but cut his studies short in order to emigrate to what was then Mandatory Palestine in 1935. Shamir was the surname Yitzhak Yezernitsky used on a forged underground identity card. Once in British Palestine , Yitzhak Yezernitsky changed his surname to Shamir. He later said Shamir means a thorn that stabs and a rock that can cut steel. Shamir initially worked in an accountant's office. Shamir joined
List of members of the twentieth Knesset - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-513: The betrayal of Poland at Yalta . The nation so categorized was seen as unworthy of sympathy, or of help, or of compassion." In a 1996 interview with the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita , Shamir said the controversy was based on a misunderstanding of what he said: Once these words were published out of context, I did not find it necessary to straighten them out, because any reasonable person should understand that they should not be read literally. It
2772-472: The 1982 Israel invasion of Lebanon. Shamir won the 1983 Herut leadership election to succeed Begin as party leader, which made him Prime Minister and leader of the Likud. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir lost the 1984 election to Peres. Peres and Shamir entered into a grand coalition deal where Peres became prime minister while Shamir remained foreign minister until 1986, when Peres and Shamir traded jobs. The First Intifada began in 1987 and Shamir resisted
2856-552: 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
2940-560: The Axis powers to lend it support and became widely known as the Stern Gang . Yitzhak Shamir was imprisoned by British authorities in 1941. A few months after Stern was killed by the British in 1942, Shamir and Eliyahu Giladi hid under a stack of mattresses in a warehouse of the detention camp at Mazra'a , and at night escaped through the barbed wire fences of the camp. Shamir became the leader of
3024-536: 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: Special committees: The other committees are
3108-471: The Irgun and Lehi for their part in the Deir Yassin massacre in an open letter to The New York Times . The letter was signed by over twenty prominent Jewish intellectuals, including Albert Einstein , Hannah Arendt , Zellig Harris , and Sidney Hook . A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in
3192-554: The Knesset building and Knesset members. Guards are stationed outside the building to provide armed protection, and ushers are stationed inside to maintain order. The Knesset Guard also plays a ceremonial role, participating in state ceremonies, which includes greeting dignitaries on Mount Herzl on the eve of Israeli Independence Day . A poll conducted by the Israeli Democracy Institute in April and May 2014 showed that while
3276-469: The Knesset in 1973 as a member of the Likud alliance of parties. Shamir served as Speaker of the Knesset after Likud became the first right-wing Israeli government after winning the 1977 Israeli legislative election against Prime Minister Shimon Peres ' Alignment . Shamir was named Foreign Minister by Prime Minister Begin in 1980 and would serve in this post until 1986. Shamir was Foreign Minister during
3360-475: 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
3444-478: 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:
List of members of the twentieth Knesset - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-444: The Knesset. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman added that Shamir "contributed greatly to the foundation of the state, which he served his entire life with loyalty and unwavering dedication. He set an example in each position that he held. I had the privilege to be personally acquainted with Shamir, and I will always remember him and his great contribution to the state;" while Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: "His whole life, Shamir
3612-523: The Knesset. The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus are two of the largest and most active caucuses. The Knesset numbers 120 members, after the size of the Great Assembly . The subject of Knesset membership has often been a cause for proposed reforms. Under the Norwegian Law , Knesset members who are appointed to ministerial positions are allowed to resign and allow
3696-406: The Likud fold and supported Ariel Sharon in the 2001 election. He was placed honorary 120th last spot on the Likud list in the 2003 Israeli legislative election . Subsequently, in his late eighties, Shamir ceased making public comments. In 2004, Shamir's health declined, with the progression of his Alzheimer's disease , and he was moved to a nursing home. The government turned down a request by
3780-578: The Revisionist Zionist Irgun paramilitary group led by Menachem Begin . During World War II , the Irgun split over the question of whether to support the Axis Powers against the British Empire . Avraham Stern and Shamir sought an alliance with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and formed the breakaway militia group Lehi. Lehi was unable to persuade the Axis powers to lend it support. Shamir led Lehi after Stern's assassination in 1942. In 1944 Shamir married Lehi member Shulamit Levy . During
3864-529: The Sembel Prison (a British Detention Camp) through a tunnel they had dug, 200 feet in length, and Mayer Malka of Khartoum subsequently arranged for them to be hidden in an oil truck for three days as it was driven over the border to French Somaliland . They were re-arrested by the French authorities, but Shamir with Malka's assistance was eventually allowed passage to France and granted political asylum. Lehi sent him
3948-519: The Stern Gang, and, together with Giladi, Anshell Shpillman and Yehoshua Cohen , reorganized the movement into cells and trained its members. In his memoirs, Shamir admitted in 1994 what had long been suspected: that the killing of Giladi in 1943 was ordered by Shamir himself, allegedly due to Giladi advocating the assassination of David Ben-Gurion , and arguing for other violence deemed too extremist by fellow Stern members. Lehi leadership consisted of
4032-513: The US were strained in the period after the war over the Madrid peace talks , which Shamir opposed. As a result, US President George H. W. Bush was reluctant to approve loan guarantees to help absorb immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Finally, Shamir gave in and in October 1991 participated in the Madrid talks. His narrow, right-wing government collapsed, and new elections were necessarily called. In
4116-669: The United States-assembled coalition against Iraq. Shamir deployed Israeli Air Force jets to patrol the northern airspace with Iraq. However, after the United States and the Netherlands deployed Patriot antimissile batteries to protect Israel, and US and British special forces began hunting for Scuds, Shamir responded to American calls for restraint, recalled the jets, and agreed not to retaliate. During his term, Shamir reestablished diplomatic relations between Israel and several dozen African, Asian and other countries. In May 1991, as
4200-453: 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
4284-683: The abstention of the General Zionists (part of the governing coalition) 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 (part of the governing coalition) abstained in
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#17330849443124368-628: The assassination of the United Nations representative in the Middle East, Count Folke Bernadotte , who was killed in September 1948, when Lehi gunmen ambushed his motorcade in Jerusalem. Lehi had feared that Israel would agree to Bernadotte's peace proposals, which they considered disastrous, unaware that the provisional Israeli government had already rejected a proposal by Bernadotte the day before. The Israeli provisional government drafted an ordinance for
4452-592: The assassinations of German rocket scientists working on the Egyptian missile programme. He ran a unit that placed agents in hostile countries, created the Mossad's division for planning and served on its General Staff. Shamir resigned from the Mossad in protest over the treatment of Mossad Director-General Isser Harel , who had been compelled to resign after Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered an end to Operation Damocles . Defunct Defunct In 1969, Shamir joined
4536-431: The backlash to the massacre, the Lehi troika of Shamir, Eldad, and Yellin-Mor formally disbanded most of the organization on May 29, 1948 but continued to lead a minority of the membership from Jerusalem. Lehi leadership continued to be outside of Israeli government control while most of its former membership joined the newly formed Israel Defense Forces . During a UN-imposed truce, Shamir, Eldad, and Yellin-Mor authorized
4620-436: The congregation of Israel, on behalf of anonymous soldiers, in the service of the country and in the underground; in the name of the State of Israel, we bow our heads to you. You were dedicated to the people all your life, and now 'from duty be released only by death.' In a few hours we'll say our goodbyes, when you'll be interred in the ground of Jerusalem, the ground of this good land, for which you have lived and fought. Shamir
4704-432: The deed, and the Jewish Agency sent a telegram of apology to King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of this massacre, publicized it widely, and invited all the foreign correspondents present in the country to view the heaped corpses and the general havoc at Deir Yassin. ... During the last years of sporadic anti-British violence, the IZL and Stern groups inaugurated
4788-502: The election but was able to retain his post as foreign minister in a national unity government between the Likud alliance and the Alignment led by Prime Minister Shimon Peres . As part of the agreement, Peres held the post of Prime Minister until September 1986, when Shamir returned to the prime ministership and Peres became foreign minister. As he prepared to reclaim the office of prime minister, Shamir's hard-line image appeared to moderate. However, Shamir remained reluctant to change
4872-489: The emigration of Soviet Jews to the United States rather than to Israel "defection", and called the issuing of US refugee visas to Soviet Jews when Israel was already willing to take them in "an insult to Israel". In 1989, a wave of Jewish emigration began from the Soviet Union after the Soviets allowed their Jewish population to emigrate freely. In October of that year, the US agreed to his requests and stopped issuing refugee visas to Soviet emigrants. Subsequently, Israel became
4956-542: The extermination of the Jews was imminent, his father had replied that "I have a son in the Land of Israel, and he will exact my revenge on them". In July 1946, Shamir was arrested. He had been walking in public in disguise and a British police sergeant, T.G. Martin, recognized him by his bushy eyebrows. Arrested, he was exiled to Africa, and interned in Eritrea by British Mandatory authorities. Lehi members subsequently tracked down and killed Martin in September 1946. On January 14, 1947, Shamir and four Irgun members escaped
5040-410: The family to finance his stay at the facility. Shulamit Shamir died on July 29, 2011. Less than a year later, Yitzhak Shamir died on the morning of June 30, 2012, at a nursing home in Tel Aviv where he had spent the last few years as a result of the Alzheimer's disease he had suffered since the mid-1990s. He was given a state funeral , which took place on July 2 at Mount Herzl , Jerusalem, and
5124-454: The future. His political doing has undoubtedly left its mark on the State of Israel. Dad was an amazing man, a family man in the fullest sense of the word, a man who dedicated himself to the State of Israel but never forgot his family, not even for a moment. He was a special man. In 2001, Shamir received the Israel Prize , for his lifetime achievements and special contribution to society and the State of Israel. He wrote Sikumo shel davar ,
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#17330849443125208-509: The killings sparked terror among Palestinians across the country, frightening them to flee their homes in the face of Jewish troop advances and it strengthened the resolve of Arab governments to intervene, which they did five weeks later. Lehi met fierce resistance from the Labor Zionist establishment in Israel as well as the broader Jewish diaspora for emulating European fascism . When Menachim Begin visited New York City in December 1948 over twenty prominent Jewish intellectuals condemned
5292-402: The main destination of Soviet Jewish emigrants. Over one million Soviet immigrants would subsequently arrive in Israel, many of whom would have likely gone to the United States had Shamir not pressed the US government to change its policy. In September 1989, a journalist for the Jerusalem Post asked Shamir, "Doesn't it amaze you that in Poland, where hardly a Jew is left, there should still be
5376-423: 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. Knesset members often join in formal or informal groups known as "lobbies" or "caucuses", to advocate for a particular topic. There are hundreds of such caucuses in
5460-498: 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
5544-513: The next person on their party's list to take their seat. If they leave the cabinet, they are able to return to the Knesset to take the place of their replacement. The 120 members of the Knesset (MKs) are popularly elected from a single nationwide electoral district to concurrent four-year terms, subject to calls for early elections (which are quite common). All Israeli citizens 18 years or older may vote in legislative elections, which are conducted by secret ballot . Knesset seats are allocated among
5628-514: 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 ( Haver HaKnesset ), if male, or חַבְרַת הַכְּנֶסֶת ( Havrat HaKnesset ), if female. 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
5712-473: 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 Givat Ram , Jerusalem. Members of the Knesset are elected nationwide through proportional representation . The term "Knesset"
5796-403: The president meets with the leaders of every party that won Knesset seats and asks them to recommend which party leader should form the government. The president then nominates the party leader who is most likely to command the support of a majority in the Knesset (though not necessarily the leader of the largest party/faction in the chamber). The prime minister-designate has 42 days to put together
5880-448: The prevention of terrorism and then invoked it to declare Lehi a terrorist organisation, consequently rounding up 200 of its members for "administrative detention" (prison). They were granted amnesty some months later and given a state pardon. In the first years of Israel's independence, Shamir managed several commercial enterprises. In 1955, he joined Mossad , serving until 1965. During his Mossad career, he directed Operation Damocles ,
5964-511: The solid rock to carve the stones, and build from them the foundations to establish the kingdom of Israel. It was love: Your love of this persecuted people; your love of the homeland of our fathers, of the land of eternity; your love of your children, your home; your love of your Shulamit. ... Sir, commander of Israel's Freedom Fighters, my man, Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, my honored Prime Minister of Israel and an eternal soldier. On my behalf, on behalf of your friends and subordinates; on behalf of
6048-605: The state. He followed his ideological path honestly and humbly, as a leader should. The citizens of Israel will always remember the wisdom he demonstrated during the First Gulf War. He showed restraint and saved Israel from undue entanglement in the Iraq War. This decision proved to be a brave and wise act of leadership. His daughter Gilada Diamant said: [My father] belonged to a different generation of leaders, people with values and beliefs. I hope that we have more people like him in
6132-457: The status quo in Israel's relations with its Arab neighbours and blocked Peres's initiative to promote a regional peace conference as agreed in 1987 with King Hussein of Jordan in what has become known as the London Agreement . Re-elected in 1988 , Shamir and Peres formed a new coalition government until " the dirty trick " of 1990, when the Alignment left the government, leaving Shamir with
6216-417: The various parties using the D'Hondt method of party list proportional representation . A party or electoral alliance must pass an election threshold of 3.25% of the overall vote to be allocated a Knesset seat (in 2022, one seat for every 152,000 votes). Parties select their candidates using a closed list . Thus, voters select the party of their choice, not any specific candidate. The electoral threshold
6300-414: The war, and had even fought off Arab bands who wanted to use the village as their base. On April 9 (THE NEW YORK TIMES), terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants (240 men, women, and children) and kept a few of them alive to parade as captives through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified at
6384-648: Was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel , serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel , Shamir was a leader of the Zionist militant group Lehi , also known as the Stern Gang. Yitzhak Shamir grew up in interwar Poland . Shamir joined Betar , the paramilitary wing of Revisionist Zionist Ze'ev Jabotinsky 's Hatzohar political party . In 1935, Shamir emigrated from Białystok to British Palestine , where he worked in an accountant's office. Shamir joined
6468-482: Was as stable as granite and maintained focus without compromises. He always strived to ensure Israel's freedom. His devotion knew no bounds [and he] always sought what's right for the people of Israel and for the country's security." Leader of the Opposition and Labor Party head Shelly Yachimovich offered her condolences to Shamir's family saying that ... he was a determined prime minister who dedicated his life to
6552-591: Was born in the predominantly Jewish village of Ruzhany , Bialystok-Grodno District of Ober Ost , shortly thereafter incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland (now in Belarus), as the son of Perla and Shlomo, owner of a leather factory. Shamir later moved to Białystok and studied at a Hebrew high school network. As a youth, Yezernitsky joined Betar , the Revisionist Zionist youth movement. Yezernitsky studied law at
6636-416: Was buried at Mount Herzl . Israeli President Shimon Peres said that "Yitzhak Shamir was a brave warrior for Israel, before and after its inception. He was a great patriot and his enormous contribution will be forever etched in our chronicles. He was loyal to his beliefs and he served his country with the utmost dedication for decades. May he rest in peace." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued
6720-772: Was buried beside his wife, Shulamit, who had died the previous year. As his body was lying in state Speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin laid a wreath on his coffin and said: You're cast stone, Isaac, unbreakable. Bearing on your shoulders the burden of this nation the past and the future. Remembering in your heart the ashes of the crematoria and the hope of redemption. Nothing could distract you out of your way. Iron tools and weapons of destruction could not touch you, could not threaten you. Flattery, bribery, and double talk—were never on your tongue, were not part of your language. Only one small weakness relentlessly gnawed at you. Only one small weakness managed to break through
6804-452: Was dedicated to bringing Jews from all over the world to Israel, and called on American Jews to emigrate to Israel in spite of a higher standard of living in the US, saying that he expected even American Jewish youth to realize that "man does not live by bread alone" but to "learn and understand Jewish history, the Bible... and reach the only conclusion: to come on aliya to Israel." Relations with
6888-540: 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 . 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
6972-468: Was killed just outside his birthplace in Ruzhany by villagers who had been his childhood friends after he had escaped from a German train transporting Jews to the death camps, though this was never confirmed. His mother and a sister were murdered in the concentration camps, and another sister was shot dead. Shamir once told Ehud Olmert that when his father, living under Nazi occupation, had been informed that
7056-467: Was previously set at 1% from 1949 to 1992, then 1.5% from 1992 to 2003, and then 2% until March 2014 when the current threshold of 3.25% was passed (effective with elections for the 20th Knesset). As a result of the low threshold, a typical Knesset has 10 or more factions represented. No party or faction has ever won the 61 seats necessary for a majority; the closest being the 56 seats won by the Alignment in
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