Mock Knesset

Mock Knesset

Beca Zelitch

Yesterday, we held a Mock Knesset with the entirety of the program. At the beginning of the morning, David gave us a short intro that gave us all very important information about the real Israeli Knesset. The Knesset is a continuation of the ancient people in the ancient land, which is reflected in the number of seats, which is 120, 12 for the tribes of Judah. The Knesset is a parliamentary system, which means they have many parties. Currently there are 10 parties in the Knesset (the 20th) and the current party in power is the Likud with its Yoshev Roche(party leader) as Binyamin Netanyahu. A party gets into the Knesset based on the percentage of votes they get in the national election. To have the minimum amount of seats in the Knesset, each party needs at least 3.5% of the votes. 

The Basic Steps of Election are:

1. The government calls for a new election

2. Each party must:

-Register for the election

-Choose a party leader

-Choose a knesset list

3. The election is held

4. The largest party "wins" and they create a coalition

We also learned that the average life of a knesset is about 2 years, but they are supposed to last 4 years. Because of this, no one really knows when the knesset will change until the call for a new government comes. 

After this introduction, we split into our respective groups that were assigned to us the day before. I was assigned the Avodah, or labor party. I was one of the parties that was on the left side, along with one other left wing party, 2 right wing parties, 1 Arab party, and 1 orthodox party. When we broke off into our groups, we were given the task of researching our given party, creating a platform, and an election video to pull people toward our party. We had to focus on problems that had to do with the territories, economics, and what the character of Israel is. We were given a little over an hour and then we met back together in a chet where we began party presentations. 

We began with Likud which is a right wing party, and they created the slogan of 

"חלק, חלק, ועתחלק" 

and taught us all about ideas that were important to their party. They said that security is the most important, that they want the revival of Jewish culture, and they believe in capitalism in order to help the economy and state grow because they think that the government shouldn't be as involved. They also promote the principles of revisionist zionism to help the revival. 

Next was Avodah, a "central left" wing, the party that I was assigned and we made a small skit encompassing issues such as the settlements and a 2 state solution. We argued that we should give back the territories to the Palestinians so that we can stay a Jewish Democratic State. Our economic stance was that of its' socialist roots. We also argued that we are the founding party of the Israel and that so many important and influential PMs have come from our party: Gurion, Golda, Rabin, and Peres, just to name a few. 

The Shas party was next, which is called the "Sefardi Guardians of the Torah". They are Haredim and preached for Jewish society and the following of Halacha in Israeli society because it is a Jewish state. They also said that they believe the Ultra Orthodox should be exempt from the Army because they are helping the state of Israel by praying and studying in Yeshivot. They also are huge proponents for welfare and social security and think that the minimum wage should be highered. 

Next, was the Meretz party which means vigor or energy. They showed a really cool video that shows the values of their party, and is a left wing party. They believe in an equal society, and want to shake the Haredim influence off of the government because they believe that there is more than 1 way to be a Jew. They are proponents of the 2 state solution and want peace at the expense of the '67 borders for this to happen. They focus on civil rights, LGBT rights, women empowerment, and equality. They think that the yeshiva students must enlist in the army. They are extremely liberal and in the name of Israel being a Jewish and Democratic State. 

The next party was HaBayit HaYehudi, which is known as the Jewish home party. They are religious, Zionist, Nationalists and have tension with most of the other religious parties due to their views. They oppose to having a Palestinian state, and instead feel that the solution is to annex Area C and to have Areas A and B under control of the Palestinian Authority. In terms of economics, they promote capitalism and lowering taxes to support the middle class. Additionally, they believe that everyone should serve in the military because it is for the state. 

The last party presentation was the United Arab List, which currently has 13 seats in the Knesset. They are a combination of 3 different Arab parties in one. They firmly believe in a state of all its people and because of this they believe in 2 states, but not the typical 2 state solution that most people think of. They want a Palestinian State as well as a BiNational State They want more money from the budget to help the Arab cities, in addition to treating all people with equality, whether they are Arab Israelis, Palestinians, or someone else.  They also want to solve the refugee problem through the Law of Return. They are anti zionist. 

After every party had spoken, we all "voted" for a party based on our own personal beliefs and morals. When we got back from break, we found out that the Meretz party had won. When they found out they won, they then had to form a coalition and each party figured out what they wanted in return for joining their party. My party, Avodah would not budge on Foreign Affairs or Defense. If Meretz really wanted a party in their coalition, they would bend and give them want. 

At the end of the day, we learned a lot about the way that the Israeli government works. It is very different from the American government because of the parliamentary system with multiple parties whereas America has only 2 main parties. I learned that I think this way of government is much more effective and takes multiple points of view into consideration when figuring something out. For me, the party that I most identified with was Meretz because it was extremely liberal in its views and most importantly, fights for equality. 

So Kitat Maayan, my last blog question to you is:

If you were an Israeli citizen, what party would you join, and how much would you be involved in the Israeli politics?