The state of Israel, is located in the Middle East on the Mediterranean Sea and is regarded by people of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith as the biblical Holy Land. The capital city of Jerusalem, just recognized by the United States, is the home of the most sacred sites in all of religion. Within the Old City, the Temple Mount complex contains the Dome of the Rock shrine, Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Balfour Declaration was the initial step to the establishment of the Israeli state. From 1517 to 1917, the majority of the Middle East was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, and the end of World War I brought change to the region, with the Allied victory Great Britain took control over the land known as Palestine, modern day Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. In November 1917 the British government issued the declaration announcing its intention to facilitate the “establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” The Balfour Declaration and the British mandate over Palestine was approved by the League of Nations in 1922. The British maintained control of the region until the end of World War II when they could no longer manage Palestine and handed the issue over to the United Nations. As part of the push for independence the United Nation approved a plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state in the same year, 1947, something the Arabs rejected. Ensuing the approval from the United Nations and the official termination of the British mandate, in May of 1948 Israel was officially declared an independent state with David Ben-Gurion the head of the Jewish Agency, as the Prime Minister and Zionism advocate Chaim Weizmann as the first president. United States President Harry Truman recognized the new nation on the same day, cementing the Jewish state with everlasting support. The Soviet Union was also quick to recognize the new nation on June 15.
The government in the state of Israel is currently a parliamentary democracy. The Knesset is the house of representatives of the State of Israel. It is uni-cameral and has 120 Members comprised of 11 different parties, known as factions, the majority is held by the Likud party, which is the home party for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the head of government and President Reuven Rivlin, also of the Likud party is the head of state since his election in July 2014. These individuals represent numerous lists that are elected in general, country-wide, proportional elections once every four years. They are currently in session with the 20th Knesset at their permanent location Kiryat Ben Gurion. The electoral system is based on nationwide proportional representation, meaning that the number of seats that each list (party/faction) gets is proportional to the number of votes they have received. Any list can be in the Knesset as long as the pass the qualifying threshold of 3.25%, which has been raised in past years by the 13th Knesset which put the threshold at 1%, then in the 16th Knesset the minimum was raised to 2%, and in the most recent 19th Knesset they raised it to the current vote requirement. Currently 30 members comprise the Likud party and the smallest list with representation is an independent, Orly Levi-Abekasis, who focuses on the disadvantaged population in Israel: homeless, poor, disabled, children, sex victims, and residents of the periphery that do not get any attention from the larger parties and seeing the discrepancy in representation, led her to resign from her original party and become an independent member participating in various committees as she vows to fight for those without a voice. The history of the electoral system can be traced to the Yishuv, in mandatory times. The system was based on the zeal with which various parties fought to preserve their independence. The justification given for the large number of parties resulting from the system was, that in a period in which major, far-reaching and rapid changes were still taking place in the population make-up as a result of immigration, it was important to enable maximal representation for various groups and opinions. The electoral system is based on the Basic Law of 1958 and the Knesset Election Law of 1969. The basic principles for the election was laid down in Article 4 of the Basic Law. According to the law the Knesset is elected in general, country wide, direct, equal, secret, and proportional elections. Article 4 can only be amended by a vote of a majority of the members. The principles of generality ensure the active right of every Israeli citizen, at least 18 years old, to vote and every citizen that is at least 21 years old, to be elected. The law allows the Knesset to revoke the right to vote to anyone “as it may seem fit,” however, they have never made use of that power. Holding certain official positions such as President, State Comptroller, or judges may not run for election, unless they resign from their position 100 days or six months prior to the election dependent upon the position and what the law states. The entire state of Israel is a single electoral district and therefore the direct election means that they do not have an electoral college, the candidate that wins the election is sent to the Knesset. The principle of secrecy ensures fairness and attempts to prevent and eliminate any voter pressure since no one will know a person voted. The final principle of the election is that of proportionality manifests itself in, all lists that pass the minimum threshold are represented in the house by a number of members that is proportional to their electoral strength. Elections are supposed to occur every four years, but there are multiple exceptions that may cause it to be altered. The Knesset at any time can decide by an ordinary majority to, dissolve itself and call for an early election. Under the direct vote for Prime Minister system, which has since been abolished, the Prime Minister would notify the President of early elections. Currently, the Prime Minister can only recommend that the President call for an early election, but the Knesset can block that initiative. Early elections have been held on multiple occasion by a Knesset initiative, most recently with the 18th Knesset in 2009, and only once by a Prime Minister’s initiative calling for the 16th Knesset. Similarly, they can vote to extend the term by a special majority, and this has only happened once, during the Eighth Knesset in 1973 due to the Yom Kippur War. Whether the elections are held early or late, the new Knesset receives a full four-year term from the date of the election. Following the Parties Law of 1992 to participate as a party in an election, you must be legally registered with the Party Registrar, or an alignment of two or more registered parties, that have agreed to run together in the election can present a list of candidates. The only exclusions for a party are if you act directly or indirectly against the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people or against its democratic nature; a list which incites racism; a list which supports the armed struggle of an enemy state or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel. Distribution of the seats among the lists is done by dividing the number of valid votes given to the list by 120, in order to determine how many votes, entitle a list to a single seat.
The State of Israel does not have a written constitution, even though various attempts have been made at the drafting of one since their independence in 1948. In place of a formal constitution, they have evolved a system of basic laws and rights that hold semi-constitutional status. The latest attempt at a written occurred in May 2003 when the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee of the Knesset initiated the Constitution by Broad Consensus Project holding weekly meetings in hopes of establishing one. The Basic Laws are comprised of 13 amendments with the most recent passing on July 19, 2018, these cover two main issues: the powers of the governing bodies as well as basic human rights. It was not until the 11th Amendment in 1992 did the Knesset address human rights. The Human Dignity and Liberty amendment has the basic principle of “Recognizing the value of the human being, the sanctity of his life, and his being a free person.” The amendment in section 4 says “Every human being is entitled to protection of his life, body, and dignity.” Two interesting concepts in this amendment regard the travel in and out of the state. Section 6 dictates the “every person is free to exit Israel,” while on the other hand it states, “every Israeli citizen who is abroad is entitled to enter Israel.” The emphasis put on only citizens being entitled to enter the state is seemingly counterintuitive to the preceding sections of the amendment that govern every human being. All of their basic laws are based off of English common law, British Mandate regulation, with consideration of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious laws.
The court system constitutes a separate, independent unit within the Ministry of Justice. The Director of Courts is a judge, appointed to this position by the Minister of Justice, pursuant to Section 82 of the Courts Law, he is responsible to the Minister for the orderly operation of the various judicial instances. The Organization of Courts of Law is managed by the Directorate of Courts, headed by the Director of Courts. The system is headed by the President of the Supreme Court of Law, and the Minister of Justice. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear criminal and civil appeals from judgements of the District Courts. Cases that begin in the District Court are appealable, as of right, to the Supreme Court. Other matters may be appealed only with the Supreme Court's permission. The Supreme Court has special jurisdiction to hear appeals in matters of Knesset elections, rulings of the Civil Service Commission, disciplinary rulings of the Israel Bar Association, administrative detentions, and prisoners' petitions appealed from the District Court. The number of justices on the Court is fixed by Knesset resolution. By convention, the most senior justice is the President of the Court and the next senior justice is the Deputy President. The President of the Court is the head of the entire judicial system in Israel. There are currently 15 justices on the court with the presidency belonging to Justice Esther Hayut who has held that position since October 2017. When hearing a case, they generally sit in panels of three justices. The President or the Deputy President of the Court is empowered to expand the size of the panel to any uneven number of justices. In addition, each panel has the power to decide to expand its size. The Court can also decide to allow an "additional hearing" where a panel of five or more justices will re-hear a case decided by a smaller panel of the Supreme Court. Judges are selected by the Judicial Selection Committee which is composed of three justices, two cabinet members, one of them being the Minister of Justice, two Knesset members, and two representatives from the Israel Bar Association. After the individual has been selected, they are then appointed to the court by the President of Israel, which is the opposite of our system where the President sends someone to the committee for approval. Once they have been appointed and have taken their “Declaration of Allegiance” their term officially begins and will not end until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 70. Other ways off of the court are resignation, death, or election to a position that is barred by law from sitting on the court.
Israel has a free market economy. Among its leading exports are cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and pharmaceuticals. Their major imports include crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Israel usually sees sizable trade deficits, which are offset by tourism and other service exports, as well as significant foreign investment inflows. The period of 2004 through 2013, saw growth average almost five percent per year, thanks to their exports. The financial crisis of 2008 spurred a brief recession in Israel, but the country entered the crisis with solid fundamentals, due to years of prudent fiscal policy and a resilient banking sector. Israel's economy also had to endure the 2011 Arab Spring because strong trade ties outside the Middle East insulated the economy from spillover effects. Slow domestic and international demand and decreased investment resulting from Israel’s uncertain security situation reduced GDP growth to an average of roughly 2.8% per year during the period 2014-17. In 2009 natural gas fields were discovered off the coast and have brightened Israel's energy security outlook. Political and regulatory issues have delayed the development of the massive Leviathan field, but production from Tamar provided a very small boost in the GDP for 2013 and 2014. Income inequality, high housing, and commodity prices continue to be a concern for many Israelis. Israel's income inequality and poverty rates are among the highest of OECD countries, and many people believe that a small number of "tycoons" have a stranglehold over the major parts of the economy. The public has called for government officials to perform an overhaul to boost the housing supply and to increase competition in the banking sector. Even with the public calling for reforms, the restricted housing supply continues to impact younger Israelis seeking to purchase homes. Tariffs and non-tariff barriers coupled with guaranteed prices and customs tariffs for farmers kept food prices high in 2016.
There is required military service in the State of Israel for both men and women once they reach the age of 18. Men’s enlistment obligations to the Israeli Defense Force is 32 months and women are required to be enlisted 24 months. There are some variances depending on your specific occupation once enlisted and assigned, for example to become a pilot in the air force a person must commit to nine years of service. Once the person has fulfilled their active enlistment obligation, they are then subject to be kept on reserve until age 24 ranging all the way up to age 51.