The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Knesset. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The political system of the State of Israel and its main principles are set out in 11 Basic Laws. Israel does not have a written constitution.
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel.
The president of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister. The incumbent president is Isaac Herzog, who took office on 7 July 2021. Presidents are elected by the Knesset for a single seven-year term.
The Supreme Court of Israel is the highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction.
Rabbi Isaac Cohen is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shas in two spells between 1996 and 2020. He also held several ministerial portfolios.
Yaakov Israel Neeman was an Israeli lawyer who served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance, although he was never a member of the Knesset.
Israeli law is based mostly on a common law legal system, though it also reflects the diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years, as well as the legal systems of its major religious communities. The Israeli legal system is based on common law, which also incorporates facets of civil law. The Israeli Declaration of Independence asserted that a formal constitution would be written, though it has been continuously postponed since 1950. Instead, the Basic Laws of Israel function as the country's constitutional laws. Statutes enacted by the Knesset, particularly the Basic Laws, provide a framework which is enriched by political precedent and jurisprudence. Foreign and historical influences on modern-day Israeli law are varied and include the Mecelle and German civil law, religious law, and British common law. The Israeli courts have been influenced in recent years by American Law and Canadian Law and to a lesser extent by Continental Law.
Danny Danon is an Israeli politician and diplomat. A member of the Likud party, he served in the Knesset from 2009 to 2015 and from 2022 to 2024. From 2015 to 2020, Danon served as Israel's 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and was reappointed to the role in 2024. The former leader of the world Betar organization, Danon was elected Chairman of the World Likud. Considered a 'right-wing thorn in Netanyahu's side," Danon challenged Benjamin Netanyahu for the party's leadership in 2007 and 2014.
David Libai was an Israeli jurist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset for Labor from 1984 to 1996 and served as minister of justice from 1992 to 1996.
Avraham Poraz is an Israeli lawyer and former politician.
Yariv Gideon Levin is an Israeli lawyer and politician who serves as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. He served as Speaker of the Knesset in December 2022, previously serving that role from 2020 to 2021. He currently serves as a member of Knesset for Likud, and previously held the posts of Minister of Internal Security, Minister of Tourism, and Minister of Aliyah and Integration.
Ya'akov Asher is an Israeli Haredi rabbi and politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the United Torah Judaism alliance. A member of the Degel HaTorah party, he previously served as a member of the Knesset between 2013 and 2015, and was also the thirteenth mayor of Bnei Brak, having taken office in 2008.
Gilad Kariv is an Israeli attorney and a politician. He was the former CEO of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism and is currently a member of the Knesset for the Democrats and previously for the Labor Party, in the 25th Knesset.
"Jewish and democratic state" is the Israeli legal definition of the nature and character of the State of Israel. The "Jewish" nature was first defined within the Israeli Declaration of Independence in May 1948. The "democratic" character was first officially added in the amendment to Israel's Basic Law: The Knesset, which was passed in 1985.
The Basic Laws of Israel are fourteen quasi-constitutional laws of the State of Israel, some of which can only be changed by a supermajority vote in the Knesset. Many of these laws are based on the individual liberties that were outlined in the Israeli Declaration of Independence. The Basic Laws deal with the formation and role of the principal institutions of the state, and with the relations between the state's authorities. They also protect the country's civil rights, although some of these rights were earlier protected at common law by the Supreme Court of Israel. The Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty enjoys super-legal status, giving the Supreme Court the authority to disqualify any law contradicting it, as well as protection from Emergency Regulations.
Yifat Shasha-Biton is an Israeli educator and politician who served as Minister of Education between 2021 and 2022. She also served as a Member of the Knesset between 2015 and 2024, as minister without portfolio between 2023 and 2024, and as Minister of Construction and Housing from 2019 to 2020.
Amir Ohana is an Israeli lawyer, former Shin Bet official and politician who has served as the Speaker of the Knesset since 2022, and as a member of the Knesset for Likud. He previously held the posts of Minister of Justice and Minister of Public Security. He was the first openly gay right-wing member of the Knesset and the first openly gay man from Likud to serve in the Knesset. He is also the first openly gay person to be appointed as a minister in the Israeli government and the first openly gay Speaker of the Knesset.
Simcha Dan Rothman is an Israeli lawyer, right-wing activist, and politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for the far-right National Religious Party–Religious Zionism and the chair of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
About a fifth of Israel's population is affected by disability. The country is a state party of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. There is a system of legislation and policies that protect the rights of disabled Israelis.
The Labor, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset deals with labor, employment and welfare matters, which operates continuously from the first Knesset until the dissolution of the 20th Knesset. After not being filled during the 21st and 22nd Knessets due to the lack of a government, in the 23rd Knesset, the Knesset plenum approved the proposal of the organizing committee to establish it as a special committee on welfare and labor that will operate until the establishment of the standing committees. The special committee was headed by Aida Touma-Suleiman from the Joint List, until Haim Katz was elected to chair the committee. Following the formation of the Israeli government, the committee was split - into the Labor and Welfare Committee, and the Health Committee. The chair of the Labor and Welfare Committee is Efrat Raytan from the Labor Party, and the chair of the Health Committee is Idit Silman from Yamina party.
