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. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus, with the exception of checks and balances from the courts and local governments, has total control over the entirety of the Israeli government.
The president of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely a ceremonial role, with executive power 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 Yitzhak 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 Neeman was an Israeli lawyer who also served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance.
The Israel Democracy Institute, established in 1991, is an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy. It is located in Jerusalem, Israel.
Danny Danon served as Israel's 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and currently serves as Chairman of the World Likud. Danon previously served as a member of the Knesset from the Likud Party, as Minister of Science, Technology and Space, and as Deputy Minister of Defense. During his term in the 18th Knesset, Danon served as Deputy Speaker, Chair of the Special Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Chair of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs. In June 2016, Danon was elected as chair of the UN's Legal Committee, the first Israeli to ever hold the position.
David Libai is an Israeli jurist and former politician. He was a member of the Knesset for Labour from 1984 to 1996, and served as Minister of Justice from 1992 to 1996.
Avraham Poraz is an Israeli lawyer and former politician.
The Institute for Zionist Strategies is an Israeli policy and research think tank that is ideologically Zionist. The IZS was established in 2005 by Israel Harel and Attorney Joel Golovensky. It is based in Jerusalem. IZS's chairman is Yoaz Hendel.
Gilad Kariv is an israeli attorney and a politician. The Executive Director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, he is currently a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, at the 24-25 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, and some of them 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. She was appointed Minister of Education in June 2021. She was elected to the twenty-fourth Knesset on the New Hope list, after serving as an MK for Kulanu and Likud. She held the post of Minister of Construction and Housing from 2019 to 2020. She serves as a minister without portfolio in the Thirty-seventh government of Israel.
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 Religious Zionist Party 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.
Yonatan Mishraki is an Israeli politician, currently serving as a member of the Knesset for Shas.
