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.
Levi Eshkol, born Levi Yitzhak Shkolnik, was an Israeli statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. A founder of the Israeli Labor Party, he served in numerous senior roles, including Minister of Defense (1963–1967) and Minister of Finance (1952–1963).
Yitzhak Rachamim Navon was an Israeli politician, diplomat, playwright, and author. He served as the fifth President of Israel between 1978 and 1983 as a member of the centre-left Alignment party. He was the first Israeli president born in Jerusalem and the first Sephardi Jew to serve in that office.
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.
The Ministry of Defense of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats. Its political head is the Defense Minister of Israel, and its offices are located in HaKirya, Tel Aviv.
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Council assists the two Chief Rabbis, who alternate in its presidency. It has legal and administrative authority to organize religious arrangements for Israel's Jews. It also responds to halakhic questions submitted by Jewish public bodies in the Diaspora. The Council sets, guides, and supervises agencies within its authority. In 2024, the High Court of Justice ruled that women are eligible to serve on the Chief Rabbinate Council, and as rabbis on the Chief Rabbi Election Assembly.
Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset. It is known today as the First Knesset.
The Israeli Ceremonial Protocol does not define an order of precedence. It does define, however, the group of officials that are to attend ceremonial events. This group consists of:
- The President
- The Prime Minister
- The Alternate Prime Minister (vacant)
- The Speaker of the Knesset
- The President of the Supreme Court
- The Chief Rabbis
- Former Presidents
- Ministers of the Government
- The Leader of the Opposition, Chair of the Coalition
- Justices of the Supreme Court of Israel, President of the National Labor Court
- The Attorney General of Israel
- The State Comptroller
- The Governor of the Bank of Israel
- Chairman of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization
- Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel
- The Dean of the Diplomatic corps
- The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces
- The Police Commissioner
- Members of the Knesset
- Commander of the Prison Service, Commissioner of the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, Director of the Shin Bet, Director of the Mossad, Head of the Atomic Energy Commission
- Former Prime Ministers, Speakers of Knesset, Chief Rabbis, Presidents of the Supreme Court and widows of former Presidents
- Heads of Diplomatic Missions
- Representatives of the minority religious communities in Israel – Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Circassians
- Military Secretary to the Prime Minister, Director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, Director-general of the Knesset
- Mayor of Jerusalem, Chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities, and Head of the hosting Local Government
- Cabinet Secretary, Knesset Secretary
- Members of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization, including the Chairman of Keren Hayesod
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed the newly established State of Israel, until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year.
Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira was an Israeli jurist and Labor Zionist politician.
Kadish Luz was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Agriculture between 1955 and 1959 and as Speaker of the Knesset from 1959 and 1969.
The Israel Postal Company, formerly called the Israel Postal Authority and currently doing business as Israel Post, is a government-owned corporation that provides postal services in Israel.
Yosef Vanunu is an Israeli economist and former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party from 1992 until 1996.
The Ministry of National Security, formerly Ministry of Internal Security and Ministry of Public Security, is a government agency of Israel.
Yehuda Kiel was an Israeli educator and Bible commentator.
Yosef Haim Shapira is an Israeli attorney and judge who served as the seventh State Comptroller of Israel from July 2012 to July 2019.
Matanyahu Englman is the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of the State of Israel. He is also the first vice-president of EUROSAI, the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. He is slated to become president of the organization in 2024.
Yitzhak Shimon Wasserlauf is an Israeli politician who serves as the Minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee and as a member of Knesset for Otzma Yehudit following the 2022 Israeli legislative election.
