The Knesset (Hebrew for assembly) is the Israeli parliament, or legislative body, and is located in western Jerusalem. The unicameral parliament consists of 120 lawmakers, known as Knesset members or MKs, each chosen to represent their respective political parties for terms lasting no longer than four years between elections.
Among its functions, the Knesset enacts laws, supervises the work of the government, and reserves the power to remove the president and the state comptroller from office. It can also vote to dissolve itself and call new elections.
The first Israeli parliament convened on February 14, 1949, although it was not yet known as the Knesset. On February 16, the Constituent Assembly, as it was then called, ratified the Transition Law, thereby changing its name to the First Knesset, and elected Chaim Weizmann as the first president of the State of Israel.
The Knesset has been addressed by countless heads of state throughout the years. Undoubtedly one of the most memorable of these occasions came on November 20, 1977, when then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat took the plenum and addressed Israeli lawmakers, calling for peace between Israel and Egypt.
The leader of the Kach party, which advocated for an Israel free of Arabs, was assassinated in 1990, but his extremist beliefs will likely be represented in the next Knesset due to a pact between two far-right parties
Israel’s ‘problem child’ parties pose an electoral dilemma for the right: Netanyahu needs their votes to win and is encouraging them to join forces – but no one wants to go through with it
Putting all Arab representatives together is an obstacle to the possibility of creating a civic national discourse that crosses ethnic and communal boundaries
Meanwhile, Habayit Hayehudi announces that Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Yifat Erlich will be its number three
Controversial lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich says his National Union party is in talks with other outfits to run together in the general election on April 9
If 10% do not return to their partners, the Social Service Ministry will have reached its set goal. The director of a shelter says the targets sends 'a terrible message'
The diversity, not to mention the fragmentation, within the LGBT community is the reason it could benefit from a gay party
The long-delayed birth of Arab women’s political activism still faces major obstacles, from institutional discrimination to deep social conservatism. For local elections that's changing – but not in the legislature that governs our lives
Israelis pay so much in military service and taxes and get so little that they're used to surviving on crumbs. And now the election campaign has stalled the faltering machinery
The nation-state law changed the status of the Arabic language - by defining Jewish tradition as superior the law ranks the cultural values of Jews from the Arab world lower than those from Europe
MKs were expected to make the visit in March but Israel's Knesset speaker decides to nix trip over 'shameful law' that Ireland's lower house recently advanced
The two generals have been discussing a merger for weeks ■ Gantz to reveal party platform as Ya'alon walks back on vow not to enter a Netanyahu coalition
Gantz is expected to formally declare his candidacy for prime minister Tuesday, announcing the platform of the party he registered in December, Hosen L’Yisrael
Asked to deliver its stance on Ghattas' request for early parole, the security agency commented on smuggling of phones to prisoners but declined to state an opinion on the former Joint List MK's case
One possibility is Hadash and Balad joining forces while United Arab List joins Ahmad Tibi for Knesset election
For the past 50 years, the kibbutzim and moshavim have been the party's bastions of support. However as these camps move toward the center, Labor is doing little to welcome new voters
But there were a lot more laws and resolutions passed concerning issues such as officials’ travel abroad
25 lawmakers sign petition to meet despite Knesset recess - a sufficient number to require the plenum to gather, and for government representatives to attend
As the April 9 election approaches, new parties are forming and veteran ones are splitting up. Let's see how well you're keeping up with the news
If Benny Gantz’s predecessor as chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, joins the slate, he is expected to receive the No. 2 slot, or at least join the cabinet if the party enters the government
Members who perform conversion therapy could now be expelled from the Israel Medical Association, which represents 90 percent of the country’s doctors
Over a quarter of the 20th Knesset's lawmakers were female, but advocates are cautiously optimistic that the April 9 election could top that – with these 13 women all likely to make headlines
When Israelis go to the polls on April 9, they will be picking a party, not a prime minister. So how exactly will Israel’s next leader get into office? Find out in this step-by-step guide
The next step for those who yearn for a political upset should be forming a broad front dedicated to replacing Benjamin Netanyahu
Dov Khenin, who started the year by quitting the Knesset, tells Haaretz how he’d be a greater agent of change outside parliament
Zoabi (Joint List) says 'the time has come to change my place' after being subject to 'character assassination and ongoing incitement'
Why did Benjamin Netanyahu call a snap election for April 9, who are the main competitors, and what are the chances of someone other than Bibi becoming the next prime minister? Read on for the answers
Demands for changes to legislation regulating the interest-free loans offered by some ultra-Orthodox lenders is holding up the implementation of information sharing
The law is the most comprehensive piece of legislation against smoking ever passed by the Knesset
A law passed by the Knesset lowers the maximum prison sentence for women who kill an abusive partner, grants mandatory life sentence for anyone who kills a partner after abusing them for an extended period of time