0 1948: Israeli independence and war 1967: 6-day war; acquisition of the occupied territories 1973: Yom Kippur war, a scare for Israel 1977: Likud triumph in the Knesset 1979: Peace with Egypt 1982: Invasion of Lebanon : Government of National Unity 1989: First intifada : Peace negotiations with PLO; peace with Jordan 1992: Labor returns to power 1995: Rabin’s assassination/Peres takes over 1996: Netanyahu and Likud take power in 1 st direct PM election 1999: Barak and Labor take power; second attempt at peace negotiations 2000: Pull out of Lebanon 2000: Sharon visits the Haram al-Sharif; second intifada erupts 2001: Sharon becomes PM in National Unity govt 2002: West Bank barrier planned 2005: Pull out settlers from Gaza; Sharon establishes the Kadima party 2006: Sharon suffers a stroke; Ehud Olmert becomes PM as head of Kadima 2008: Tzipi Livni takes over as head of Kadima; holds early elections 2009: Likud wins elections and Benjamin Netanyahu becomes PM again Timeline of Israeli Politics

1 Knesset (Parliament) –120 seats (small) for 4-year terms –Has the most power in Israeli politics –Prime Minister emerges from leading party—most likely to form a government and exercises executive power President –Figurehead president (currently Shimon Peres) Courts –Mixed secular and religious courts Electoral System –National, closed-list PR system –Very close representation of voter preferences in Knesset seats—but what about governments? –Low electoral threshold (1%, then 1.5%, now 2%) –Short lived experiment with directly elected Prime Minister in 1996—Netanyahu Israeli political institutions Knesset

2 Party system –Principal characteristics: Extremely fragmented Historically stable competition between two main centrist Zionist parties The question of the Israeli center: recent innovation with Kadima as a “bridging” party –Israel as a “party state”—politics is done through parties, and parties are usually quite strong at responding to their constituencies –Challenges of coalition politics The Israeli party system Principal party orientations and leaders –Likud: Binyamin Netanyahu –Labor: Ehud Barak—now Shelly Yachimovich –Kadima: Ariel Sharon, then Ehud Olmert—now Tzipi Livni –Yisrael Beitunu: Avigdor Lieberman Smaller parties –Left-wing, liberal parties (like Shinui “change”, Meretz “vitality”) –Orthodox religious parties (like Shas—Sephardic; National Union—advocates transfer of Palestinians out of Israel) –Arab parties (like Hadash—far left-wing/anti-Zionist, Balad)

3 Key party leaders Avigdor Lieberman Yisrael Beiteinu Binyimin Netanyahu Likud Tzipi Livni Kadima

Party Votes%Seats+/– Kadima 758, %28−1 Likud 729, %27+15 Yisrael Beiteinu 394, %15+4 Labor Party 334, %13–6 Shas 286, %11–1 United Torah Judaism 147, %5–1 United Arab ListUnited Arab List–Ta'alTa'al 113, %4— National Union 112, %4 [A] Hadash 112, %4+1 New Movement- Meretz 99, %3–2 The Jewish Home 96, %3 [B] Balad 83, %3— Total seats in the Knesset120 February 2009 Israeli Legislative Election Results

5 The nature of the state –What is a Jewish state? –European vs. Middle Eastern state Absorption and integration of immigrants –Ashkenazi vs. Sephardic Jewry, with very different cultures –Where do new immigrants live and how are they incorporated? Security and national defense –How to defend the state in the possibility of international attack –Massive numbers of citizens with military experience –Perceived threats from Iran, Hizbullah, Hamas Relationship with Arab populations –Arab population within Israel and in the occupied territories—what rights should they have? International relations –Balance of peace and balance of threat with Arab states –Ensure appropriate allies for support (active courting of the US) Economic development –Create a sustainable economy that thrives in the areas of agriculture, technology, tourism Key Israeli political issues

6 Key elements of political culture –Zionism is non-negotiable –Deep attachment to land and ties to the Biblical past –The world is against us, “siege” mentality –Egalitarianism and democracy? The role of Judaism in the state –Only about 20% of Israelis think of themselves as particularly religious –Rise of the role of elite religious figures –Role of halakha (Jewish law) in many aspects of society Does halakha contradict democracy? Political culture and religion

7 Lecture terms—November 7 and November 9 Hosni Mubarak infitah National Democratic Party Kifayya movement Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party Al-Azhar Muslim Brotherhood Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya Al-Wasat (Center) Party Zionism Menachem Begin Yitzhak Rabin Binyamin Netanyahu Ariel Sharon Knesset Proportional Representation Closed List System Labor Party Likud Party Ashkenazi vs. Sephardim Kadima Party Halakha