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Timeline of Israeli Politics

Timeline of Israeli Politics. 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 1984-1992: Government of National Unity

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Timeline of Israeli Politics

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  1. Timeline of Israeli Politics • 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 • 1984-1992: Government of National Unity • 1989: First intifada • 1991-1995: 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 1st 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: TzipiLivni takes over as head of Kadima; holds early elections • 2009: Likud wins elections and Benjamin Netanyahu becomes PM again

  2. Israeli political institutions • 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 • Knesset

  3. The Israeli party system • 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 • Principal party orientations and leaders • Likud: Binyamin Netanyahu • Labor: Ehud Barak—now Shelly Yachimovich • Kadima: Ariel Sharon, then Ehud Olmert—now TzipiLivni • YisraelBeitunu: 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)

  4. Key party leaders • Avigdor Lieberman • YisraelBeiteinu • BinyiminNetanyahu • Likud • TzipiLivni • Kadima

  5. Key Israeli political issues • 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

  6. Political culture and religion • 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?

  7. Lecture terms—November 7 and November 9 Yitzhak Rabin Binyamin Netanyahu Ariel Sharon Knesset Proportional Representation Closed List System Labor Party Likud Party Ashkenazi vs. Sephardim Kadima Party Halakha 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

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