When we think of constitutional democracies, we usually picture a single foundational document carefully preserved in state archives. Israel does things differently. Alongside nations like the United Kingdom and New Zealand, Israel operates without a formal, codified constitution. Instead, its legal framework relies on an evolving collection of Basic Laws, judicial precedents, and political conventions.
Understanding how Israel governs and elects its leaders means looking at two interconnected forces: an incremental constitutional structure born out of political necessity, and a hyper-proportional electoral system.
The Constitutional Patchwork: The Harari Compromise
To understand Israel’s legal system, you have to look back to 1948. The Israeli Declaration of Independence explicitly called for a formal constitution to be drafted within a few months. However, the young state immediately ran into deep ideological, political, and religious divides. Deciding the exact balance between state authority, religious law, and individual liberties proved too contentious to settle in one go.
To break the deadlock, the parliament (the Knesset) adopted the Harari Decision in 1950. Named after lawmaker Yizhak Harari, this compromise established that Israel’s constitution would be built incrementally—chapter by chapter. Each chapter would be enacted as a standalone “Basic Law,” with the long-term goal of stitching them together into a complete charter down the road.
Over the decades, the Knesset enacted 13 Basic Laws. Some established institutional mechanics, like Basic Law: The Knesset and Basic Law: The Judiciary, while others defined core liberties, such as Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (1992).
The entire constitutional landscape shifted in 1995 with the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in United Mizrahi Bank v. Migdal Cooperative Village. Led by Chief Justice Aharon Barak, the court determined that the Basic Laws possessed constitutional status. This gave the judiciary the authority to strike down ordinary legislation passed by the Knesset if it violated rights established in the Basic Laws, effectively introducing judicial review into an unwritten system.
How Elections Work: A Single National District
The constitutional framework directly influences how Israelis pick their leaders. Israel operates as a parliamentary democracy centered around a unicameral 120-seat legislature, the Knesset.
Unlike political systems divided into local geographic districts or constituencies, Israel treats the entire country as one single voting district. When citizens vote, they do not vote for a local representative; they cast a vote for a national political party.
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Closed Party Lists: Before election day, each party publishes an ordered list of its candidates, selected through internal primaries, central committees, or party leadership. If a party wins 10% of the national vote, the top 12 candidates on its list earn seats in parliament.
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The Electoral Threshold: To keep the legislature from fragmenting into dozens of micro-factions, a party must secure at least 3.25% of the total vote to enter the Knesset.
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Seat Allocation: Once votes are tallied, seats are assigned proportionally. Remaining votes that do not cleanly division-allocate are distributed using the Bader-Ofer method, a formula that slightly favors larger parties or alliances with pre-election surplus vote agreements.
The Mandate and Coalition Government
Because the entire nation votes in a single proportional representation pool, political power is broadly distributed. In fact, no single political party in Israel’s history has ever won an outright 61-seat majority on its own. Governing requires building coalitions.
Once the election results are official, the President of Israel meets with representatives from every party that made it into the Knesset to hear their recommendations for Prime Minister. The President then tasks the candidate with the best chance of building a working majority to form a government.
That candidate has 28 days—with a potential 14-day extension—to negotiate with rival parties, distribute cabinet posts, and draft a shared policy platform. To officially take office, the proposed government and its cabinet must pass a vote of confidence in the Knesset by securing at least 61 votes.
This combination of an unwritten, evolving legal framework and pure proportional representation creates a dynamic system. Israeli governance is an ongoing negotiation where executive stability, judicial oversight, and legislative majorities constantly interact—all without a single written charter.