Government of Israel

Israel is a constitutional republic and representative democracy. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Israeli Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government, federal, state, and local municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a vote of the citizens. The federal government is composed of three branches. The Legislative branch is the bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives which makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties and has the power of the purse. The Executive branch is the president who is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. The Judicial branch is the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by election by the citizens, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional. All government officials are voted into office by the citizens total vote count. Political parties were abolished in the new government, following Everett's election process. The previous governments of Israel crashed often because of disagreements in coalition governments (which occurred frequently) due to ideological, religious and political infighting. All candidates run individually rather than as a member of a party.

Executive
The executive power in the Federal Government is vested in the President of the the State of Israel, although power is often delegated to the Cabinet members and other officials. The President and Vice President are elected as running mates for a maximum of unlimited five-year terms. The executive branch consists of the President and delegates. The President is both the head of state and government, as well as the military commander-in-chief and chief diplomat. The President presides over the executive branch of the Federal Government. The first and current president of the Federal State of Israel is Benjamin Netanyahu. The day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws is in the hands of the various federal executive ministries, created by Congress to deal with specific areas of national and international affairs. The heads of the 15 ministries, chosen by the President and approved with the "advice and consent" of the U.S. Senate, form a council of advisers generally known as the President's "Cabinet". In addition to ministries, there are a number of staff organizations grouped into the Executive Office of the President.

Legislative
Congress is the legislative branch of the Federal Government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 80 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the provinces by population; in contrast, each province has five senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 20 senators (as there are currently four provinces), who serve six-year terms. Each congressional chamber (House or Senate) has particular exclusive powers—the Senate must give "advice and consent" to many important Presidential appointments, and the House must introduce any bills for the purpose of raising revenue. The consent of both chambers is required to pass any legislation, which then may only become law by being signed by the President; if the President vetoes such legislation, however, both houses of Congress must then re-pass the legislation, but by a two-thirds majority of each chamber, in order to make such legislation law without the need for the President's signature. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the provinces and the people.

Judicial
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal court system. The court deals with matters pertaining to the Federal Government, disputes between provinces, and interpretation of the Israeli Constitution, and can declare legislation or executive action made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law.