Israeli Politics

Brief

This unit will offer an introduction to the Israeli political system and an overview of the current leadership. Through simulation activities and the study of current political developments as well as traditional Jewish texts, the unit will focus on how Israeli leadership may take shape in the near future.  The unit is adaptable for younger chanichim. (Author: Ilan Bloch)

Equipment

• Each session will contain a specific materials list.

Activity length:

• Session #1- 45 mins

• Session #2- 30 mins

• Session #3- 45 mins (longer if possible)

• Session #4- 45 mins

• Session #5- 45 mins

• Session #6- 45 mins

Age Groups

High School, Staff

Topics

Politics, Zionism

Adaptable for Shabbat

Some of the sessions are appropriate for Shabbat.

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Goals & Overview

1. To facilitate a basic understanding of the Israeli political process (campaigning, elections and coalition building), including the Israeli political parties, with a more in-depth understanding of one specific party. 

2. To develop an interest in Israeli politics and the electoral system, and at least a basic affiliation to a political party/ideology.

3. The chanichim will come to understand, on a basic level, various issues related to Religion and State in Israel.

4. To develop and further written, oral, reading, drama, group work, negotiation, textual analysis, discussion and mediation skills.

Thought Questions / שאלות למחשבה

1. Does the structure of Israel government serve its political needs?

2. Is Israel’s government truly representative of the people’s will?

3. Can it be said that any particular coalition is representative of the broad will of society?

4. Is the system of government in the US preferable to Israel’s system?

For the facilitator

This unit consists of the following components:

1. Six session Israeli election and coalition building simulation.

2. Peulat Edah Religion and State discussion based activity.

3. Sample Divrei Torah.

4. Vocabulary List

These materials are not prescriptive; you are more than welcome to utilize the resources which “speak to you,” and discard those that do not. In fact, it should be noted clearly that ideally the materials are meant to serve as an inspiration and a chinuch resource for all educators in camp to plan their own lessons/peulot/divrei Torah, which are designed specifically for their chanichim and the context of their camps. If needed however, the resources in the packet can, of course, be used “as is.”

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Session 1: Israeli Politics: Is There Future Leadership?

• Materials Needed

  1. Printed Appendix I (1 copy for each group)

  2. Current Newspaper articles (1 copy for each group)

  3. Madrichim should select appropriate articles before the session commences.

• Procedure

  1. The chanichim will be divided evenly into up to six groups and each group will be assigned a “group persona” from Appendix I, based on which “State of Israel” they live in.

  2. Each group will be given a current newspaper article about an issue/situation in Israel. Each group can be given their own newspaper article, or alternatively, groups with different “group personas” could be assigned the same article.

  3. All major Israeli newspaper websites can be accessed via www.kolisrael.com.

  4. The madrich/a, in preparing the various newspaper articles, should try and ensure that many major themes of Israeli news and current affairs are covered – i.e. peace and security, religion and state, and economy.

  5. Each group must read their newspaper article and respond to the news item according to their “group persona.” Each small group should present its points of view to the larger group.

  6. The madrich/a should then ask the other groups how they might react to the news item, according to their “group persona.”

  7. The madrich/a should allow for as much question-and-answer time as possible.

  8. Please note that not every news item will elicit a particular response from each of the “group personas,” and that sometimes a “group persona” may hold more than one view about a particular issue. The madrich/a should be sure to select appropriate articles.

Session 2: The Israeli Political System: An Introduction

• Materials Needed

  1. Printed Appendix 2 (1 copy per chanich/a)

  2. Printed Appendix 3I (1 copy per chanich/a)

• Procedure

  1. “The Israeli Political System – An Introduction” (Appendix II) is distributed to all chanichim.

  2. Utilizing Appendix II as a guide, a brief introduction to the Israeli political system should take place and on the Knesset's website. After reading each of the points on Appendix II, questions should be taken and discussions can take place. Chanichim should be encouraged to make connections between the Israeli political system and that of their own country.

  3. The madrich/a should distribute Appendix III which is a breakdown of Knesset seats held by each of the parties being dealt with in this unit over the past several elections. This information is provided in order to give chanichim an understanding of the power dynamic in the Knesset (so that they can begin to understand who the major and minor “players” are). With each new election this information should be updated.

Session 3: Presentation Preparation

• Materials Needed

  1. Printed Party Platforms (appendices 5-12, one copy of each)

  2. Printed Knesset List-Appendix 4 (8 copies)

  3. Art supplies for the poster/bumper sticker

  4. Lined paper

  5. Pencils

  6. Markers

  Note: Depending on the time available, various steps of the “party” presentation can be skipped.

• Procedure:

  1. Chanichim should be divided into 8 groups, representing the parties represented in the current Knesset, which have a realistic chance of winning any seats in the future and considering the four “Arab parties” (including Hadash) as one. (Sa'ar Tikva Hadasha is not being represented as an independent party, but it should be made clear that he intends to run as such in the next election.)

  2. An important note to make sure to share with the chanichim: Religious and right-wing Israelis often refer to the territories conquered from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War as “Judea and Samaria,” using the Biblical names for these lands, in order to try and strengthen Jewish claims to them. On the other hand, secular and left-wing Israelis often refer to these territories as the West Bank [of the Jordan River], which represents a neutral view of the land, or even “the occupied territories,” which perhaps represents a view that these lands do not really belong to Israel and should be returned to their rightful owners.

  3. The members of each party should familiarize themselves with their party platforms and coalition hints. (Appendices 5-12).

  4. Depending on time and availability, chanichim may also utilize other resources to find information about their parties (i.e. the internet, books, members of the mishlachat).

  5. Each party should prepare:

     • A Knesset list (to be submitted immediately to the madrich/a, which will be used later). A table for the Knesset list can be found in Appendix. Names for the top posts should be names of the people within the group.

     • An outline for a campaign/policy speech about the party.

     • A poster and/or bumper sticker (which should represent/advertise the party and should include party symbols).

     • A song, poem, or “TV advertisement” based on the party’s platform. This can be done as a TikTok or other video.

  6. The groups should plan who will be presenting each of the components.

  7. If the necessary audio-visual equipment (video-cameras, cables, computers and televisions/monitors) and technical support are available, television advertisements could be filmed and edited and screened during the presentations in the fourth session.

Session 4: Presentation / Election

• Materials Needed

  1. Each group’s prepared materials (speech outline, poster, etc.)

  2. Large piece of paper or white board

  3. Printed Appendix 13 (1 ballot per chanich/a)

  4. Pencils

  5. “Ballot Box”

• Procedure

  1. Each group should present all of the aspects that they have prepared to the larger group. Each total presentation should last for four minutes.

  2. After the final presentation, ballots and pencils should be distributed to each chanich/a.

  3. Each chanich/a should vote for the party they found the most convincing (the madrich/a should encourage chanichim to use what they heard during the presentation to base their vote and not simply vote for their friends' or for their own party).

  4. After voting, chanichim should drop their ballot in the “ballot box.”

  5. Madrich/a should explain that the election results will be “published” during the next session.

Session 5: Coalition Building

• Materials Needed

  1. Copy of Election Results

     • There is no need to post the actual vote numbers, just the number of seats each party won.

  2. Printed Appendix 14 (1 copy for each group)

  3. Printed Appendix 15 (1 copy for each group)

• Procedure

  1. Prior to the session the madrich/a should tally up the votes from the election that was held during the previous session. (A full Knesset consists of 120 seats that are divided up by the various parties based upon the percentage of votes each party received in the election.) Once the votes have been tallied, the madrich/a should assign a number of seats to each party roughly based on the percentage of votes they received (the exact numbers aren’t crucial as long as they roughly mirror the votes and equal a total of 120 seats).

  2. For the purpose of this peulah, each party should receive at least 4 seats (the minimum allowed in the Knesset).

  3. The madrich/a should thank all of the “parties” for a well run election and announce the results.

  4. After congratulating the victor, the madrich/a should give a brief introduction to the notion of coalition building, using “Coalition Building” (Appendix 14) as a guide. In order for the remainder of the simulation to work well, it is important that all of the points listed on Appendix 14 are discussed.

  5. During the coalition building, the role of the madrich/a is to act as “president,” and ensure that no unrealistic arrangements are entered into (e.g. Arab parties and Otzma Yehudit). The madrich/a will also shout out “28 days,” “21 days,” etc., every few minutes to simulate the elapsing of the allotted time to form a coalition. The process will take some time, so the chanichim should feel the pressure of the clock, but only subtly.

  6. Each party should make sure that there is one lead negotiator who knows exactly who is negotiating with whom and on what issues compromises have been made. Remind everyone that in order to form a coalition, there must be at least 61 seats (a simple majority), although 70-80 is ideal, and every single party in the coalition must be in agreement on how the coalition will deal with the key issues: a) land, peace and security; b) economics; c) religion and state; d) the judicial overhaul, and e) the war against Hamas in Gaza. (d and e are current as of May 2024).

  7. Additionally, each party which wishes to join the coalition should seek relevant and appropriate cabinet posts (e.g. Labour or Shas may well seek the Social Welfare Ministry). This will take a great deal of compromise from all sides. When a coalition has been formed the majority party must inform the rest of the group which parties are in the coalition, count up the number of seats they have and tell the rest of the group how they have dealt with the five policy options. (NB The current government has increased the number of cabinet positions. Madrichim should feel free to limit these to the more important (and historic) positions, which will also help speed up the activity.)

  8. If by the end, no coalition has formed, give them another five minutes to finish (comparable to the additional 14 days the President can extend the process). If even then there is no coalition, call for new elections and move to the Sikkum.

  9. Please note that those who gained a cabinet position will receive a certificate and be part of a cabinet photo at the conclusion of the Unit of Study.

  10. A handout showing the actual 2022 Israeli Election Results and the coalition that has been formed should be distributed and discussed as an example of an actual coalition. This table/chart has been included in Appendix 15.

  11. It is VERY important that this should happen only AFTER the chanichim try and come up with their own coalition; otherwise, they will simply mimic the one which the politicians came up with.

Session 6: Sikkum

• Materials Needed

  1. Printed (and fill in) Appendix XVI for cabinet post certificates

  2. Camera/phone

  3. Paper and Pen (for madrich/a to take some evaluation notes during the sikkum)

• Procedure

  Suggested sikkum questions might include:

  1. What did we do during this unit? (Go through parts of the Unit of Study)

  2. How does the Israeli electoral system compare to the US/Canadian electoral systems?

  3. What are the benefits of the Israeli electoral system?

  4. What are the disadvantages of the Israeli electoral system?

  5. If you could reform the Israeli electoral system, what, if anything, would you do differently?

  6. How did it feel to be in the larger/smaller parties?

  7. What did this activity teach you about the roles of larger/smaller parties?

  8. Do you feel that you are affiliated to a particular political party more than others? Why?

     Emphasize: If you do not feel an affiliation with a particular political party, the important thing is to remain interested, educated, informed and engaged in Israeli politics.

  A madrich/a should ask the chanichim if they are familiar with the story of the two farmer brothers, which deals with the location of the Beit Hamikdash. S/he should then ask a chanich/a who is familiar with the story to share a brief version of it with the group. If no chanich/a is familiar with the story, a madrich/a should share a brief version of it with the group. The madrich/a should then explain that the story which s/he is about to read is similar to the original story, but with a twist. A traditional story with a Knesset themed finish:

  Once, a very long time ago, there were two brothers who were very much alike. These two brothers loved each other very much. They were both farmers and they both grew wheat. They lived very near each other, at opposite ends of a hill. In fact, the only real difference between them was that one was married and had children, while the other lived alone.

  Both brothers worked hard in their fields and raised much wheat, which made them very happy. They lived this way for many years, and each one was satisfied in his own way.

  One day, right after the harvest, the brother who lived alone began to think about his married brother. He thought how difficult life was for him with no children and wife to help him, and he decided that he would help himself. He knew that his brother would never offer him his help, so that night he gathered several bundles of his brother's freshly harvested wheat, climbed the hill between their two farms, and “borrowed” his brother’s wheat. He then silently returned to his home. He was smiling when he went to sleep.

  Later that night, the married brother began to think how difficult his life was compared to his brother who did not have any family members to feed, and he worried that he might not have enough wheat, and he wanted to share some of his brother’s harvest. But he knew that his brother would never offer to help. He climbed the hill between their two farms, gathered several bundles of freshly harvested wheat, and silently returned to his home. He was smiling when he fell asleep.

  The next morning each brother woke up happy with what he had done the night before. Then each brother went to his own storage place to check on the wheat, and each stopped short, not believing his eyes. Each stared at his bundles of wheat. On each pile there was exactly as much as there had been the day before. Neither could understand how it could be.

  The next night the same thing happened – each brother secretly climbed the hill between them carrying back his brother’s bundles of wheat, then returned home, sure that this time he had succeeded. And the next morning – well, you can imagine their dismay to find their piles the same size.

  The third night each brother was determined to succeed. The married brother took even more bundles than before from his brother’s house, and started to return home. His brother also took as many bundles as he could carry from his brother’s house and began to climb. But this time they each set out at exactly the same hour, and when they came to the top of the hill, the found themselves face to face.

  The two brothers immediately realized what had happened and dropped their bundles and began to fight.

  When G-d saw how much the brothers “loved one another,” God decided to make the hill between their farms the place where the Knesset would be built.

  • The story is funny but there is a serious point. However much we disagree with other people’s religious, security, economic, etc. viewpoints, we need to ensure that we treat one another with respect and tolerance. Too often, the story we read is truly indicative of aspects of Israeli society and the Jewish world, including North American Jewish communities. We should make it our personal aim to change the narrative of Jewish life today from this story back to the original. Even if we think the program of our political opponents is bad for Israel and the Jewish people, we need to recognize that they want what is best for the country and the nation.

  • Rise and sing Hatikvah.

  • As is traditional in the Knesset, the newly elected cabinet should gather for a group photo.

  • Those who were awarded cabinet positions are given their cabinet post certificate

  • (Appendix 16).

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