Country name
conventional long form:
State of Israel
conventional short form:
Israel
local long form:
Medinat Yisra'el
local short form:
Yisra'el
Data code
IS
Government type
republic
National capital
Jerusalem
note:
Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like
nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
Administrative divisions
6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem,
Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv
Independence
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
National holiday
Independence Day, 14 May 1948 (Israel declared independence on 14 May
1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April
or May)
Constitution
no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are
filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the basic laws of the parliament
(Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law
Legal system
mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in
personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December
1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state:
President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993)
head of government:
Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU (since 18 June 1996)
cabinet:
Cabinet selected from and approved by the Knesset
elections:
president elected by the Knesset for a five-year term; election last
held 4 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); prime minister elected
by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 29 May 1996 (next
to be held NA 2000); note - in March 1992, the Knesset approved legislation,
effective in 1996, which allowed for the direct election of the prime minister;
under the new law, each voter casts two ballots - one for the direct election
of the prime minister and one for the party in the Knesset; the candidate
that receives the largest percentage of the popular vote then works to form
a coalition with other parties to achieve a parliamentary majority of 61 seats;
finally, the candidate must submit his or her cabinet to the Knesset for approval
and this must be done within 45 days of the election; in contrast to the old
system, under the new law, the prime minister's party need not be the single-largest
party in the Knesset
election results:
Ezer WEIZMAN elected president by the Knesset with a total of 63 votes,
other candidate, Shaul AMOR, received 49 votes (there were seven abstentions
and one absence); Binyamin NETANYAHU elected prime minister; percent of vote
- Binyamin NETANYAHU 50.4%, Shimon PERES 49.5%
Legislative branch
unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular
vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held 29 May 1996 (next to be held NA 2000)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Labor Party 34, Likud
Party 32, SHAS 10, MERETZ 9, National Religious Party 9, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya
7, Hadash-Balad 5, Third Way 4, United Arab List 4, United Jewish Torah 4,
Moledet 2; note - Likud, Tzomet, and Gesher candidates ran on a joint list
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, appointed for life by the president
Political parties and leaders
government coalition:
Likud Party, Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU; Tzomet, Rafael EITAN;
SHAS, Arieh DERI; National Religious Party, Yitzhak LEVI; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya,
Natan SHARANSKY; United Jewish Torah, Meir PORUSH; Third Way, Avigdor KAHALANI
opposition:
Labor Party, Ehud BARAK; MERETZ, Yossi SARID; United Arab List, Abd
al-Malik DAHAMSHAH; Hadash-Balad, Hashim MAHAMID
other:
Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI; Gesher, David LEVI
Political pressure groups and leaders
Gush Emunim, Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the
West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the
West Bank and is critical of government's Lebanon policy
International organization participation
AG (observer), BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer),
EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OSCE
(partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate Zalman SHOVAL
chancery:
3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 364-5500
FAX:
[1] (202) 364-5607
consulate(s) general:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia,
and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission:
Ambassador Edward WALKER
embassy:
71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv
mailing address:
PSC 98, Box 100, APO AE 09830
telephone:
[972] (3) 519-7575
FAX:
[972] (3) 517-3227
consulate(s) general:
Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose
members are not accredited to a foreign government
Flag description
white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen
David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near
the top and bottom edges of the flag
NOTE: The information regarding Israel on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Israel Government 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Israel Government 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.