United States and Israel Essay Example for Free

United States and Israel Essay The Israeli government, unlike the United States, is a multiparty Parliamentary Republic. It runs as nonfederalist government and acts as the central government in Jerusalem. The ultimate authority does not lie in the Constitution like most democratic countries nor the executive branch. The ultimate authority in Israel is the legislative branch—the Knesset. The country has no written Constitution. Government activities and policies are guided by the basic laws passed by the Parliament. The government has three main branches: the executive, the legislative or the Knesset and the judiciary. Unlike a democratic state, these three branches of the government do not hold equal powers. The President has limited power and is not even elected by the people. The President is elected by the Knesset and may serve for a maximum of two terms, each having five year duration. He serves as head of the state but only holds ceremonial functions such as opening the Knessets first session and receiving diplomatic representatives from other countries (MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia n. pag. ). The judiciary on the other hand decides cases and sees to it that justice is met. The legislative on the other hand is the most powerful body of government. They create the law and control all government processes. It is composed of 120 members who serve on a four year term. Its main function is to determine the members’ confidence in the government. A vote of no confidence is enough to topple the government, however, in Israels history, a vote of no confidence has only happened once—1990 (Jewish Virtual Library n. pag. ). The election process in Israel is not as liberal as in the United States. National elections in Israel happen once every four years and on the municipal level, once every five years. All Israelis who are 18 years old and above have the right of suffrage. However, unlike in the United States where specific individuals are voted for, the Israelis are only allowed to vote for a party. Every party that desire to run for the elections comes up with a list of their candidates and the people choose which list they prefer. The number of candidates from a party that would enter the House of Representatives or the Knesset is proportional to the percentage of votes received by the list. So representation in the Congress is dependent on party support and not really on individual support. In the United States, representation in Congress is not dependent on a certain party list. For someone to claim a seat in the US Senate, he must be at least 30 years old, and resident of the state where he is elected, among others, for the House of Representatives, he must be a resident of the District where he was elected. The US Constitution provides that the Senator and the Congressmen represent the cause of the people within their sector, the members of the Knesset on the other hand do not share the same responsibility. They were not voted to represent a certain district or state, they were voted to create the basic laws for the country and hold the greatest power in the land. In the United States, the powers of Congress are determined by their Constitution. In Israel, the powers of the Knesset are determined by the representatives themselves, the Declaration of Independence and the basic laws of the land (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia n. pag. ). The citizens in the United States participate freely in the political process as they are granted such right by their Constitution. The Israelis do not enjoy the same right because the Knesset controls the political process. They create the law and give the people limited rights to meddle in the political process, even the Executive branch and the judiciary have limited powers when it comes to the countrys political affairs. Due to the lack of Constitution that will protect their rights, the people of Israel do not have an access to an established and equitable system rule of law. They only have access to the basic laws which were created by the Knesset. This kind of law does not guarantee protection at all times because they are still subject to the whims and caprices of the Knesset. They can easily be abolished and replaced anytime unlike if they have a Constitution, they will have greater rights because it will take a more rigorous process before this law can be amended. A Constitution provides the basic rights of every citizen and equalizes the power of everyone. No one in the Constitution has more power as compared to the other and the implementation of rights provided therein is not subject to the caprices of the law makers. Its stability makes the people more secure that their rights will be protected at all times. The United States, having a Constitution of its own, the people have an access to an established and equitable system of law. However, the absence of a Constitution does not mean that all the rights of the people are already unavailable. The people of Israel exercise the freedom of expression and belief. There is no law that attempts to filter the news that the media conveys, in fact, freedom of the press is deeply enjoyed by communicators. The Declaration of Independence mentions the principle of freedom of expression and secured in the basic law created by the Knesset. Public scrutiny is prevalent in Israeli news. Before 1993, media outfits were government owned but the government decided to change this policy and opened it for private ownership. There are around thirty daily newspapers in Israel, half are written in Hebrew and the other half are written in other languages (MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia n. pag. ). The media in Israel enjoys the same freedom as the media in the United States. They can report on all aspects and can freely criticize the failings of the government. Arab journalists in Palestine or the Middle East do not enjoy the same rights. The country also hosts people a rich mixture of religious groups and each religion has its own school, councils and courts that decides on domestic issues such as marriage and divorce (Jewish Virtual Library n. pag. ). The Israelis also enjoy the freedom to assemble and to associate. They are not prohibited by the government to air out their sentiments to government policies through rallies and protests (Jewish Virtual Library n. pag. ). Socially, Israelis also enjoy freedom. They provide full equality for women they are not discriminated as compared to other Arab countries. They also recognize the differences of sexual orientation. Unlike most societies, homosexuality is not a sin in Israel. People are respected the way other people express themselves or perceive themselves to be. There is also no discrimination in jobs. The Israeli Arabs can be employed to menial jobs and even as Supreme Court Justices (Jewish Virtual Library n. pag. ) In terms of purchasing private property, the government does not restrict its purchase. Contrary to the speculations of some journalists, an Arab or a Jew may buy private property in Israel. There is no discrimination as to race or belief. However, the government prohibits the purchase of state land or those that are owned by the state to both Arabs and Jews. The prohibition is applicable to all. Some journalists and analysts, however, believe otherwise (Middle East Quarterly n. pag. ). Works cited â€Å"Fact Sheets† n. d. Jewish Virtual Library 11 May 2008 http://72. 14. 235. 104/search? q=cache:oI9BaF-Sxd4J: www. jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/talking/36_liberal. html+freedom+to+assemble+and+associate+in+Israelhl=tlct=clnkcd=3gl=phclient=firefox-a â€Å"Israel† n. d. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 11 May 2008 http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761575008_8/Israel. html â€Å"The Israeli Government—How Does it Work? † n. d. Jewish Virtual Library. 11 May 2008 http://72. 14. 235. 104/search? q=cache:d_6PPHEkj0sJ:www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/Politics/how_govt_works. html+The+Israeli+Government+How+Does+It+Work%3Fhl=tlct=clnkcd=2gl=phclient=firefox-a Safian, Alexander. 1997 December. â€Å"Can Arabs Buy Land in Israel? † Middle East Quarterly. http://72. 14. 235. 104/search? q=cache:1bvrvPsLhg4J:www. meforum. org/article/370+private+property+purchase+in+Israelhl=tlct=clnkcd=1gl=phclient=firefox-a â€Å"US Congress† n. d. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 11 May 2008 http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761554908_2/Congress. html â€Å"US Government. † n. d. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopeda. 11 May 2008 http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_1741500781/United_States_Government. html