Knesset Set to Re-Convene

The 19th Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on Tuesday, while Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu continues holding talks with party leaders to form a governing coalition.

The very diverse membership of the new Knesset will reflect some of the surprises of last month’s elections, in which some of the biggest parties, like Kadima, were virtually obliterated, and new ones, like Yesh Atid, came to the fore.

Of the 120 Knesset members, 48 will be freshmen, or 41% of the total. Another five representatives will be returning to the Knesset after various periods of absence.

By comparison, in the U.S. congressional elections of 2010, which was considered to be a big shakeup led by the Tea Party, only 86% of congressmen, or 16%, were first-time lawmakers in Washington.

The incoming Knesset is more religious than previous ones. In addition to the 11 chareidi members of Shas and seven from United Torah Judaism, 11 of the 12 Jewish Home members are religious, as are several MKs from Likud-Beiteinu, Tzipi Livni’s Movement and the Yesh Atid parties.

The Knesset will include seven immigrants from the former Soviet Union, two Ethiopian immigrants and one from the U.S.

There will be 27 women, or 23%, of the Knesset, also more than the parliament has seen before.

The fact that there will only be one kibbutznik — Jewish Home’s Zvulun Kalfa — reflects the declining influence of the kibbutz movement. There were 26 kibbutznikim in the First Knesset.

Twelve members of the 19th Knesset (10%) live beyond the Green Line, as opposed to 4% of the country’s population.

There will be 11 Arabs and one Druze.

This article appeared in print on page 6 of the February 5th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.