1.
Mandatory Palestine
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Mandatory Palestine was a geopolitical entity under British administration, carved out of Ottoman Southern Syria after World War I. British civil administration in Palestine operated from 1920 until 1948, further confusing the issue was the Balfour Declaration of 1917, promising British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine. At the wars end the British and French set up a joint Occupied Enemy Territory Administration in what had been Ottoman Syria, the British achieved legitimacy for their continued control by obtaining a mandate from the League of Nations in June 1922. The civil Mandate administration was formalized with the League of Nations consent in 1923 under the British Mandate for Palestine, the land west of the Jordan River, known as Palestine, was under direct British administration until 1948. The land east of the Jordan, a region known as Transjordan, under the rule of the Hashemite family from the Hijaz. The divergent tendencies regarding the nature and purpose of the mandate are visible already in the discussions concerning the name for this new entity. As a set-off to this, certain of the Arab politicians suggested that the country should be called Southern Syria in order to emphasise its close relation with another Arab State. During the British Mandate period the area experienced the ascent of two major nationalist movements, one among the Jews and the other among the Arabs, following its occupation by British troops in 1917–1918, Palestine was governed by the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration. In July 1920, the administration was replaced by a civilian administration headed by a High Commissioner. The first High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel, a Zionist recent cabinet minister, arrived in Palestine on 20 June 1920, following the arrival of the British, Muslim-Christian Associations were established in all the major towns. In 1919 they joined to hold the first Palestine Arab Congress in Jerusalem and its main platforms were a call for representative government and opposition to the Balfour Declaration. The Zionist Commission was formed in March 1918 and was active in promoting Zionist objectives in Palestine, on 19 April 1920, elections were held for the Assembly of Representatives of the Palestinian Jewish community. The Zionist Commission received official recognition in 1922 as representative of the Palestinian Jewish community, Rutenberg soon established an electric company whose shareholders were Zionist organizations, investors, and philanthropists. Palestinian-Arabs saw it as proof that the British intended to favor Zionism, when Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Kamil al-Husayni died in March 1921, High Commissioner Samuel appointed his half-brother Mohammad Amin al-Husseini to the position. Amin al-Husseini, a member of the clan of Jerusalem, was an Arab nationalist. As Grand Mufti, as well as the influential positions that he held during this period. In 1922, al-Husseini was elected President of the Supreme Muslim Council which had created by Samuel in December 1921. The Council controlled the Waqf funds, worth annually tens of thousands of pounds, in addition, he controlled the Islamic courts in Palestine
2.
Likud
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The Likud, officially the Likud–National Liberal Movement, is a major center-right to right-wing political party in Israel. A secular party, it was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing, Likuds landslide victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the countrys political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. In addition, it was the first time in Israel that a party won the plurality of the votes. However, after ruling the country for most of the 1980s, nevertheless, Likuds candidate Benjamin Netanyahu did win the vote for Prime Minister in 1996 and was given the task of forming a government after the 1996 elections. Netanyahus government fell apart after a vote of no confidence, which led to elections being called in 1999, in 2001, Likuds Ariel Sharon, who replaced Netanyahu following the 1999 election, defeated Barak in an election called by the Prime Minister following his resignation. After the party recorded a win in the 2003 elections. This resulted in Likud slumping to fourth place in the 2006 elections, Netanyahu has been Prime Minister since and Likud has been the leading vote-getter in each election. A member of the party is called a Likudnik. Herut had been the nations largest right-wing party since growing out of the Irgun in 1948 and it had already been in coalition with the Liberals since 1965 as Gahal, with Herut as the senior partner. Herut remained the senior partner in the new grouping, which was given the name Likud, meaning Consolidation and it worked as a coalition under Heruts leadership until 1988, when the member parties merged into a single party under the Likud name. From its establishment in 1973, Likud enjoyed great support from blue-collar Sephardim who felt discriminated against by the ruling Alignment, Likud made a strong showing in its first elections in 1973, reducing the Alignments lead to 12 seats. The party went on to win the 1977 elections, finishing 11 seats ahead of the Alignment, Begin was able to form a government with the support of the religious parties, consigning the left-wing to opposition for the first time since independence. A former leader of the hard-line paramilitary Irgun, Begin helped initiate the process with Egypt, which resulted in the 1978 Camp David Accords. Likud was reelected with a reduced mandate in 1981. Likud has long been an alliance between politicians committed to different and sometimes opposing policy preferences and ideologies. Begin resigned in October 1983 and was succeeded as Likud leader, although Shamir lost the 1984 election, the Alignment was unable to form a government on its own. Likud and the Alignment thus formed a unity government, with Peres as Prime Minister. After two years, Peres and Shamir switched posts and this government remained in power through 1990, when the Alignment pulled out and Shamir stitched together a right-wing coalition that held on until its defeat in 1992 by Labor
3.
Israel
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Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. The country contains geographically diverse features within its small area. Israels economy and technology center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, in 1947, the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, next year, the Jewish Agency declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and it extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories is the worlds longest military occupation in modern times, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace. However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed, the population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2017 to be 8,671,100 people. It is the worlds only Jewish-majority state, with 74. 8% being designated as Jewish, the countrys second largest group of citizens are Arabs, at 20. 8%. The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Sunni Muslims, including significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins, other minorities include Arameans, Armenians, Assyrians, Black Hebrew Israelites, Circassians, Maronites and Samaritans. Israel also hosts a significant population of foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia, including illegal migrants from Sudan, Eritrea. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish, Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member, with the 35th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2016. The country benefits from a skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the third highest in Asia, in the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term Israeli to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett. The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The name Israel in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who, jacobs twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, also known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. The earliest known artifact to mention the word Israel as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt. The area is known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam
4.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is Israels second oldest university established in 1918,30 years before the State of Israel. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot, the worlds largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J. Safra Givat Ram campus. The university has 5 affiliated teaching hospitals including the Hadassah Medical Center,7 faculties, more than 100 research centers, a third of all the doctoral candidates in Israel are studying in the Hebrew University. The first Board of Governors included Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber, four of Israels prime ministers are alumni of the Hebrew University. In the last decade, eight researchers and alumni of the University received the Nobel Prize, one was awarded the Fields Medal, one of the visions of the Zionist movement was the establishment of a Jewish university in the Land of Israel. Founding a university was proposed as far back as 1884 in the Kattowitz conference of the Hovevei Zion society, the cornerstone for the university was laid on July 24,1918. The Universitys first Chancellor was Judah Magnes, by 1947, the University had become a large research and teaching institution. Plans for a school were approved in May 1949, and in November 1949. In 1952, it was announced that the institute founded by the University in 1940 would become a full-fledged faculty. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, attacks were carried out against convoys moving between the Israeli-controlled section of Jerusalem and the University. The leader of the Arab forces in Jerusalem, Abdul Kader Husseini, after the Hadassah medical convoy massacre, in which 79 Jews, including doctors and nurses, were slaughtered, the Mount Scopus campus was cut off from Jerusalem. British soldier Jack Churchill coordinated the evacuation of 700 Jewish doctors, when the Jordan government denied Israeli access to Mount Scopus, a new campus was built at Givat Ram in western Jerusalem and completed in 1958. In the interim, classes were held in 40 different buildings around the city, the Terra Santa building in Rehavia, rented from the Franciscan Custodians of the Latin Holy Places, was also used for this purpose. A few years later, together with the Hadassah Medical Organization, by the beginning of 1967, the students numbered 12,500, spread among the two campuses in Jerusalem and the agricultural faculty in Rehovot. After the unification of Jerusalem, following the Six-Day War of June 1967, the University was able to return to Mount Scopus, in 1981 the construction work was completed, and Mount Scopus again became the main campus of the University. On July 31,2002, a member of a terrorist cell detonated a bomb during lunch hour at the Universitys Frank Sinatra cafeteria when it was crowded with staff and students. Nine people — five Israelis, three Americans, and one dual French-American citizen — were murdered and more than 70 wounded, World leaders, including Kofi Annan, President Bush, and the President of the European Union issued statements of condemnation. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Rothberg International School, the Rothberg International School features secular studies and Jewish/Israeli studies
5.
Lehi (group)
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Lehi, often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang, was a Zionist paramilitary organization founded by Avraham Stern in Mandatory Palestine. It was initially called the National Military Organization in Israel, upon being founded in August 1940, according to Jean E. Rosenfeld, the group admitted to have used terrorist attacks. Lehi split from the Irgun militant group in 1940 in order to fighting the British during World War II. Believing that Nazi Germany was a enemy of the Jews than Britain. During World War II, it declared that it would establish a Jewish state based upon nationalist, after Sterns death in 1942, the new leadership of Lehi began to move it towards support for Joseph Stalins Soviet Union. In 1944, Lehi officially declared its support for National Bolshevism, Lehi and the Irgun were jointly responsible for the massacre in Deir Yassin. Lehi assassinated Lord Moyne, British Minister Resident in the Middle East, after the assassination, the new Israeli government declared Lehi a terrorist organization, arresting and convicting some 200 members. Just before the first Israeli elections, an amnesty to Lehi members was granted by the government. In 1980, Israel instituted a decoration, an award for activity in the struggle for the establishment of Israel. Former Lehi leader Yitzhak Shamir became Prime Minister of Israel in 1983, Lehi was created in August 1940 by Avraham Stern. Stern had been a member of the Irgun high command, zeev Jabotinsky, then the Irguns supreme commander, had decided that diplomacy and working with Britain would best serve the Zionist cause. World War II was in progress, and Britain was fighting Nazi Germany, the Irgun suspended its underground military activities against the British for the duration of the war. Stern argued that the time for Zionist diplomacy was over and that it was time for armed struggle against the British, like other Zionists, he objected to the White Paper of 1939, which restricted both Jewish immigration and Jewish land purchases in Palestine. For Stern, no difference existed between Hitler and Chamberlain, between Dachau or Buchenwald and sealing the gates of Eretz Israel, Stern wanted to open Palestine to all Jewish refugees from Europe, and considered this as by far the most important issue of the day. Therefore, he concluded, the Yishuv should fight the British rather than them in the war. When the Irgun made a truce with the British, Stern left the Irgun to form his own group, Stern and his followers believed that dying for the foreign occupier who was obstructing the creation of the Jewish State was useless. They differentiated between enemies of the Jewish people and Jew haters, believing that the former needed to be defeated, in September 1940, the organization was officially named Lehi. In 1940, the idea of the Final Solution was still unthinkable, in December 1940, Lehi even contacted Germany with a proposal to aid German conquest in the Middle East in return for recognition of a Jewish state open to unlimited immigration
6.
Bethlehem
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Bethlehem is a Palestinian city located in the central West Bank, Palestine, about 10 km south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000 people and it is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. The earliest known mention of the city was in the Amarna correspondence of 1350–1330 BCE during its habitation by the Canaanites. The Hebrew Bible, which says that the city of Bethlehem was built up as a city by Rehoboam, identifies it as the city David was from. The New Testament identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus, the church was badly damaged by the Samaritans, who sacked it during a revolt in 529, but was rebuilt a century later by Emperor Justinian I. Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin following the Muslim conquest in 637, Muslim rule continued in Bethlehem until its conquest in 1099 by a crusading army, who replaced the towns Greek Orthodox clergy with a Latin one. In the mid-13th century, the Mamluks demolished the citys walls, control of Bethlehem passed from the Ottomans to the British at the end of World War I. Bethlehem came under Jordanian rule during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Since the 1995 Oslo Accords, Bethlehem has been administered by the Palestinian Authority, Bethlehem now has a Muslim majority, but is still home to a significant Palestinian Christian community. Bethlehems chief economic sector is tourism, which peaks during the Christmas season when Christians make pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem has over 30 hotels and 300 handicraft workshops. Rachels Tomb, an important Jewish holy site, is located at the entrance of Bethlehem. The earliest reference to Bethlehem appears in the Amarna correspondence, let the king hear the words of your servant Abdi-Heba, and send archers to restore the imperial lands of the king. It is thought that the similarity of name to its modern forms indicates that this was a settlement of Canaanites who shared a Semitic cultural. Lachmo was the Chaldean god of fertility, worshipped by the Canaanites as Lachama, some time in the 3rd millennium BCE, they erected a temple to worship the god on the hill now known as the Hill of the Nativity. The town was known as Beit Lachama, meaning House of Lachama, the Philistines later established a garrison there. The archaeologists were able to identify at least 30 tombs, the Bible also calls it Beth-Lehem Judah, and the New Testament describes it as the City of David. It is first mentioned in the Tanakh and the Bible as the place where the matriarch Rachel died and was buried by the wayside, Rachels Tomb, the traditional grave site, stands at the entrance to Bethlehem. According to the Book of Ruth, the valley to the east is where Ruth of Moab gleaned the fields and it was the home of Jesse, father of King David of Israel, and the site of Davids anointment by the prophet Samuel
7.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
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Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known to many as the Rebbe, was a Russian Empire-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, and the last Lubavitcher Rebbe. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century, the institutions he established include kindergartens, schools, drug-rehabilitation centers, care-homes for the disabled and synagogues. He is recognized as the pioneer of Jewish outreach, in 1978, the U. S. Congress asked President Carter to designate Schneersons birthday as the national Education Day U. S. A. It has been commemorated as Education and Sharing Day. In 1994, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his outstanding and lasting contributions toward improvements in world education, morality. Schneersons resting place attracts Jews and non-Jews for prayer, Menachem Mendel Schneerson was born on Friday, April 5,1902 in the Black Sea port of Nikolaev in the Russian Empire. His father was Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a renowned Talmudic scholar and authority on Kabbalah and his mother was Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson. He was named after the third Chabad rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, in 1907, when Schneerson was six years old, the family moved to Yekatrinislav, where Levi Yitzchak was appointed Chief Rabbi of the city. He served until 1939, when he was exiled by the Soviets to Uzbekistan, Schneerson had two younger brothers, Dov Ber, who was murdered in 1944 by Nazi collaborators, and Yisrael Aryeh Leib, who died in 1952 while completing doctoral studies at Liverpool University. Schneerson was described as a boy with blond hair, and was gifted with extraordinary intelligence. During his youth, he received an education and was tutored by Zalman Vilenkin from 1909 through 1913. When Schneerson was eleven years old, Vilenkin informed his father that he had nothing more to teach his son, at that point, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak began teaching his son Talmud and rabbinic literature, as well as Kabbalah. Schneerson proved gifted in both Talmudic and Kabalistic study and also took exams as a student of the local Soviet school. He was considered an Illui and genius, and by the time he was seventeen, he had mastered the entire Talmud, throughout his childhood Schneerson was involved in the affairs of his fathers office. He was also said to have acted as an interpreter between the Jewish community and the Russian authorities on a number of occasions, Levi Yitzchaks courage and principles were a guide to his son for the rest of his life. Many years later, when he once reminisced about his youth, when it comes to saving lives, I speak up whatever others may say. Schneerson went on to receive separate rabbinical ordinations from the Rogatchover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosen, in 1923 Schneerson for the first time visited the sixth Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, where he met the Rabbis middle daughter Chaya Mushka. Sometime later they engaged, but were not married until 1928 in Warsaw
8.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
9.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
10.
Herut
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Herut was the major right-wing nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism and was known in part for its militia actions. Herut was founded by Menachem Begin on 15 June 1948 as a successor to the Revisionist Irgun, the new party was a challenge to the Hatzohar party established by Zeev Jabotinsky. Herut also established a newspaper, with many of its founding journalists defecting from Hatzohars HaMashkif. Heruts political expectations were high as the first election approached in 1949 and it took credit for driving the British government out and as a young movement, reflecting the esprit of the nation, it perceived its image as being more attractive than the old establishment. They hoped to win 25 seats, which would place second and make them leader of the opposition. This analysis was shared by other parties, objection to withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces and negotiations with Arab states was the partys main platform in the first election. The party vigorously opposed the agreements with the Arab states until the annexation of Gaza Strip. According to Joseph Heller, Herut was a one-issue party intent on expanding Israels borders, Heruts socio-economic platform represented a clear shift to the right, with support for private initiative but also for legislation preventing the trusts from exploiting workers. Begin was at first careful not to appear anti-socialist, stressing his opposition to monopolies and trusts, Herut was from the outset inclined to sympathise with the underdog and, according to Hannah Torok Yablonka, tended to serve as a lodestone for societys misfits. The party was renowned for its views and militia actions. The practical differences between Herut and Mapai, however, were less dramatic than the rhetoric suggested, the party and its leader, Begin, had met fierce resistance from the Labor Zionist establishment in Israel and abroad for many years. They were criticised by Jewish intellectuals on the occasion of Begins visit to New York City in an letter to The New York Times on 4 December 1948. The letter condemned Herut as akin to Nazi and Fascist parties and it was signed by over twenty prominent Jewish intellectuals, including Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Zellig Harris and Sidney Hook. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, today they speak of freedom, democracy and anti-imperialism, whereas until recently they openly preached the doctrine of the Fascist state. It is in its actions that the terrorist party betrays its real character, the hostility between Begin and Israels first Prime Minister, the Mapai leader, David Ben-Gurion, which had begun over the Altalena Affair was evident in the Knesset. Ben-Gurion coined the phrase without Herut and Maki, a reference to his position that he would any party in his coalition. In fact, Herut was approached at least three times by Mapai for government negotiations but Begin turned down the each time, suspecting that they were designed to divide his party
11.
Knesset
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The Knesset is the unicameral national legislature of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister, approves the cabinet, in addition, the Knesset elects the State Comptroller. The Prime Minister may also dissolve the Knesset, however, until an election is completed, the Knesset maintains authority in its current composition. The Knesset is located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem, as the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the president, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government through its committees. It also has the power to waive the immunity of its members, remove the President and the State Comptroller from office, the Knesset is presided over by a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker. The Knesset is divided into committees, which amend bills on the appropriate subjects, Committee chairpersons are chosen by their members, on recommendation of the House Committee, and their factional composition represents that of the Knesset itself. Committees may elect sub-committees and delegate powers to them, or establish joint committees for issues concerning more than one committee, to further their deliberations, they invite government ministers, senior officials, and experts in the matter being discussed. There are four types of committees in the Knesset, permanent committees amend proposed legislation dealing with their area of expertise, and may initiate legislation. However, such legislation may only deal with Basic Laws and laws dealing with the Knesset, elections to the Knesset, Knesset members, or the State Comptroller. Special committees function in a manner to permanent committees, but are appointed to deal with particular manners at hand. Parliamentary inquiry committees are appointed by the plenum to deal with issues viewed as having national importance. The Ethics Committee is responsible for jurisdiction over Knesset members who violate the rules of ethics of the Knesset, within the framework of responsibility, the Ethics Committee may place various sanctions on a member, but is not allowed to restrict a members right to vote. The Knesset numbers 120 members, a subject which has often been a cause for proposed reforms and this proposed law has also been favoured by other politicians, including Benjamin Netanyahu. The 120 members of the Knesset are popularly elected from a single electoral district to concurrent four-year terms. All Israeli citizens 18 years or older may vote in legislative elections, Knesset seats are allocated among the various parties using the DHondt method of party list proportional representation. A party or electoral alliance must pass the threshold of 3. 25% of the overall vote to be allocated a Knesset seat. Parties select their candidates using a closed list, thus, voters select the party of their choice, not any specific candidate. The electoral threshold was set at 1% from 1949 to 1992, then 1. 5% from 1992 to 2003
12.
Camp David Accords
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The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter, the second of these frameworks led directly to the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty. Due to the agreement, Sadat and Begin received the shared 1978 Nobel Peace Prize, the first framework, which dealt with the Palestinian territories, was written without participation of the Palestinians and was condemned by the United Nations. The Camp David Accords were the result of 14 months of efforts by Egypt, Israel. The efforts initially focused on a resolution of disputes between Israel and the Arab countries, gradually evolving into a search for a bilateral agreement between Israel and Egypt. Upon assuming office on January 20,1977, President Carter moved to rejuvenate the Middle East peace process that had stalled throughout the 1976 presidential campaign in the United States, the Yom Kippur War further complicated efforts to achieve the objectives written in United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. Israels Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his successor, Menachem Begin, were skeptical of an international conference. Even earlier, Begin had not been opposed to returning the Sinai, Carter visited the heads of state on whom he would have to rely to make any peace agreement feasible. By the end of his first year in office, he had met with Anwar El Sadat of Egypt, King Hussein of Jordan, Hafez al-Assad of Syria. Hafez al-Assad, who had no particular interest in negotiating peace with Israel, also refused to come to the United States, the Prime Minister had not yet arrived at his office and the caller spoke to Mr. Yechiel Kadishai, a Begin staff head. Kadishai said that no one was speaking with anyone and we expect a war in October and he also told the caller that if any high level talks were to occur the caller could be assured that they would be using his approach. Begin arrived, was informed of the plan, and contacted Sadat who agreed to the plan on that day, on the next day, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance traveled to the Middle East to obtain firsthand confirmation of the agreement between Israel and Egypt. The following day, Tuesday,8 August, the Camp David meeting was scheduled to take place in exactly 4 weeks time, the plan was that Israel agreed on 6 August to return the land to Egypt. Sadat’s then waning popularity would be enhanced as a result of such an achievement. Israels security was insured by the activities to take place during the transition period. Those activities also were included in the idea for peace communicated to Begins office on 6 August. President Anwar El Sadat came to feel that the Geneva track peace process was more show than substance and he also lacked confidence in the Western powers to pressure Israel after a meeting with the Western leaders. On 9 November 1977, President Sadat startled the world by announcing to parliament his intention to go to Jerusalem, shortly afterward, the Israeli government cordially invited him to address the Knesset in a message passed to Sadat via the US ambassador to Egypt
