12 Facts About Knesset

Knesset passes all laws, elects the president and prime minister, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government, among other things.

Term "Knesset" is derived from the ancient Knesset HaGdola or "Great Assembly", which according to Jewish tradition was an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism – about two centuries ending c 200 BCE.

Knesset has de jure parliamentary supremacy, and can pass any law by a simple majority, even one that might arguably conflict with the Basic Laws of Israel, unless the basic law includes specific conditions for its modification; in accordance with a plan adopted in 1950, the Basic Laws can be adopted and amended by the Knesset, acting in its capacity as a Constituent Assembly.

The Knesset itself is regulated by a Basic Law called "Basic Law: the Knesset".

The Knesset is presided over by a Speaker and Deputy Speakers, called the Knesset Presidium, which currently consists of:.

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Knesset is divided into committees, which amend bills on various appropriate subjects.

The subject of Knesset membership has often been a cause for proposed reforms.

Knesset seats are allocated among the various parties using the D'Hondt method of party list proportional representation.

Knesset first convened on 14 February 1949 in Tel Aviv following the 20 January elections, replacing the Provisional State Council which acted as Israel's official legislature from its date of independence on 14 May 1948 and succeeding the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's representative body during the Mandate era.

Knesset compound sits on a hilltop in western Jerusalem in a district known as Sheikh Badr before the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, now Givat Ram.

Knesset holds morning tours in Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Spanish, German, and Russian on Sunday and Thursday, and there are live session viewing times on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings.

The Knesset Guard plays a ceremonial role, participating in state ceremonies, which includes greeting dignitaries on Mount Herzl on the eve of Israeli Independence Day.