ABSTRACT
Like Iran, Israel, too, is unique in the Middle East. First, it is the only Jewish state in the world. Second, it is a true liberal democracy, the only country in the Middle East ranked “free” by Freedom House. Though there are problems with the social and economic aspects of its democracy (particularly regarding the Arab population), it does not utilize repression as a tool of governance; in fact, it might be characterized as a hyper-democracy, with dozens of parties running in national elections, including Arab parties. (As a result of the February 2009 elections, there are twelve parties in the parliament.) Otherwise, it operates much like any Western parliamentary democracy: there is a head of state (the president), a head of government (the prime minister), and a parliament (the unicameral, 120-seat Knesset).
