ABSTRACT
The Israeli political system is currently in an unusually fluid condition. One can still observe the remarkable continuity of the basic party structures, political behavior and ideological divisions that were inherited from the pre-state yishuv. Until 1977 politics was dominated by the Labor groups of which Mapai has always been the leading partner and which combined first in 1965 and then in 1969 to form the Alignment. The political system was shaped by Labor’s pragmatic politics and consensus style of government. The major parties were centrally controlled by strong oligarchies. The centralized nomination procedure of all parties, and the ability of leaders to decide the order of candidates on party lists reinforced that control. In Israel’s extreme electoral process of proportional representation, voting is still based on party lists rather than on individual candidates. The religious parties have competed among themselves and with the secular parties to gain the electoral support of the orthodox.
