I learned most of what I know about the American government from The West Wing, which is probably why I knew next to nothing about the workings of the Israeli political system until recently. When there’s a TV show about that, I’ll watch it. Until then, I’ll hang out at the Knesset website learning random facts, like only 17 of the 120 people in the first Knesset were born in Israel, and studying the basics of Israeli government. It’s a great resource, since there isn’t yet an Israeli version of Schoolhouse Rock to explain to us how a bill becomes a law in Jerusalem.
I’m not the only one who was clueless when it comes to background of the Israeli government (thank God)–this week our Expert answers a question about the Knesset: How come it has 120 members, and not 100 or 150 or even more? Click here to find out.
Knesset
Pronounced: k’NESS-et, Origin: Hebrew, Israel’s parliament, comprising 120 seats.