The Knesset as a Mirror of Israeli Society: Are the Gaps Closing?

The Knesset, Israel's 120-member unicameral legislature, is one of the pillars of Israel’s democracy. In fact, it is the only inclusive, national-level representative political institution. As such, and because representation is the raison d'être of the legislature, it is expected to properly reflect the complex and diverse population of Israel. Based upon an original database, this paper investigates the social and demographic representativeness of 1560 individuals who were elected as Members of the Knesset (MKs) between 1977 and 2019. It aims to explore three questions: First, do MKs reflect Israeli society in terms of various social characteristics? Second, have the demographic characteristics of these MKs changed over time? Third, can we point upon various representational patterns? For instance – are more women legislators to be found in left-wing parties? Are young candidates more likely to be elected in parties with inclusive selectoartes? We begin with a discussion regarding the question of whether descriptive representation should be regarded as an important dimension of the universe of MKs in the first place. The paper continues with outlining the main institutional features of the electoral process in Israel – the various candidate selection methods employed by the political parties, and the PR-List electoral system in a single nationwide district. We then analyze the social characteristics of the MKs, in terms of gender, age, nationality, education level, religious observance, ethnicity (adatiyut) and various sectors. For each variable we explore to what extent MKs were and are representational of Israeli society. Finally, we identify various representational patterns that shed light on how parties mobilize and represent the diverse Israeli population. Initial findings tell of changes in the way the Knesset composition reflects the society. Several underprivileged populations that suffered from under-representation have been closing the gaps in the last two decades, transferring the parliament into a more representative body.