Israeli Politics Explained

Politics are complicated, especially Israeli politics. Why do Israelis keep having elections? What parties make up the Knesset — Israel’s parliament? A party needs at least 61 seats to form a government, but no single party has ever come close to winning that many seats, which means that parties have had to team up with one another to form a “Coalition Government.” Currently, getting those 61 seats has proved more of a challenge than ever, causing Israelis to go to the polls four times in two years. Are they stuck in an endless cycle?

This video will help you make heads and tails of what you read in the news — the issues at hand, the various politicians, what “right” and “left” even means anymore, and how one man — Benjamin Netanyahu — managed to eclipse even the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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