Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, the Leader of the Opposition ( he, רֹאשׁ הַאוֹפּוֹזִיצְיָה, ''Rosh HaOpozitzya'') is the politician who leads the Official Opposition in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

, the Israeli parliament. The

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

is, by convention, the leader of the largest

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

that is not in (or supports) the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

History

Informal role, until 2000

Until 2000, the role of the Opposition Leader was not an official position, but rather an honorary role. The Leader of the Opposition was the leader of the largest party not in government. This was either Likud or Labor, with short exceptions during national unity governments of 1967–1970 and 1984–1990. Even with the absence of a law defining the role of the Opposition Leader, it was customary for the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

to hold regular meetings with the leader of the largest opposition party. However, it was carried out only at the prerogative of the Prime Minister.

Formalised role, post-2000

In early 2000, two bills to amend the Opposition Leader's status were submitted to the Knesset, one by the government and one by MK

Uzi Landau Uzi Landau ( he, עוזי לנדאו, born 2 August 1943) is an Israeli politician and systems analyst. He served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1984 and 2006, and for Yisrael Beiteinu between 2009 and 2015. He also held several mi ...

. The bills were merged into one amendment, and on 17 July 2000, the Knesset approved Amendment 8 to the "Knesset Law" of 1994, adding chapter 6 that outlined the role of the Leader of the Opposition. The law stipulates the selection of the Opposition Leader, the method of their replacement, regulates their ceremonial role in various official events, and obliges the prime minister to update them once a month. The law also stipulates that the Opposition Leader's salary will be determined by Knesset committee, and shall not be lower than a salary of a Cabinet minister.

List of Opposition leaders

Leaders of the largest opposition party

Designated Opposition Leaders

After Amendment 8 to the "Knesset law" of 1994 was passed, the Leader of the Opposition became the person elected by the largest faction of the opposition.

Notes

References

External links

Chapter 6: Leader of the Opposition, The Knesset law of 1994
Wikisource {{Opposition leaders (Israel) Government of Israel Politics of Israel

Parliamentary opposition Lists of political office-holders in Israel