The Provisional State Council ( he, מועצת המדינה הזמנית, ''Moetzet HaMedina HaZmanit'') was the temporary

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

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 ...

from shortly before independence until the election of the

first Knesset Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset (Hebrew: כ ...

in January 1949. It took the place of His Majesty's Privy Council, through which the British Government had legislated for

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

History

The Provisional State Council was established under the name Moetzet HaAm (, lit. ''People's Council'') on 12 April 1948 in preparation for independence just over a month later. There were 37 members representing all sides of the

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish political spectrum, from the Revisionists to the Communists. A separate body, Minhelet HaAm was set up as the proto-

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, all of whose members were also members of Moetzet HaAm. On 14 May at 13:50, Moetzet HaAm met at the Jewish National Fund building in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

to vote on the text of the

Israeli Declaration of Independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...

. Despite disagreements over issues such as borders and religion, it was passed unanimously and the meeting ended at 15:00, an hour before the declaration was to be made. The 37 members were those that signed the declaration. Following independence, the body was renamed the Provisional State Council. Its last meeting was held on 3 February 1949, after which it was replaced by the Constituent Assembly which was had been

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

on 25 January. The Constituent Assembly first convened on 14 February, and two days later declared itself the first

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 council's titular figurehead,

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israe ...

, was Israel's de facto head of state until he was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

in February 1949.

Members

External links

Historical overview of the Provisional State Council
Knesset website

Knesset website {{Authority control Politics of Israel Jewish organizations in Mandatory Palestine Israeli Declaration of Independence 1948 in Israeli politics 1949 in Israeli politics