Government

Israel is a parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister is the head of the government, and this person is selected by the president. He/she is chosen to be the Prime Minister if he/she is thought by the president to be able to get the most agreement among parties in the Knesset, which is the legislative branch. Usually this is the leader of the party that gets the most votes in the Knesset. Israel has several major parties (like Democrats and Republicans in the Unites States). The five largest parties in 2009 were: Kadima, Likud, Israel Beytenu, Labor, and Shas. The Knesset has 120 members elected every four years. The government can decide to hold an election before four years are up. Since 1988, there has not been a single Knesset that has lasted the entire four years. 

The prime minister of Israel is Benjamin Netanyahu. He was in charge of the Likud party, which came in second in the last election.