How Israeli Parties Select Knesset Candidates: A Look Inside Election Lists

As the deadline approaches for submitting Knesset lists for the upcoming election, the diverse and often opaque methods by which parties choose their candidates are highlighted. Unlike the general election where every vote is equal, the process of forming these lists varies significantly across the political spectrum. Some candidates must appeal to tens of thousands of party members, while others rely on the approval of a few dozen central committee members, a small committee, or the party leader's discretion. In Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, public support is secondary to the decisions of rabbinical leadership.

The law mandates that each party determines its own candidate selection process through its bylaws, with election law only governing submission, eligibility, and disqualification procedures. This lack of a uniform system is particularly impactful in Israel's closed-list electoral system, where voters cannot choose individual candidates within a party list. Therefore, the list-building phase, concluding soon, largely determines the composition of the next Knesset.

In Likud, a large number of registered members vote in primaries, but the leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, has significant influence through "reserved seats." This year, Netanyahu secured eight reserved seats, with an additional one for Yisrael Katz, demonstrating a trend of increasing leader control over the list's upper echelons, even impacting candidates who perform well in primaries.

The Democratic Party also held primaries for its members, but employs a "gender zigzag" system to ensure alternating male and female representation. Additionally, reserved spots exist for various groups. While party leader Yair Golan opted not to use his reserved seats, this system reflects the tension between respecting member votes and ensuring a balanced list.

Other parties like the Religious Zionism party utilize smaller electoral bodies, with only about 170 central committee members voting. Even then, political agreements, such as the one with Moshe Feiglin, can alter the final list order. Parties like Yisrael Beiteinu have a standing committee review applications, with the leader, Avigdor Lieberman, wielding considerable influence.

Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism operate under different models. Shas relies on the Council of Torah Sages for final decisions, though the party leader, Aryeh Deri, has influence. United Torah Judaism, a joint list of two parties, sees decisions made by separate rabbinical leaderships, as seen when Rabbi Dov Lando decided to replace veteran MKs Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev, despite their political standing.

Newer parties, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit, often have less transparent selection processes dominated by the leader. Similarly, parties founded by prominent figures like Gadi Eisenkot or Ofir Winter, or emerging alliances like that of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, see candidate selection heavily influenced by the founders and coalition agreements, often overriding internal voting results.

The core political question underlying these varied methods is to whom a Knesset member owes their position: the party members, the leadership, or the voters. The size and nature of the "selectorate", the body choosing candidates, determines whether power is concentrated or distributed. While primaries can lead to a more representative list, they also necessitate mechanisms like reserved seats to ensure diversity, creating a constant balance between internal voter freedom and leadership's ability to shape a cohesive and balanced list.