JERUSALEM | Two members of the Israeli Knesset—both former journalists who left comfortable positions within media to turn to politics—spoke with Junior Israeli Seeds about the challenges of work in Parliament during a visit to the Knesset’s offices on February 27.
An initiative of Liat, a 2010 Seed, the meeting acted as a follow-up to the 2011 Knesset simulation seminar, providing Seeds with a more intimate view of life in a governmental position and a better understanding of how wide the political spectrum is in the Knesset, both in terms of left and right but also religious and secular.
“The visit gave us the opportunity to learn more about how the Knesset works,” said Liat. “We got to sit in the plenary hall and watch Israeli democracy in action.”
MK Daniel Ben-Simon, a member of the Labor Party, spoke to Seeds primarily about his passion for working to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, first as a journalist and later as a member of the Knesset. He also discussed the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“Ben-Simon spoke with us about the choice of being part of the government or not, and about the role the opposition plays in the Knesset,” said Liat. “He also explained to us the position each Knesset party has on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Knesset, he said, is a place where all of the tensions and conflicts of Israeli society are on clear display.”
MK Uri Orbach, of the Jewish Home Party (HaBayit HaYehudi), explained his role within the Knesset as a representative of the National-Religious sector and the dilemma he faces when determining in a particular case whether to represent his own constituency or to represent the interests of the larger public.
Orbach provided several examples of laws he had suggested that would be beneficial to both groups. Regarding the benefits and challenges of collaboration within a parliamentary system, he emphasized that a member of Knesset cannot always act according to that individual’s own conscience; when in a coalition, coalition agreements take precedence.
Seeds were grateful for the opportunity to learn in one meeting from affiliates of two parties who generally stand in opposition to each other.