Eleventh Knesset
(1984 - 1988)
The results of the elections to the eleventh
Knesset were a draw between the right-wing - religious bloc and
the left-wing - Arab bloc (60:60), and a national unity government was
the only way out of the deadlock. Two such governments served during
the term of the 11th Knesset - one headed by Shimon
Peres and the second headed by Yitzhak
Shamir.
The principle of rotation between the two was formalized
in the coalition agreement. The work of the Knesset was influenced by the fact that more than three quarters of the members
belonged to the coalition, and in order to enable the members of the
opposition to fulfil their duties properly, certain changes had to be
introduced in the Knesset rules and regulations. Shas - an ultra-religious Sephardi party - first entered the eleventh Knesset with four MKs. The election
to the Knesset of the extreme Right-wing Rabbi
Meir Kahane resulted in the amendment of several laws, the goal
of which was to prevent lists which incite to racism from being elected
to the Knesset. (See Basic
Law: the Knesset.)
At the same opportunity it was also laid down that
lists which reject the democractic nature of the State of Israel or
its being the state of the Jewish people cannot be elected to the Knesset.
One of the first issues dealt with by the National Unity Government
and the Knesset was the economic crisis. To contend with the three digit
rate of inflation and
stabilize the economy, measures
were taken that led to a sharp rise in unemployment, financial difficulties
in many companies, kibbutzim,
moshavim and private farms.
The Bejski Commission published its report on the
manipulation of the bank shares by the banks, and the collapse of the
market. The IDF was taken out of Lebanon,
and intensive efforts were made to release the Israeli prisoners held
by the terrorist organizations in Lebanon. One of the leftovers from Operation Peace for the
Galilee was the libel suit brought by Minister Ariel
Sharon against Time magazine.
In the course of th 11th Knesset the Order for the
Prevention of Terror was amended, and all unauthorized contacts with
the PLO and other terrorist
organizations was prohibited. Terrorist attacks on individuals - such as the attack on the two hikers at Kremisan
and the murder of the boy Rami Habba - as well as cases of arson, became
more frequent. At the end of 1987 the intifada broke out.
Amongst the many issues which came up during the term
of the 11th Knesset were the London Agreement between Shimon
Peres and King Hussein; the Reagan Plan; the proposal
that Israel introduce an autonomy plan in Judea,
Samaria and Gaza unilaterally;
the return of Taba to Egypt;
the GSS affair which followed
the No. 300 Bus scandal; the release of the members of the Jewish Underground;
the Demjanjuk trial;
the Pollard Affair; the
problem of "deserters" amongst the Jews who left the Soviet
Union with Israeli visas; the crisis in the health system, including
the problem of black medicine; the issue of organ transplants; the problem
of the "grey education," the construction of "Voice of
America" transmitters in the Arava; and complaints of violence
by policemen.
Sources: The Knesset |