Correspondent photo / Karla Dines A Model Knesset occurred Thursday evening at the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown. The event was hosted by Youngstown State University as the capstone experience for a political science course, Israeli Politics, and was open to the public. Dr. Adam Fuller, instructor, gave a brief presentation on the Israeli elections and political system. A group of 13 students, each representing a political party, and a group of five students, playing the role of journalists, participated in a simulation of the Israeli parliamentary system. Students from five news outlets are shown in the foreground, while students representing different political parties negotiate in the background.

YOUNGSTOWN — A Model Knesset took place Thursday evening at the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown to educate both a group of Youngstown State University political science students and the local community about Israel’s complex political system.

Knesset in Hebrew means “assembly” and refers to the Israeli Parliament. The Israeli political system has multiparty representation, unlike the United States’ two-party system. Each political party in Israel controls a certain number of political seats.

Students acting as Israeli political leaders and as journalists simulated the work of the parliament in Jerusalem. The free event was open to the public and a buffet of Mediterranean food was served.

The Model Knesset is the capstone experience for a political science course, Israeli Politics, taught by YSU professor Dr. Adam Fuller. Students simulate a coalition negotiation in which a Prime Minister is selected.

Fuller explained that the simulation began with a “mock election.”

“I made up the mock election on my computer about a week ago. I made up the seat totals based on what they are likely to get, which I based on what the polling is showing they are likely to get in November,” Fuller said.

“Each student is assigned a political party to represent and they are responsible for a certain number of seats that the mock election indicated. They actually have to learn about all the political parties backwards and forwards so that they can negotiate,” Fuller said.

Five YSU students who are not in the Israeli Politics class volunteered to serve as journalists in the simulation. The journalists asked the politicians questions and produced articles throughout the simulation that could affect the outcome.

The news outlets included Al-Quds, the Palestinian newspaper, FOX News, the Jerusalem Post, a left-wing Israeli newspaper and a right-wing Israeli newspaper.

Twelve students and one alumnus each gave a brief presentation on the political party they represent, covering the complexities of economic, cultural, social, religious and ethnic issues in the state of Israel.

Fuller, who served as president of Israel, explained the role of the Israeli president, who is elected by the Knesset and serves a seven-year term.

Fullers said the president, like the King of England and the Emperor of Japan, is largely ceremonial and has limited power. But in the process of creating a majority coalition and selecting a Prime Minister, the president does wield some power by getting to choose who will be given a mandate to try to form a government.

“Each student has been given a certain number of seats to control. This is done on the basis of imaginary election results that I have compiled for them. It is done on the basis of what would happen in real life,” Fuller said.

Fuller described the simulation as a puzzle the students must put together, adding that in real life, it is difficult to do so.

“A few years ago, Israel had to have three elections, back-to-back- to-back, because they were unable to put a government together, nobody was able to come out as Prime Minister. So in real life, the first person to whom the president gives a mandate gets a period of two weeks to try to put a government together. Instead of two weeks, we have two hours to put a government together,” Fuller said.