The Provisional State Council was the temporary legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

 of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 from shortly before independence until the election of the first Knesset

Israeli legislative election, 1949

Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset...

 in January 1949. It took the place of His Majesty's Privy Council, through which the British Government had legislated for Mandatory Palestine.

It began life as Moetzet HaAm on 12 April 1948 in preparation for independence just over a month later. There were 37 members representing all sides of the Jewish political spectrum, from the Revisionists

Revisionist Zionism

Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...

 to the Communist

Palestine Communist Party

The Palestine Communist Party was a political party in British Mandate of Palestine formed in 1923 through the merger of the Palestinian Communist Party and the Communist Party of Palestine...

s. A separate body, Minhelet HaAm

Provisional government of Israel

The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed Israel from shortly before independence until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year....

 was set up as the proto-cabinet

Cabinet of Israel

The Cabinet of Israel is a formal body composed of government officials called ministers, chosen and led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must appoint members based on the distribution of votes to political parties during legislative elections, and its composition must be approved by a...

, all of whose members were also members of Moetzet HaAm.

On 14 May at 13:50, Moetzet HaAm met at the JNF

Jewish National Fund

The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...

 building in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

 to vote on the text of the declaration of independence. Despite disagreements over issues such as borders and religion, it was passed unanimously and the meeting ended at 15:00, an hour before the declaration was to be made. The 37 members were those that signed the declaration.

Following independence, the body was renamed the Provisional State Council. Its last meeting was held on 3 February 1949.

The council's titular figurehead, Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....

, was Israel's de-facto head of state until he was elected

Israeli presidential election, 1949

An election to choose the first President of Israel was held in the Knesset on 16 February 1949. The new president would replace the president of the Provisional State Council as head of state of Israel.-Candidates:There were two candidates:...

 president

President of Israel

The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...

 in February 1949.

Members

Party	Seats	Members
Mapai Mapai Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...	10	David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946... , Meir Argov Meir Argov Meir Argov was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Rîbniţa in the Russian Empire , Argov studied at a heder and then at Kiev University... , Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was a historian, Labor Zionist leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel.-Biography:... , Eliyahu Dobkin Eliyahu Dobkin Eliyahu Dobkin was a leading figure of the Labor Zionism movement, a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence and a founder of the Israel Museum. He was also heavily involved with the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organisation.-Biography:... , Eliezer Kaplan Eliezer Kaplan Eliezer Kaplan was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician, one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence and the country's first Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.-Biography:... , Avraham Katznelson Avraham Katznelson Dr Avraham Katznelson was a Zionist political figure in Mandate Palestine and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:Katznelson was born in 1888 in Babruysk in the Russian Empire, now in Belarus... , Golda Meir Golda Meir Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel.... , David Remez David Remez David Remez was an Israeli politician, the country's first Minister of Transportation, and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:... , Mordechai Shatner Mordechai Shatner Mordechai Shatner was a Zionist activist and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:A member of kibbutz Ein Harod, Shatner worked in Europe between the First and Second World Wars rescuing Jews, a period during which he met Adolf Eichmann... , Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.-Early life:...
General Zionists General Zionists The General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. Their political arm is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud.-History:...	3	Daniel Auster Daniel Auster right|thumb|Daniel AusterDaniel Auster was Mayor of Jerusalem in the final years of the British Mandate of Palestine, the first Jewish mayor of the city, and the first mayor of Jerusalem after Israeli independence.-Biography:... , Eliyahu Berligne Eliyahu Berligne Eliyahu Berligne was a founder of Tel Aviv, an important member of the Yishuv in Mandate Palestine and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:... , Peretz Bernstein Peretz Bernstein Peretz Bernstein was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...
Hatzohar Hatzohar Hatzohar , officially Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim was a Revisionist Zionist organisation and political party in Mandate Palestine and newly-independent Israel.-Background:...	3	Herzl Rosenblum Herzl Rosenblum Dr Herzl Rosenblum was an Israeli journalist and politician. A signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence, he worked as editor of Yedioth Ahronoth for more than 35 years.-Biography:... , Zvi Segal Zvi Segal Zvi Segal was a Revisionist Zionist activist and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.A member of the Irgun, Segal was deported to Eritrea by the British during the Mandate era. He served as vice-president of the Revisionist movement from 1940 until 1948, when he signed Israel's... , Ben-Zion Sternberg Ben-Zion Sternberg Ben-Zion Sternberg , Zionist and signatory of the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, was born in Czernowitz, Bukovina, a region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was born to a comparatively prosperous local Jewish family...
Mapam Mapam Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...	3	Mordechai Bentov Mordechai Bentov Mordechai Bentov was an Israeli journalist and politician, and was one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:... , Zvi Luria Zvi Luria Zvi Luria was a Jewish political figure in Mandate Palestine. A member of the Vaad Leumi, he was amongst the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.... , Aharon Zisling Aharon Zisling Aharon Zisling was an Israeli politician and minister and a signatory of Israel's declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Minsk in the Russian Empire , Zisling emigrated to Palestine in 1904...
Mizrachi Mizrachi (political party) Mizrachi was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day National Religious Party.-History:The Mizrachi movement was founded in 1902 in Vilnius as a religious Zionist organisation. It also had a trade union, Hapoel HaMizrachi, started in 1921...	3	Wolf Gold Wolf Gold Rabbi Wolf Gold was a rabbi, Jewish activist, and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independenceBorn in Stettin, Germany he was a descendant on his father's side from at least eight generations of rabbis. Gold's first teacher was his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Yehoshuah... , Yehuda Leib Maimon Yehuda Leib Maimon Yehuda Leib Maimon was an Israeli rabbi, politician and leader of the religious Zionism movement, originating from Bessarabia.-Biography:Born in 1875 in Mărculeşti, Bessarabia , Maimon studied in a number of yeshivot and received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, the author of... , David-Zvi Pinkas David-Zvi Pinkas David-Zvi Pinkas was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. A signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence, he was the country's third Minister of Transport.-Biography:...
New Aliyah Party New Aliyah Party The New Aliyah Party was a political party in Mandate Palestine and Israel.The party was established in 1942 by immigrants from Austria and Germany who had arrived in Palestine during the Fifth Aliyah. In the fourth Assembly of Representatives formed in 1944, the party had 18 seats , making it the... / Progressive Party Progressive Party (Israel) The Progressive Party was a political party in Israel.-History:The Progressive Party was a liberal party, most of whose founders came from the ranks of the New Aliyah Party and HaOved HaTzioni, which had been active prior to independence...	3	Avraham Granot Avraham Granot Avraham Granot was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:Granot was born in Făleşti, Bessarabia in the Russian Empire . He attended Gymnasia Herzliya in Tel Aviv... , Moshe Kol Moshe Kol Moshe Kol was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Pinsk in the Russian Empire , Kol studied at a heder and Hebrew high school in his home town, and was one of the founders of HaOved HaTzioni youth... , Pinchas Rosen Pinchas Rosen Pinchas Rosen was an Israeli politician and statesman, and the country's first Minister of Justice, serving three times during 1948-51, 1952–56, and 1958-61. He was also leader of the Independent Liberals during the 1960s.-Biography:...
Agudat Israel Agudat Israel Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...	2	Meir David Loewenstein Meir David Loewenstein Meir David Loewenstein was an Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Copenhagen in Denmark in 1904, Loewenstein studied at a business school in Switzerland and a rabbinical seminary in Amsterdam... , Yitzhak Meir Levin
Hapoel HaMizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi |Mizrachi]] Workers) was a political party and settlement movement in Israel and is one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party.-History:...	2	Haim-Moshe Shapira Haim-Moshe Shapira Haim-Moshe Shapira was a key Israeli politician in the early days of the state's existence. A signatory of Israel's declaration of independence, he served continuously as a minister from the country's foundation in 1948 until his death in 1970 apart from a brief spell in the late... , Zerach Warhaftig Zerach Warhaftig Rabbi Dr. Zerach Warhaftig was an Israeli lawyer and politician and a signatory of Israel's Declaration of Independence.-Background:Warhaftig was born in Volkovysk in the Russian Empire in 1906. His parents were Yerucham Warhaftig and Rivka Fainstein...
Agudat Israel Workers Agudat Israel Workers Poalei Agudat Yisrael was a political party in Poland, and is a minor political party and settlement movement in Israel. It is also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew acronym .-History:...	1	Kalman Kahana Kalman Kahana Kalman Kahana was a long-serving Israeli politician and journalist, and a signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence.He was the brother of Yitzhak Kahan, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel.-Background:...
Ahdut HaAvoda - Poale Zion Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party....	1	Berl Repetur Berl Repetur Berl Repetur was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Ruzhyn in the Russian Empire , Repetur was educated in a heder, and was a member of the Dror and HeHalutz youth movements...
Poale Zion Left Poale Zion Poale Zion was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish workers circles founded in various cities of the Russian Empire about the turn of the century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.-Formation and early years:Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the Jewish diaspora in the...	1	Nahum Nir Nahum Nir Dr Nahum Nir was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence. He is the only Speaker of the Knesset to date not to have been a member of the ruling party.-Biography:...
Palestine Communist Party Palestine Communist Party The Palestine Communist Party was a political party in British Mandate of Palestine formed in 1923 through the merger of the Palestinian Communist Party and the Communist Party of Palestine... /Maki Maki (historical political party) Maki was a communist political party in Israel. It is not the same party as the modern day Maki, which split from it during the 1960s and later assumed its name.-History:...	1	Meir Vilner Meir Vilner Meir Vilner was an Israeli communist politician and Jewish leader of the Communist Party of Israel , which consisted primarily of Israeli Arabs...  (replaced by Shmuel Mikunis Shmuel Mikunis Shmuel Mikunis was an communist Israeli politician and member of the Knesset from 1949 until 1973.-Biography:Born in the Russian Empire in what today is Ukraine, Mikunis immigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1921...  following independence)
Sephardim and Oriental Communities Sephardim and Oriental Communities Sephardim and Oriental Communities was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud party.-History:The Sephardim and Oriental Communities party represented Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who were already living in Israel at the time of independence, and was part...	1	Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit was an Israeli politician, minister and the only signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence to have been born in the country...
WIZO Women's International Zionist Organization The Women's International Zionist Organization , is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora.-History:...	1	Rachel Cohen-Kagan Rachel Cohen-Kagan Rachel Cohen-Kagan was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician, and one of only two women to sign the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:...
Yemenite Association Yemenite Association The Yemenite Association was a political party in Israel.-History:The party was founded by Yemenite Jews in 1923. It took part in Israel's first elections in 1949, crossing the electoral threshold by just 53 votes, and winning one seat, which was taken by Zecharia Glosca.Despite the influx of...	1	Saadia Kobashi Saadia Kobashi Saadia Kobashi was a leader of the Yemenite Jewish community in Israel, and one of the signatories of the country's declaration of independence.Born in Yemen, he immigrated to Ottoman Palestine in 1909, settling in Jerusalem....
Independent	1	Yitzhak Gruenbaum Yitzhak Gruenbaum Yitzhak Gruenbaum was a noted leader of the Zionist movement among Polish Jewry between the two world wars and of the Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine, and the first Interior Minister of Israel.-Education and journalistic career:Gruenbaum was born in Warsaw, Poland...

External links

• Historical overview of the Provisional State Council Knesset website
• Provisional State Council Knesset website