The Israeli Knesset. Credit: James Emery

JNS.org – On Monday night, the curtain closed on one of the shortest Knesset terms in Israel’s history. After only 20 months, members of the Israeli legislature voted to dissolve the 19th Knesset and hold new elections on March 17, 2015.

The legislation to dissolve the Knesset and hold early elections was approved by a 93-0 vote. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet all voted in favor. Last week, finance minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni were dismissed from Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

“In summing up [this] Knesset, there are more things I hope won’t repeat themselves than things we will miss,” Knesset House Committee Chairman Yariv Levin (Likud) said, according to Israel Hayom. “The huge challenges we faced and the complexity of dealing with them, as well as the responsibility, weren’t always expressed in [the Knesset’s] conduct.”