Local councils (Hebrew plural: מוֹעָצוֹת מְקוֹמִיּוֹת, romanized: Mo'atzot Mekomiot;[1] singular: מוֹעָצָה מְקוֹמִיתMo'atza Mekomit; Arabic plural: مجالس محليّة, romanized: Majalis Mahaliyya; singular: مجلس محلّيMajlis Mahallī)[2] are one of the three types of local government found in Israel, the other two being cities and regional councils. There are 124 local councils in Israel,[3] including 69 Arab local councils.[4]
Local councils should not be confused with local committees, which are lower-level administrative entities.
History
Local council status is determined by passing a minimum threshold: enough to justify operations as independent municipal units, although not of a scale large enough to be declared a city.[5][6] In general this applies to all settlements of over 2,000 people.[6]
The Israeli Interior Minister has the authority of to decide if a locality meets the requirements of a municipal council (a city). The minister then reviews the residents request, which may include the locality remaining a local council despite meeting the city status requirements (e.g., Ramat HaSharon, which did not become a city until 2002 due to its residents wanting to preserve its image as a small town), or becoming part of a regional council . [5]
The Union of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI) is the umbrella organization of local councils which represents their collective interests vis-à-vis the national government. It traces its roots to the League of National Councils, which had been established under 1938 under the British Mandate.[7]
