Dr. Shuki Friedman

"These conversions now have official recognition of what is perhaps the most important Israeli law: the Law of Return" 

In the second wave of the pandemic it seems that many ultra-Orthodox rabbis are assigning higher priority to 'customer retention' than to the clear halakhic imperative to preserve health and life

IDI experts present analysis of recent behavior of the ultra-Orthodox sector and present recommendations for an exit strategy from the lockdown, to be applied in the coming weeks and months.

IDI experts analyze recent behavior of the ultra-Orthodox sector and present recommendations for a staggered exit strategy from the lockdown.

The coronavirus crisis proves once again that the lives of all Israelis are intertwined with those of the ultra-Orthodox and the country cannot be sustained with an autonomy living behind closed walls. Without shared responsibility for public health - 'normal life' will not be possible the post-COVID-19 era

Political positions, ideologies and worldviews, support for the Prime Minister or opposition to him—have been transformed into religious beliefs - a dangerous development for the future of Israeli society

Protest is essential during lockdown. So is prayer. Even if freedom of expression is constitutionally ranked above communal prayer, tipping the scales between them undermines public confidence.

As Israel has grappled with the resurgence of COVID-19, tribalism has become more fierce as the country shifted from a state with a deep-seated sense of solidarity to a society in which the interests of one’s own sector comes first.

The Kashrut market in Israel is still very much a monopoly market driven and all of Israelis are paying the price

Jewish communities around the world have been hard-hit by the coronavirus and are still struggling to deal with its implications. In an in-depth study, Dr. Shuki Friedman and Gabriel Abensour analyze how the pandemic has created challenges for halakha (Jewish law) and upended communal life and what these communities should be preparing for when this crisis finally subsides.

Tel Aviv wants to set its own policies, regardless of what the rest of the nation desires. It will go it alone, but will still take funds from the national government.

Reinforcing the Rabbinate's monopoly on conversion to Judaism places unnecessary roadblocks before those who want to join the Jewish people and deepens the rift with the Diaspora

After three contentious election campaigns Israel's new government has been sworn in. IDI's experts weigh-in with their recommendations on the most important issues on the agenda. Dr. Shuki Friedman on the challenges facing the 35th government in matters of religion and state.

Calls for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry the day after the corona, in the midst of the crisis, can lead decision-makers to make decisions based on wrong considerations

After years of struggles over issues related to religion and state, we hereby agree to adopt a new approach, which will create a covenant to provide a new system of arrangements and agreements to strengthen the link between the Israeli public and the Jewish identity of the State of Israel.

Jewish Diaspora communities find it hard to identify with Israel and Israel's Jewery.

Rabbis are not necessarily any better or worse than other politicians.

Turning 1.2 million Israelis with FSU origins into a state-sanctioned punching bag is intolerable, and calls for radical and immediate change

Israel's once sacrosanct status quo seems less relevant than ever, with the essence of what it means to be a Jewish state in flux and at stake.

Recent elections have brought to fore the struggle between religion and state - the balance between the constitutional elecemtns and the place of religion. In this tug-of-war, a compromise can be the only victory.

Jewish solidarity is an existential imperative. As we mark the solemn day of Tisha B'Av, Dr. Friedman reflects on the importance of strengthening the common denominator among all Jewish communities. 

An unflattering US report on freedom of religion would have us believe that Israel is being run by an ayatollah-like regime. While some limits to freedom of religion exist, Israel is a free country

Many Israeli policies only influence Israeli citizens. But when it comes to questions of Jewish identity, every decision and every statement made reverberates throughout the Jewish world.

In today’s world of big data, it is easy to imagine what the impact would be of a single database containing information about their Jewishness—of Israelis and Jews around the world.

Change will come only by engaging in an extended struggle over values, and by offering a true Jewish-democratic alternative in which both components are strong and complement one another

The merger between the Jewish Home party and Otzma LeYisrael marks the end of an era. Since the founding of the State of Israel, the prominent Religious-Zionist parties have played a central role – yet they have now joined forces with the dangerous fringes on the extreme right

Full separation of religion and state isn't possible, but why is the Chief Rabbinate in the kashrut business?

Israeli society is becoming increasingly polarized with each group holding a very different view of democracy and the State of Israel

In an op-ed for the Jerusalem Post, Dr. Shuki Friedman, Head of IDI's Center for Religion, Nation and State, explains how local government plays a critical role in balancing religion and state in day-to-day life in Israel.

A recent law stripped local authorities of the power to decide on allowing commercial activity on Shabbat and handed it over to the Minister of the Interior, a development which was met with public uproar. Would it not be better to leave these powers in the hands of the municipalities, which act according to the profile of their resident population? Dr. Shuki Friedman makes the case for leaving these decisions in the hands of the local authority.

The centrality granted to the Jewish component over the democratic one in the constitutional identity of the state and the increasing influence of religion on the lives of Israelis make defining Judaism all the more important

The rift between the Israeli Jewish community (as opposed to the Israeli government) and the U.S. Jewish community is not as deep as it is portrayed in the media.

- “The decision is questionable. If the government is really interested in avoiding desecration of the Sabbath, and in ensuring a day of rest, it should focus its energy on stopping the illegal work currently being performed on the Sabbath, which according to reports by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, is rarely done.

Israel has evolved into an economic and military superpower; what must we mourn?

This bill is superfluous and will do far more harm than good. In its newly revised version, the Nation-State Bill, which has been problematic since its inception, reaches new lows by effectively abandoning Diaspora Jewry. 

Leading public figures avoid dealing with issues that are of national importance when it entails confronting the ultra-Orthodox community.

Step by step, the Chief Rabbinate is turning itself into the central source of halakhic legitimacy not just within Israel’s borders but beyond them, and becoming a global force through securing its power all over the Jewish world.

More than 25 years ago, the “Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty” affirmed that Israel is a “Jewish” and “democratic” state but did not define either of these terms in the Israeli context. Now is the time for us to turn to the Jewish identity that has been adopted by a large portion of Israel’s Jews and allow it to shape the country’s Jewish character.

No matter when they take place, the upcoming elections will have a decisive impact on the identity of the state if decision-makers and the general public continue to follow the ultra-Orthodox lead

Rabbis outside the Reform and Conservative movements rarely deal with Jewish-values issues such as the asylum seekers and treatment of the Palestinians

For decades, religious and ultra-Orthodox members of Knesset, backed and encouraged by their rabbis, have worked to inject the secular state with as much Judaism as possible. Over the course of 70 years, the results of this ongoing effort have been minimal, but the price paid by Judaism has been great.

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Dickens’s words seem a highly apt way of describing the current state of the Jewish people, and the relationship between the two largest Jewish communities in the world – those in Israel and the United States.

For many American Jews, identification with the State of Israel is a significant component of their Jewish identity.

How both faiths can use their common threads and customs as a means to connect, dialogue and cooperate.

Is our country and society doomed to continually follow the same path of repeated crisis, or has the time finally come for us to plot a new course?

A country that comes to a standstill for one whole day and doesn’t derive anything significant from it is missing the point.

The implications of the Supreme Court's ruling go far beyond the Kashrut market.

Instead of Judaism being what unites Jews in Israel with Jews around the world, our religion has become the main source of conflict.

The recent challenges at the Kotel are but a symptom of an ever-increasing problem.

Israel's very legitimacy as a Jewish state is under attack.

As a second generation Holocaust survivor, Dr. Shuki Friedman says that, "beyond the responsibility of building our own lives and the state, there is also a personal responsibility not only to remember, but to pass on remembrance to the next generation."

The Exodus from Egypt is what brought Israelites their freedom and made them into a nation.

A summary of the legal situation in Israel regarding Shabbat observance.

While Europeans are trying to maintain their sense of ownership over the public sphere, restrictions on religious expression in the public domain strike at Muslims’ most basic of rights: to continue living their lives as guided by the dictates of their own conscience. Will there be a religious-based civil war? This article was first published by the Independent Journal Review.

The upcoming High Holidays are an opportunity to expand our perception beyond our selves and communities. This article was first published by the New York Jewish Week.

IDI's Shuki Friedman laments the existence of separate education systems for each sector of Israel's population, which reinforce, rather than bridge societal divides. This op-ed first appeared on Times of Israel.

The expected election of Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States will affect Israel in a great number of ways, but one of them is rather different and unexpected: Her election will certainly influence the question of religion and state. This op-ed was first published by Haaretz.

The inflammatory statements made about Reform Judaism at the recent First Zion and Jerusalem Conference are not merely old rhetoric, but rather a national ultra-Orthodox (Hardal) declaration of a holy war against the spread of pluralistic Judaism in Israel.

Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. These two characteristics are critical to the country’s existence. This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

What does Shabbat and its observance look like in the State of Israel? Can every individual enjoy this day of rest in the way he/she chooses? Are there actually individuals who are forced to give up Shabbat as a result of a lack of choice or economic coercion? IDI scholar Dr. Shuki Friedman explains in this article which originally appeared on eJewish Philanthropy.

The Jewish people have been debating questions of Jewish identity and the definition of "who is a Jew" for thousands of years. While this debate has worn different faces and taken on different shapes at different times, it is a debate that has weighed on all sects and sectors of Jewish society. However, with the formation of the State of Israel, and especially over recent years, there is a palpable feeling that there are two nations caring out separate and different discussions. One lives and operates out of Israel; the other is overseas. This op-ed originally appeared in the Jewish Week.

The Supreme Court’s decision to recognize conversions performed by private Orthodox rabbinical courts in Israel is nothing less than a historic drama. The immediate significance is the loss of the Chief Rabbinate’s Orthodox monopoly over conversions, but it’s also a milestone in the privatization of religious services on the road to the Chief Rabbinate’s loss of relevance. Originally published by Haaretz.

Dr. Shuki Friedman, head of the IDI Center for Nation, Religion and State, said the bill's declared purpose is to attack the decision by the Supreme Court. Moreover, this bill would give the Chief Rabbinate unbridled authority over the mikvehs.

Dr. Shuki Friedman reminds us that the values that are so deeply rooted in our Jewish worldview, are part and parcel with the democratic values of our state and its outlook on the obligation to preserve life and human dignity using the rule of law.

According to Dr. Shuki Friedman, the rabbinate's failure to provide adequate religious services caused the current trend towards privatization of religious services, which is creating a de-facto separation between religion and the state.

To what extent should the Rabbinate interfere in a citizen's plate? Dr. Shuki Friedman, argues that kosher supervision should be based on trust not coercion, and warns that the attempt to preserve the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly on the kosher laws is a symptom of a larger problem.

As the new government begins its work, Dr. Shuki Friedman, Director of IDI's Center for Religion, Nation and State offers recommendations to MK David Azoulay, Minister of Religious Services, on how to keep the rabbinate relevant and improve its standing in Israeli society.