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President
Yohanan (Johan) Plesner is President of the Israel Democracy Institute. In 2006, he became the first Secretary-General of Israel's new ruling party, Kadima, and spearheaded the creation of the party's organizational infrastructure. From 2007 to 2013, he served as a Member of Knesset and was a member of the Constitution, Law and Justice, and Defense and Foreign Affairs Committees, Co-chair of the Knesset Lobby for Higher Education, and Chairman of the Knesset's permanent delegation to the Council of Europe.
Vice President, Research
Suzie Navot is a full professor of constitutional and parliamentary law and, prior to her appointment, was a member of the faculty of the Striks School of Law at the College of Management Academic Studies. She earned a bachelor's degree in law from Tel Aviv University, an M.A in public policy from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tel Aviv University and holds a doctorate in law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Vice President, Research; William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy
Prof. Karnit Flug joined IDI in June 2019 as its Vice President of Research and the William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy.
Prof. Karnit Flug completed her five-year term as Governor of the Bank of Israel in November 2018. In March 2019 she joined the Department of Economics at the Hebrew University.
As Governor, Prof. Flug oversaw the design and implementation of Israel's monetary policy and served as the Economic Advisor to the government. She was widely credited for maintaining stability and supporting growth in the Israeli economy.
Vice President, Strategy
Jesse Ferris is Vice President of Strategy at IDI, where he oversees strategic planning, organizational development, and international programs. His research interests include diplomatic and military history, Middle Eastern politics, nuclear strategy and Israeli national security.
Director of the Center for Governance and the Economy, Head of the Economic Reform Program and Director of the Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society
Daphna Aviram-Nitzan has held the position of Director of the Center for Governance and the Economy since 2016 along with serving as the Director of the annual Eli Hurvitz Conference for Economy and Society.
Between 2002-2016, Aviram-Nitzan was the Director of the Economic Research division and the Chief Economist at the Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) and the economic advisor of the President of the business sector. Before that (1994 – 2002) Daphna served as an economist in several positions in the MAI's research and strategy department. She is the former chairman of the board of directors of Clal Finance-Mutual Funds and currently serves as an External Director of companies in the Israeli capital market.
Academic Director, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research; Senior Fellow
Prof. Tamar Hermann is a Senior Research Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and the Academic Director of the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research. The Center applies rigorous, innovative and pioneering research methods to document the attitudes of the Israeli public regarding thousands of issues in all aspects of life: politics, culture, ideology, religion, education and national security.
Director, Center for Democratic Values and Institutions
Anat Thon-Ashkenazy is an attorney and social activist. In her most recent position as executive director of Itach-Maaki– Women Lawyers for Social Justice- she promoted programs working towards gender equality on the national and municipal levels, with an emphasis on the needs of women from disenfranchised populations.
Director, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society; Head, the Religion and State Program at the Center
Co-founded and co-directed Itim – the Jewish Life Advocacy Center– an organization that committed to increasing participation in Jewish life by making Israel’s religious establishment respectful of and responsive to the diverse Jewish needs of the Jewish people. In this capacity, she has appeared before the Rabbinic Courts on issues of conversion, marriage, and divorce.
Director, Center for Security and Democracy
Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer serves as the Director of the Center for National Security and Democracy since September 2022.
Prior, Eran served for over 20 years in various positions in the International Law Department of the Military Advocate General's Corps in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including as the head of the department, and retired at the rank of Colonel.
Senior Fellow, Center for Governance and the Economy
Professor Atar is a senior faculty member at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University. He is an empirical researcher in economics and strategy and focuses on increasing understanding of the factors behind the high cost of living in Israel. Since the beginning of 2023, he has been editor of the "Quarterly Journal of Economics.” At the Israel Democracy Institute, he focuses on research relating to high of cost of living and housing.
Head, the Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Program on National Security and the Law; Senior Fellow
amichai@idi.org.il
Professor Amichai Cohen is a member of the Faculty of Law at Ono Academic College. He earned his LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his LL.M. and LL.D. from Yale Law School at Yale University.
Guest Senior Fellow
Tomer Lotan has served as CEO of the Ministry of National Security during the years 2021-2022. Prior to this he established and led “Magen Isael”, the national headquarters in the fight against Covid-19. Tomer is an expert in public governance and policy who has held a variety of positions in the government and civil society. He has consistently worked to strengthen and improve Israeli public service.
Senior Fellow, Economic Reform Program
ymargalit@idi.org.il
Professor Margalit headed a large, experimental cross-national study of the investment decisions of multinational firms, a project that he developed and carried out in collaboration with the World Bank and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
Senior Fellow, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program, Religion and State Program
A senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the director of the Matz Institute for Jewish Law. After completing his doctorate at the Hebrew University, he was hosted as a post-doctoral fellow by the University of Toronto
Senior Fellow at the Democratic Values and Institutions Program and at the Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Program on National Security and the Law
Among other things, he has researched questions of right to equality, security detention, interrogation techniques, on-line surveillance and content moderation, military investigations, proportionality in the application of force, jurisdiction of international criminal tribunals and counterterrorism.
Head, Democracy in the Information Age Program; Senior Fellow
tehilla@idi.org.il
Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler is a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and head of the institute’s Media Reform Program and Democracy in the Information Age Program.
She holds a doctorate in law (LLD) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and completed her post-doctoral studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
She is a board member of the Israel National Press Council, a board member of the Israeli Digital Rights Movement, a board member of the Center for Ethics in Jerusalem and a member of the Supreme Council of Archives of the State of Israel.
In recent years, Dr. Shwartz Altshuler has composed the journalistic code of ethics for Israel’s public broadcasting corporation (“Kan”) and for the Globes business newspaper; drafted a bill for a new privacy law in Israel; and appeared regularly in the Israeli and international media on issues relating to media, technology, democracy, and human rights. She has also published a number of books, articles, policy studies, and expert opinions on these subjects.
Senior Fellow, Religion and State Program
Prof. Daniel Statman is a lecturer at the Philosophy department of the University of Haifa and specializes in ethics and political philosophy. He has served on several public committees, including the committee that revised the ethical code for the IDF, the committee that is responsible for decisions on new medicines to be covered by the national medical insurance, and the ethical committee of Ha-Emek hospital.
Research Fellow and Research Consultant
Research Fellow and Research Consultant
danabl@idi.org.il
Dr. Dana Blander is a Research Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and an expert clinical psychologist. Her doctoral thesis - "ambivalence as a challenge to the political order" - which combines political philosophy with psychoanalytic insights won the Alex Berger Award of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 2008. She served as a guest lecturer at Tufts University in Boston in the years 2010-2011.
Research Fellow, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program
Dr. Lee Cahaner, a social geographer, is a senior lecturer and head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Oranim Academic College of Education. Cahaner is also a research associate in the Israel Democracy Institute's Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program.
Head, Civil Service Reform Program
RitaG@idi.org.il
Research Fellow, Political Reform Program
ofer.kenig@idi.org.il
Prof. Ofer Kenig is a senior lecturer in Ashkelon Academic College and a research fellow in Israel Democracy Institute. His areas of research include comparative politics, political parties, leadership and candidate selection and Israeli politics. He co-authored the books Reforming Israel's Political System (2013), The Promise and Challenge of Party Primary Elections (2016) and From Party Politics to Personalized Politics (2018).
Research Fellow, Democratic Values and Institutions Program
guyl3@idi.org.il
Dr. Guy Lurie is an attorney and holds a PhD in History from Georgetown University (2013). He a former coordinator of the Shamgar Commission for the Formulation of Rules of Ethics for Members of the Government, and served as a post-doctoral fellow on the Faculty of Law at the University of Haifa.
Research Fellow, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program
giladm@idi.org.il
Dr. Gilad Malach is a research fellow at IDI's Ultra-Orthodox in Israel program. He co-authored the Master Plan for Ultra-Orthodox Employment (along with Doron Cohen and Haim Zicherman) and was editor of the Statistical Report on Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel (in copperation with Dr. Lee Cahaner and Dr. Maya Choshen).
He was director of implementation of the Gabison-Meidan Covenant Project at the Avi Chai Foundation and content manager of the Committee on Sharing the Security Burden in the Eighteenth Knesset.
Head, Political Reform Program
assafs@idi.org.il
Assaf Shapira received a PhD in Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and at the Centre d’études européennes (Center for European Studies) at the Sciences po (Paris).
His research largely focuses on political representation, political parties, the role of money in politics, and reforms in Israel's public service.
Researcher, Democracy in the Information Age Program
rachela@idi.org.il
Dr. Adv. Rachel Aridor Hershkovitz is a researcher in the Israel Democracy Institute’s Media Reform program and a research fellow at the Haifa Center for Law and Technology at the University of Haifa.
Researcher, Arab Society in Israel Program
Areas of expertise: Sociology of education, inequality, social stratification, mobility, social class, ethnicity, educational choice, and youth. Badran holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology at the University of Haifa (January 2021). The title of his doctoral research is "Stratification Consequences of Educational Choices: Elementary School Choice by Arab Parents in Israel" (under the guidance of Prof. Meir Yaish).
ahmedb@idi.org.il
Research Assistant, Democratic Values and Institutions Program
daphneb@idi.org.il
Daphne is a research assistant at the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions. She holds an LL.B and an LL.M, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has clerked at the Supreme Court in the chambers of Justice Neal Hendel.
Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program and Religion and State Program
elibe@idi.org.il
Eliyahu is a PhD student in Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a graduate of ‘Ateret Israel’ and ‘Mir’ yeshivas.
He has a Masters in Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University and a BA in Humanities from the Open University of Israel.
Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program
giladc@idi.org.il
Gilad is an economist and a sociologist by training, a graduate of the PPE program (philosophy, economics, political science) for a bachelor's degree and the economics program for a master's degree (research track), both from the Hebrew University, and is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University.
Researcher at the Religion and State Program and the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program; Head of the Local Authority Project, Civil Service Reform Program
ArielF@idi.org.il
Dr. Ariel Finkelstein holds s bachelor's degree from the Integrated Program for Philosophy, Economics and Political Science at Hebrew University, and a Master's degree in Public Policy, with a specialization in local government administration and management from Haifa University, as part of the Ministry of Local Government's "Cadets for Local Government" program.
Senior Researcher, Center for Democratic Values and Institutions
amirfuchs@idi.org.il
Dr. Amir Fuchs holds a doctorate from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a lecturer in the Politics and Communication Department at the School of Government and Social Sciences at Hadassah Academic College.
Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program
Doctoral student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Has an MA in Criminology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a lecturer at the Ono Academic College.
Her PhD thesis deals with religious violence between ultra-orthodox spouses. Her research in general deals with the study of the ultra-orthodox society in Israel: trends of change in this society, religious and cultural perceptions and ideology, Rabbinical leadership and interfaces between culture and religiosity.
Research Assistant, Religion and State Program and Local Authority Project at the Public Sector Reform Program
ayalag@idi.org.il
Research assistant in the Religion and State program at the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society, and a local governance project within the Public Service Reform program. Holds a Bachelor's degree in the PPE program from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Currently a Master's student in government and public policy at the Open University.
Research Assistant, Political Reform Program
asafh@idi.org.il
Asaf holds a bachelor's and master’s degree in political science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His thesis presented on a comparative study of political parties in local government in Israel. At IDI, Asaf researches local politics in Israel and explores ways to promote local democracy in Israel. As part of this, Asaf focuses on studying the activities of political parties in Israel's local government and the local electoral system.
Research Assistant, Economic Reform Program
zakh@idi.org.il
Zak researches intergenerational mobility, changes in workers' skills and tasks, and environmental employment policies.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, economics, and political science from Tel Aviv University. He is currently a Master's student in economics in the joint .research track of the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University
Researcher, Democratic Values and Institutions Program
morank@idi.org.il
Researcher and lecturer in the fields of public law. Dr. Kandelshtein-Haina holds a doctorate from the Faculty of Law at the Bar-Ilan University and is a lecturer in the school of Law at the Netanya Academic College. The doctoral thesis she wrote dealt with the constitutional status of the prime minister in parliamentary systems. Areas of expertise: institutional constitutional law, administrative law, the Executive.
Researcher, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research
Yaronk@idi.org.il
Holds a master’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Bar Ilan University, specializing in social psychology, and has extensive experience in conducting and analyzing market research and opinion polls. Previously served as a quantitative researcher at consulting firms and research institutes.
Researcher, Economic Reform Program
roek@idi.org.il
Roe came to the institute with experience in policy research, data analysis, and report writing in both the public and private sectors. He conducted research for the labor force on future employment trends, characteristics of special populations in the workforce, and remote work. He also dealt with improving data infrastructure for the avodata website. Additionally, as part of his work at the economic consulting firm ERCG, he was a consultant for the Ministry of Finance regarding natural gas royalties.
At IDI, Roe is involved in research on unemployment, social mobility, and remote work. He is responsible for current economic analyses based on the center's needs. Roi graduated with honors from the PPE, combined program in Philosophy, Political Science and Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Researcher, Arab Society in Israel Program
MohammedK@idi.org.il
Holds a PhD from the School of Political Science at the University of Haifa on the subject: "The role and survival of primordial structures in modern politics: A Neo-Institutional Analysis of Clan Continuity in Arab Politics in Israel."
Research Assistant, Center for Security and Democracy
miritsh@idi.org.il
Adv. Mirit Sharabi-Lavi holds a bachelor's degree in law from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a master's degree (cum laude) in international dispute settlement and arbitration from Leiden University. Before she started working at the IDI, Mirit worked at the Israeli Embassy to the Netherlands, focusing on international law and the various international courts and organizations in The Hague. She also worked at the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (International Law) in the Israeli Ministry of Justice, in the fields of international economic law and international technology law. She previously conducted research in the fields of space law, cyber law and privacy law.
Senior Researcher, Center for Security and Democracy
yaelz@idi.org.il
Dr. Yael Litmanovitz holds an MSc and a doctorate from the University of Oxford. Her thesis developed the evidence-base for police training in democratic societies. She worked with Israeli Border Police to design and trial a training intervention on procedurally just policing of protests.
Since 2008 she has collaborated with and studied police organizations in Israel and abroad, focusing on issues of police reform, police training, fair and equitable policing, and evidence-based policing. Her papers have been published in leading journals.
She is also a Teaching Fellow at Centre for Criminology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, teaching policing-related undergraduate courses as part of the Israel Police academicization program.
Prior to joining IDI, Dr. Litmanovitz was a Researcher at the Myer-JDC Brookdale Institute, where she worked with the Arab Society Research Group, leading the comprehensive evaluation of the five-year socio-economic development plan for the Bedouin population.
Research Assistant, Civil Service Reform Program
Shahar holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master's degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, both with exceptional distinction. Currently, she is pursuing a doctoral degree in Health Systems Management at the same university, focusing on readiness and coping with the climate crisis in resource-scarce environments as part of an international team.
She has experience in policy research, evaluation and measurement, and strategic planning from various research institutes in Israel and from service in public sector. She is skilled in designing and editing interdisciplinary research and conducting mixed-methods studies, as well as facilitating public engagement processes with diverse audiences.
Senior Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program
asafm@idi.org.il
Dr. Asaf Malchi is a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, in the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel program. His research focuses on current social and economic trends in the community, in the areas of employment, higher education, military and Civilian National Service, and more. These studies provide important input to decision makers in crafting policy on the ultra-Orthodox.
Research Assistant, Civil Service Reform Program
ofirm@idi.org.il
Holds a Bachelor’s in PPE (Philosophy, Political Science and Economics) and the Amirim Interdisciplinary Honors Program in the Humanities from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Worked as a research assistant for several political science researchers in Israel and abroad. Assisted in research projects about analyzing levels of nationalism and populism in the UK and US, ranking levels of populism and nationalism in past speeches given by Israeli prime ministers, and the effects of gender biases on violence against women in the US.
Also assisted Dr. Elyakim Cislev from the Federmann School of Public Policy and Governance in the Hebrew University with the analysis of responses given by the elderly in Israel to a survey on the government’s responsive policy towards senior citizens following the events of the 7th of October, 2023.
Senior Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program
rivkan@idi.org.il
Dr. Rivka Neriya Ben-Shahar is a senior lecturer at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, Israel, teaching courses in research methods, communication, religion, and gender. Her doctorate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was entitled "Ultra-Orthodox Women and Mass Media in Israel – Exposure Patterns and Reading Strategies."
She was a Fulbright post-doctoral fellow and a Scholar in Residence at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis University, and worked on a study of women's cultural-religious praxes.
Dr. Neriya Ben-Shahar researches the mass media from the perspectives of religion and gender. Her most recent research project addresses the tension between religious values and new technologies among Old Order Amish women and Jewish ultra-Orthodox women.
Research Assistant, Democratic Values and Institutions Program
sapirz@idi.org.il
Advocate Paz completed her L.L.B (magna cum laude) at the Hebrew University in 2020. She completed her legal internship in the State Attorney's office at the High Court of Justice Department and was licensed as a lawyer in Israel in 2021.
In 2022, she worked as a law clerk to Judge Eyal Avrahami, the President of the Regional Labor Court in Jerusalem, and later as law clerk to Judge Varda Virt-Livne, the President of the National Labor Court of Israel.
Sapir is also a Masters student in the Critical Cultural Studies program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Research Assistant, Arab Society in Israel Program
litalp@idi.org.il
Lital Piller is a second-year research master’s student at Tel Aviv University. Her research focuses on the representation of the Arab-Palestinian minority in the land administration institutions in Israel.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in law and a bachelor’s in government (both with distinction) from Reichman University. Until 2017, she worked as a lawyer in the Administrative Law Department at the Spigelman Koren Zamir & Co. law firm. There, she provided legal advice in the field of administrative law, including local government, tenders, contracts, and litigation in administrative, commercial and civil matters. She was involved in drafting tenders and contracts for clients in the public sector, providing legal opinions, accompanying, and participating in tender committees, and representing clients in legal proceedings in various courts, including administrative courts.
In addition, she works as a teaching assistant and research assistant in the field of constitutional law, intellectual property, and international law.
Researcher, Economic Reform Program
nadavp@idi.org.il
Holds a joint degree in law and economics and Master's degree in economics at the Hebrew University.
primary research interests encompass labor market dynamics, the cost of living, and the impact of climate-change on labor market.
Researcher, Arab Society in Israel Program
arikr@idi.org.il
Dr. Rudnitzky has been researching Arab Israeli issues for almost two decades. His fields of expertise cover political, national and social developments in Israel's Arab society; Jewish-Arab relations; and government policies on Arabs in Israel.
Rudnitzky holds PhD degree from the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University, as well as MA (magna cum laude) and BA degrees in Middle Eastern History from the Faculty of Humanities and an MBA degree from the Faculty of Management, Tel Aviv University.
Research Assistant, Civil Service Reform Program
maayanp@idi.org.il
Maayan is a policy researcher with management experience in organizations focused on human rights advocacy, economic justice, and social impact innovation. Prior to joining the Institute, Maayan served as an account manager at a social impact incubator, a disability case manager, braille teacher, and a researcher at international organizations, including the UN and the OECD. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from Columbia University as an International Fellow grantee and obtained her Bachelor’s degree (BA) in Anthropology and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania as a Civic Scholar.
Researcher, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research
InnaS@idi.org.il
Has a master's degree in economics from a university in Moscow, with extensive experience in applied quantitative research (market research, public opinion, and evaluation).
Research Assistant, Public Sector Reform Program
davidn@idi.org.il
David is a graduate of the Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Program for Outstanding Students at Tel Aviv University, and holds an MA degree in Public Policy in the field of Development Economics, with high distinction. He has extensive experience in designing, executing, and managing interdisciplinary research in Southeast Asia and Africa.
Head the Climate Change Project: Israel 2050
erezs@idi.org.il
Since 2019 Erez has been leading and coordinating the climate response initiative on behalf of IDI and in cooperation with the government. He is a member of the content team for the Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society. A graduate of the Heschel Sustainability Center fellowship program which trains young leaders for social, economic and environmental change.
Research Assistant, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program
adiw@idi.org.il
Adi is researching trends of leaving the Haredi community, as part of the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program in the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society, and is set to participate in additional research projects.
She is a PhD candidate at the School of Jewish Studies at Tel Aviv University, holds an M.A. in Talmud from Tel Aviv University, and a B.A. in Political Science and Jewish History from the Hebrew University.
Adi took part in various research projects, including discourse monitoring in international media project at the Hebrew University, media coverage of 2011 protest project at Hadassah Academic College, and Cairo Geniza Jewish texts project at Tel Aviv University.
Researcher, Economic Reform Program
itamary@idi.org.il
Itamar is a researcher in the Economic Reform Program at IDI and holds a PhD from the School of Public Policy, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
He studies social policy, labor markets and political economy.
His Dissertation deals with the response of minorities to reforms made in labor market programs.
Manager of Quantitative Research, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research
liorh@idi.org.il
Dr. Yohanani is a political sociologist whose research focuses on security, ethnicity, and immigration. His doctoral dissertation at Rutgers University examined why diaspora soldiers (“lone soldiers”) volunteer in the Israeli military and why and how the state recruits soldiers from abroad.
During his post-doctoral fellowship at Tel Aviv University, Dr. Yohanani explored the attitudes and relationships between Jewish and Arab students at higher education institutions in Israel.
Concurrently with his work at the IDI, Lior teaches a course titled "War and Terror in the Global Era" at Tel Aviv University".
Research Assistant, Center for Governance and the Economy
uriz@idi.org.il