Management & Experts

President

  • Yohanan Plesner

    President

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    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 Presidents

  • Prof. Suzie Navot

    Vice President, Research

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    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.

  • Dr. Jesse Ferris

    Vice President, Strategy

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    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.

Center Directors

  • Daphna Aviram-Nitzan

    Director of the Center for Governance and the Economy, Director of the Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society and Leader of the Climate Change Project

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    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.

  • Prof. Tamar Hermann

    Academic Director, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research; Senior Fellow

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    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.

  • Adv. Anat Thon Ashkenazy

    Director, Center for Democratic Values and Institutions; Head, the Democratic Values and Institutions Program at the Center

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    Adv. Anat Thon-Ashkenazy is the Director of the Center for Values and Democratic Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute.

  • Adv. Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz

    Director, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society; Head, the Religion and State Program at the Center

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    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.

  • Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer

    Director, Center for Security and Democracy; Head, the Program on National Security and the Law at the Center

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    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 Fellows

  • Prof. Amichai Cohen

    Senior Fellow

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    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.

  • Prof. Karnit Flug

    William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy, Center for Governance and the Economy

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    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.

  • Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer

    Senior Fellow, Democratic Values and Institutions Program and Public Corruption Program

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    Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer is a Senior Fellow at IDI and he previously served as the Institute's Vice President of Research.

  • Tomer Lotan

    Visiting Senior Fellow

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    Tomer Lotan served as Director General of the Ministry of Internal Security (now the Ministry of National Securityduring the years 2021-2022. Prior to this position, Tomer established and led Magen Israel (Israel Shield) - the country’s national coordinating body formed to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic. 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.

  • Prof. Yotam Margalit

    Senior Fellow, Economic Reform Program

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    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.

  • Prof. Benjamin Porat

    Senior Fellow, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program, Religion and State Program

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    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

  • Prof. Gideon Rahat

    Senior Fellow, Political Reform Program

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    Professor Rahat is a faculty member of the Political Sciences Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an International Fellow at the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California, Irvine.

  • Prof. Yuval Shany

    Senior Fellow

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    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.

  • Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler

    Head, Democracy in the Digital Age Program; Senior Fellow

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    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 Digital 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.

  • Prof. Daniel Statman

    Senior Fellow, Religion and State Program

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    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.

  • Prof. Nathan Sussman

    Guest Senior Fellow and Consultant to Climate Change Project

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    Professor of Economics at the Graduate Institute Geneva. Leads the macroeconomic research as part of the institute's Climate Change Project.

Research Fellows and Program Heads

  • Ronny Barboy

    Head, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    Ronny holds a bachelor's degree in Community Social Work and a Master's in Public Administration and Policy from the Hebrew University. She specializes in research, policy analysis, and implementation. Previously, she coordinated training programs for senior civil service personnel at Mandel Institute and served as CEO and partner at Agora policy Institute, as well as being a senior researcher at the Haredi Institute for Policy Research.

    In addition, Ronny has acted as an advisor to government ministries, foundations, and third-sector organizations, specializing in guiding policy design and implementation processes related to Haredi society.

  • Gilad Be'ery

    Head, Economic Reform Program

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  • Dr. Dana Blander

    Research Fellow and Research Consultant

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    Research Fellow and Research Consultant

    [email protected]

    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.

  • Dr. Chen Friedberg

    Research Fellow, Political Reform Program

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    Dr. Chen Friedberg has co-written many papers published by the Israel Democracy Institute.

  • Adv. Rita Golstein-Galperin

    Head, Civil Service Reform Program

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    Rita is a senior practitioner in the fields of public policy and innovation. She joined the Institute after holding a variety of senior positions in public service. Rita founded Israel's Economic Attaché delegation to the OECD in Paris and led the exclusive training program, "Civil Service Cadets."
  • Adv. Edna Harel Fisher

    Head, Public Corruption Program; Research Fellow, Religion and State Program

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    Edna Harel Fisher leads policy research at the institute on the topic of funding for culture, ‘Mamlachtiyut’, and freedom of speech.

  • Dr. Tammy Hoffman

    Head, Education Policy Program; Research Fellow

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    Lecturer and the Kibbutzim College of Education; Head of the Regev Education Program for Outstanding Students, and member of the steering committee of the Lautman Forum for Education Policy.

  • Prof. Ofer Kenig

    Research Fellow, Political Reform Program

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    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).

  • Dr. Guy Lurie

    Research Fellow, Democratic Values and Institutions Program

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    [email protected]

    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.

  • Dr. Gilad Malach

    Research Fellow, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    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 cooperation with Dr. Lee Cahaner).

    He was director of implementation of the Gavison-Medan Covenant Project at the Avi Chai Foundation and content manager of the Committee on Sharing the Security Burden in the Eighteenth Knesset.

  • Dr. Khader Sawaed

    Head, Arab Society in Israel Program

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    Khader Sawaed is the head of the Arab Society Program in Israel at the Israel Democracy Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Haifa, where his dissertation examined the impact of stateness components on democratization processes, focusing on Egypt and Tunisia after the Arab Spring.

    In the past, he served as a Research Fellow at the Mitvim Institute, a Neubauer Doctoral Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), and a Visiting Researcher at the Leonard Davis Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2017, he was awarded the Chaim Herzog Prize for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy by Ben-Gurion University.

    Alongside his research career, Sawaed taught civics for 22 years, served as a pedagogical instructor, and held the position of middle school principal for four years. He is a graduate of the Avney Rosha Institute for School Leadership.

  • Dr. Assaf Shapira

    Head, Political Reform Program; Research Fellow, Civil Service Reform Program

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    [email protected]

    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.

Research Team

  • Dr. Fahima Abbas

    Senior Researcher, Arab Society in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    Dr. Abbas received her PhD in Geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2016. Her research focuses on the integration of the minority middle class into majority urban spaces, with an emphasis on metropolitan areas and divided cities, spatial inequality, migration, and commuting. As part of her postdoctoral research at the Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, she examined the participation of the Jerusalem middle class in the Israeli economy. In her recent studies, Dr. Abbas explored access to housing and employment among Palestinian women in Israel, analyzing how residential space, social class, and marital status influence their opportunities for housing and employment.

  • Adv. Nisreen Abo Asalh

    Research Assistant, Democratic Values and Institutions Program

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    [email protected]

    Adv. Abo Asalh completed her Bachelor of Law studies at the University of Haifa in 2020, specialized in the consulting and legislation department (constitutional law) and qualified in 2021 as an attorney. Prior to joining the IDI, Adv. Abo Asalh worked for about two years at the firm of Firon & Co. in the planning and construction department. Today, concurrently with her work at the IDI, Abo Asalh works as an attorney at the office of Yosef Yeshurun & Co.

    In the past, Adv. Abo Asalh established a number of social projects.

    Nisreen Abo Asalh is a master's student in public law at the Tel Aviv - Northwestern program.

  • Mirvat Abu Hadoba-Frieh

    Researcher, Project of Community Safety in the City of Rahat, Arab Society in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    Mirvat Abu Hadoba-Frieh is a researcher and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Her research focuses on political awareness among national minorities, with particular emphasis on Arab society in Israel and the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

  • Dr. Rachel Aridor-Hershkovitz

    Senior Researcher, Democracy in the Digital Age Program

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    Senior Researcher in the Democracy in the Digital Age program at the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at IDI. Holds a Master’s degree in Intellectual Property and Antitrust Law from the NYU School of Law, and a PhD from the Faculty of Law at the University of Haifa. Her doctoral dissertation examined the most suitable regulatory tools for cybersecurity protection, based on a comparison of regulations in the United States and England, and an in-depth study of the need for public-private sector cooperation and how to achieve it.

  • Adv. Ruth Ashur

    Research Assistant, Center for Security and Democracy

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    Holds a BA and MA in Law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Previously worked in the Advisory and Legislative Department and the State Attorney's Office at the Ministry of Justice.

    [email protected]

  • Miriam Awad Morad

    Researcher, Education Policy Program

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  • Meital Baron

    Research Assistant, Education Policy Program

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  • Hodaya Ben Ari

    Research Assistant, Religion and State Program and Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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  • Eitan Ben-Elya

    Research Assistant, Economic Reform Program

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  • Adv. Daphne Benvenisty

    Researcher, Democratic Values and Institutions Program

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    Daphne is a researcher 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.

  • Danielle Ben Yehuda Warrem

    Research Assistant, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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  • Eliyahu Berkovits

    Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program and Religion and State Program

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    [email protected]

    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.

  • Alon Blass

    Research Assistant, Center for Security and Democracy

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    Graduated with a BA in Political Science and Communications from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

    Currently a Master's student in Political Science, majoring in Law, Government and Society, in the research track at the Hebrew University.

  • Yonatan Boker

    Research Assistant, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research

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  • Daphna Cahana-Dolev

    Project Manager, Education Policy Program

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  • Gilad Cohen Kovacs

    Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    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.

  • Dr. Nadav Dagan

    Senior Researcher, Democratic Values and Institutions Program

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    [email protected]

    Dr. Dagan Holds a PhD from Bar-Ilan University, LLM with specialism in Public Law and Human Rights Law from University College London (UCL), and LLB from the University of Haifa.

  • Dr. Zubaida Ezery

    Researcher, Project of Community Safety in the City of Rahat, Center for Security and Democracy

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    [email protected]

    Dr. Zubaida Ezery holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Health Systems Management at the School of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Her doctoral research focused on "One Health" challenges among Bedouin communities in the Negev with differing statutory status.

  • Dr. Ariel Finkelstein

    Head of the Local Authority Project, Civil Service Reform Program; Researcher at the Religion and State Program and at the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    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.

  • Elena Flegontov

    Research Assistant, Project of Community Safety in the City of Rahat, Center for Security and Democracy

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    [email protected]

    Holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from University of Saint-Petersburg and a MA in Anthropology from University of Haifa. Her MA thesis focused on the management of personal and physical boundaries among women within the sex industry in Israel.

     

  • Avital Friedman

    Researcher, Political Reform Program

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  • Dr. Amir Fuchs

    Senior Researcher, Center for Democratic Values and Institutions

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    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.

  • Tehila Gado

    Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    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.

  • Duna Ghanayem

    Research Assistant, Arab Society in Israel Program

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  • Adv. Zohar Gofen

    Research Assistant, Democracy in the Digital Age Program

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  • Ayala Goldberg

    Research Assistant, Religion and State Program and Local Authority Project at the Civil Service Reform Program

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    [email protected]

    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 Civil 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.

  • Gabriel Gordon

    Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program, Economic Reform Program

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    [email protected]

    He holds a Master's degree in Economics and Environmental studies.

    His research focuses on demographics and trends within the Israeli labor force.

     

     

  • Haim Hagai Gunder

    Research Assistant, Center for Security and Democracy

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  • Dr. Ofir Hadad

    Researcher, Arab Society in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    Dr. Ofir Hadad is a postdoctoral fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, where he also coordinates programs for research students from diverse populations, and he teaches in the Department of Political Science and in the Conflict Research, Management and Resolution program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

  • Hillel Haruni

    Research Assistant, Center for Governance and the Economy

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  • Asaf Heiman

    Research Assistant, Political Reform Program

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    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.

  • Ester Hershkoviz

    Research Assistant, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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  • Dr. Manal Hreib

    Researcher, Project of Community Safety in the City of Rahat, Center for Security and Democracy

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    Dr. Manal Hreib is an applied policy researcher specializing in the development, design, and impact evaluation of social interventions and public policy. Her work emphasizes effectiveness, the reduction of social gaps, and evidence-based decision-making.

  • Dr. Moran Kandelshtein-Haina

    Researcher, Democratic Values and Institutions Program

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    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.

  • Yaron Kaplan

    Researcher, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research

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    [email protected]

    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.

  • Iddo Katoshevski

    Researcher, Economic Reform Program and Climate Change Project

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    [email protected]

    Researcher at the Center for Governance and the Economy. Deals with environmental and climate economics. A second year MSc student in economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a BSc in philosophy, economics and political science. Has occupational background in health economics and in research of Middle East economy. In addition, has experience in managing inter-sector forums, analyzing data and conducting economic studies.

  • Yarden Kedar

    Researcher and Coordinator of the Future Labor Market Project in the Economic Reform Program

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    [email protected]

    Yarden Kedar is a researcher at the Center for Governance and the Economy at the Israel Democracy Institute, and the coordinator of the Future Labor Market project. Has a bachelor's degree in PPE and a master's degree in Public Policy from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Yarden leads studies at the Institute concerning human capital, vocational training and skills in Israel, as well as the analysis of Israeli public policy in this field. In addition, he specializes in the field of employment of older workers, and also engages in topical analysis of the effects of current events (e.g. Covid and the recent war) on the labor market and the financial situation of the employed. Yarden is experienced in policy research, data analysis, and policy analysis. Past positions include serving as researcher and coordinator of the Economy and Society program at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.

  • Roe Kenneth Portal

    Researcher, Economic Reform Program

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    [email protected]

    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. Roe graduated with honors from the PPE, combined program in Philosophy, Political Science and Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

  • Dr. Muhammed Khalaily

    Researcher, Arab Society in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    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".

  • Gal Klein

    Research Assistant, Religion and State Program and Local Authority Project at the Civil Service Reform Program

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  • Adv. Mirit Lavi

    Researcher, Center for Security and Democracy

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    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.

  • Raz Leibson

    Research Assistant, Economic Reform Program

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  • Lev Lesovoy

    Research Assistant, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research

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  • Nir Levi

    Coordinator of Public Sector Innovation Project, Civil Service Reform Program

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    Nir holds a BA in Political Science and Sociology and an MA in Public Policy from Tel Aviv University. He gained experience in public service, including a role as CEO assistant in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Nir managed the "Monitor" project at the Center for Citizen Empowerment, focusing on developing implementation research on policy decisions. Additionally, he served as a strategic consultant at an international consulting firm and has expertise in developing policy research and strategy for civil society organizations and international bodies in areas of long-term strategic planning, future-oriented thinking, and innovation development in the public sector. Nir participated in training at the European Union's Joint Research Center for developing strategy and tools for citizen engagement in policy-making.

  • Liron Lishinsky Fischer

    Research Assistant, Civil Service Reform Program

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  • Dr. Yael Litmanovitz

    Senior Researcher, Center for Security and Democracy

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    [email protected]

    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.

  • Dr. Asaf Malchi

    Senior Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    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.

  • Dr. Libby Maman

    Guest Researcher, Civil Service Reform Program

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  • Dr. Natan Milikowsky

    Researcher, Public Corruption Program

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  • Ya'ari Padan

    Research Assistant, Religion and State Program and Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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  • Prof. Ruslana Rachel Palatnik

    Guest Researcher at the Climate Change Project

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    Prof. Ruslana Rachel Platnik, Department of Economics and Management at the Yezreel Valley College (YVC), is a senior researcher at the Natural Resources and Environmental Research Center (NRERC) at the University of Haifa, at the IIASA Research Institute in Austria, and at the ATHENA Research Institute in Greece. Her research focuses on economic assessments of energy and environmental issues.

  • Prof. Elisheva Rosman-Stollman

    Guest Researcher at the Center for Security and Democracy

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    Prof. Elisheva Rosman-Stollman is a member of the Political Studies Department at Bar Ilan University, and until recently served as the head of the Argov Center for the Study of Israel and the Jewish People, and deputy Chair of the Department. Prof. Rosman-Stollman also serves as a senior researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA). In addition to being a founding member of the Civil-Military Researchers Association in Israel, she is the editor-in-chief of the Association of Military Researcher's journal 'The Israeli Journal of Society Military and National Security' (IJMNS). She serves as a member of various working groups advising bodies within the military system.

    Prof. Rosman-Stollman's research deals with a variety of issues including civil-military relations, the military as a social tool, women, religion and the state, religious feminism, relations between the Gulf States and Israel, issues of religion and the military, as well as the military and security. Her research projects include the image of the combat soldier in the Israeli media, religious soldiers in the IDF, soldiers in the civilian health system, religious feminism, and marriage outside the rabbinate.

  • Dr. Arik Rudnitzky

    Researcher, Arab Society in Israel Program

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    [email protected]

    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.

  • Inna Orly Sapozhnikova

    Researcher, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research

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    [email protected]

    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).

  • Dr. Shlomit Shahino Kesler

    Senior Researcher, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    Dr. Shlomit Shahino-Kesler is a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute in the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel program.

    Shlomit holds a PhD in Political Science and has 20 years of experience in research and policy.

    Over the past decade, she has specialized in studying Haredi society.

    At the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs, she served as a senior researcher, lead researcher, and Deputy Director for Policy. In these roles, she dealt with issues such as housing, employment, education, at-risk youth, and local authorities, and worked in partnership with senior officials in government ministries, local authorities, and philanthropy.

    She teaches courses on policy and Haredi society in Israel at Sapir Academic College.

  • Noa Shaked

    Research Assistant, Civil Service Reform Program

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  • Erez Sommer

    Head, Climate Change Project

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    [email protected]

    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. Holds a combined BA in sociology-anthropology and communication and journalism from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

     

  • Merav Steinfeld

    Research Assistant, Local Authority Project at the Civil Service Reform Program

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  • Naomi Turetzky

    Research Assistant, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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  • Orna Weinstein

    Research Assistant, Center for Security and Democracy

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  • Adi Wiener

    Research Assistant, Ultra-Orthodox in Israel Program

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    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.

  • Dr. Lior Yohanani

    Manager of Quantitative Research, Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research

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    [email protected]

    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".

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