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50% of Israelis Believe that the State of the Country is 'Good'. Conversely: 58% of Israelis Believe that Their Leadership is Corrupt and 59% of Israelis Think that Supreme Court Judges’ Rulings are Politically Biased

The proposal promotes personal and political interests, strikes a severe blow to the public’s trust in democracy and to elected officials’ obligation to act with integrity

The current proposal conveys a harsh message of contempt for the rule of law and is in sharp contrast to the current trend in democratic countries

The report and its conclusions, regardless of whether or not they will be acceptable to the State of Israel, once again highlight the importance of the rule of law, and bring to the fore the need for in-depth investigations of events which might be construed as in violation of international law

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Prof. Yuval Shany, Vice President of Research "No democracy can tolerate public corruption or any exception to the principle of equality before the law."

The majority of Israelis think that Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria harms Israel’s security and want a right or center-right government. Read more in the latest Peace Index. 

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IDI’s 2018 report on ultra-Orthodox society is out - shedding light on changing trends in population, education, employment, and leisure in the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel.

The monthly Peace Index reveals that: 46% of Jewish Israelis name Benjamin Netanyahu as their preferred candidate for the next prime minister.

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The majority of the public (53%) sees Israel’s situation in a positive light and is proud to be Israeli (88% of Jews and 51% of Arabs);
For the first time the #1 tension in Israeli society is the tension between Right and Left; Israel ranks high on international indicators of political participation

The monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University finds that: 44% of Jewish and Arab Israelis agree with President Trump’s statement that “It’s a very scary time for young men” – the percentage among men who agreed was significantly higher than that among women.

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Half of the Jewish Israeli public think that Palestinians deserve an independent state, but believe that the two-state solution would be impossible to implement.

The breach of IDF’s Meitav website was almost inevitable, in light of inadequate attention to the need to protect sensitive personal information and the lack of supporting legislation in Israel.

- “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.

 

Now is the time to rise above petty politics and pass a draft law that will uphold the principle of civic equality in Israel.

 

The monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, published today, finds that: only 52% of Jewish Israelis think it was important to pass the Nation-State law at this time.

On the northern front: the majority of Israelis favor providing Syrian victims of war with medical aid and food. On the southern front: the majority of Israelis support a military operation if Hamas violates the ceasefire.

The Israel Democracy Institute applauds Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to reevaluate the Facebook Law which was initially formulated to help fight terrorism, but evolved into a draconian law that could set back the Start-Up Nation decades in terms of freedom of speech.


Proposed Facebook bill circumvents standard legal procedure and threatens to transform Israel into a world leader in repression of free speech

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How can Israel - a light to the nations, and homeland for the Jewish People, fail to embrace equality for all, alongside commitment to the diaspora?

The Israel Democracy Institute issued a letter to the Prime Minister regarding the Nation State Billl, asserting that if the value of equality is not anchored in the legislation alongside the other enumerated national characteristics of the state, the law may eventually erode Israel's democratic character

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

The monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, published today, finds that most Israelis think that Trump’s peace plan won’t gain traction and that the IDF should directly target ‘terror kite’ assailants.

The Israel Democracy Institute ahead of the Knesset Constitution Committee debate on political appointments of legal advisers in government ministries: "A blow to the civil service ethos; an opening for potential corruption, forsakes public interest".

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute cautions that the Ministry of Defense’s proposed draft bill “endangers IDF’s model of service as a “People's Army” based on the principle of mandatory service for all

The monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, published today, finds that the Israeli public split on prospect of war in the coming months

Prof. Yedidia Stern, Vice President of the Israel Democracy Institution said that the proposed conversion law is an important step. The state must take responsibility and resolve the issues that affect so many lives

A new book from the Israel Democracy Institute
exposes the failures of the State conversion system over three decades

Following the approval of the “Cabinet Law,” allowing the government to delegate its authority to declare war to the National Security Cabinet, IDI Senior Professor Prof. Amichai Cohen, and expert on national security law, contends that the bill addresses a critical issue but has been passed too hastily

The Monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University published today, found that most Israeli Jews believe that transferring the US Embassy to Jerusalem, despite Palestinian protests, is in Israel’s best interests.

A special update from the Peace Index by Tel Aviv University and the Israel Democracy Institute shows that that two-thirds of the Jews in Israel eat kosher for Passover outside the home and prepare the their house for the holiday - but 58% oppose the ban on cafes and restaurants from serving chametz (bread).

 

The Cambridge Analytica scandal raises troubling questions about the colossal amount of personal data now available online. Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler says that states must take more aggressive action to protect individual privacy and prevent private entities from hijacking elections.

61% of the Jewish and Arab public believes that it is very likely that moving the American embassy to Jerusalem for Israel’s 70th Independence Day, will ignite an outbreak of violence. Nevertheless, 69% of the Jewish public think that even in light of the expectation of violence, Israel should not ask the Americans to postpone the move

 

In a letter to the Members of Knesset, IDI's management clarifies that the ultra-Orthodox proposed legislation will influence budgetary matters such as allocations to Yeshiva students and housing grants, and will  place Israel’s national security in jeopardy

 

 

IDI President calls on the leaders of the coalition factions to stop politicizing the civil service

"The facts revealed yesterday by the police are deeply troubling. Faced with this reality, all those who consider themselves leaders in our community, must come forth and make their position clear, rejecting such conduct forthrightly, lest moral decay spreads through our civil service and public’s trust in the government plummets.”

66% of the Jewish public and half of the Arab public support the government’s decision to deport asylum seekers to African countries that are prepared to absorb them. 

For the first time since 2013- a decline in the number of ultra-Orthodox men in the workforce

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In Honor of Israel's 70th Anniversary The Guttman Center for Public Opinion Research and Policy at the Israel Democracy Institute Is Launching “Data-Israel”: The largest and most encompassing online public opinion research database in Israel at the click of a button.

Prof. Yedidia Stern: "These rabbis, who loudly extol the virtues of Jewish statehood, do not hesitate to drag the people’s army into the arena of conflict with their irresponsible statements."

In light of President Trump's Declaration on Jerusalem: a large majority of the Jewish public think President Trump’s public declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel was in Israel's best interest; a clear majority (over 60%) of the Israeli public agrees that Jerusalem is already divided into two cities: the eastern city and the western city

Israel Democracy Institute and the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research published today the 2017 Statistical Report on Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel. The report presents trends in population, education, employment, and leisure in the ultra-Orthodox sector in Israel.

Widespread dissatisfaction with Israel's leadership and institutions; Most Israelis believe Knesset has legislated undemocratic laws and oppose taking powers of judicial review away from Supreme Court; Israelis distrust the media and rely more on traditional media than social media; Israelis are optimistic in their assessment of the overall situation of the country and its future; Israeli citizens rank high in OECD scale on political involvement

The monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, published today, found that Israelis think that the forces that unite Israeli Jews and American Jews are stronger than the forces that separate them; a significant portion of the public believe that the Prime Minister failed to deal with the Iranian threat; and a significant majority of the public think that the Recommendations Law should not be approved

The Facebook Bill, which would allow the government to use administrative means to remove content from social networking sites, would both set a precedent and be ineffective

The Israelis Still believe that the IDF should be the People’s Army and Want Ultra-Orthodox People to Enlist

"In order to change this trend, we must increase the use of technological tools and behavioral economics."

IDI responds to high court ruling: “The time has come for our politicians to demonstrate leadership and work to enact a more equitable and effective arrangement.”

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Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society – June 19 and 20

Dr. Shuki Friedman. “It’s a situation of each man for himself.”

Dr. Benny Porat.

Dafna Aviram-Nitzan.

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.

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Danae Marx
Director of International Communications
Phone: +972-52-433-4557
Email: [email protected]