Head of IDI’s Religion and State Program: ‘It should be forbidden to appoint rabbis to senior posts who copy-and-paste laws from Biblical times and apply them to today’
In advance of Wednesday’s discussion in the Knesset Interior and Environment Committee on the Mikveh Bill, the head of IDI’s Religion and State program, Yair Sheleg, sent a policy paper to committee MKs asking them to vote against the bill. He said the bill unacceptably discriminates, something which is known to its sponsors and clear in the bill’s explanatory notes. The legislation was presented by its sponsors in reaction to a Supreme Court ruling that public ritual baths could be used by the wider public, including for non-Orthodox conversions.
Ahead of the discussion and expected vote on the NGO Bill today by the Knesset Law and Constitution Committee, Israel Democracy Institute scholars came out against the bill's progression and the members of Knesset who plan on pushing it through.
"The law in Israel has a double-standard and discriminates against parties with democratic systems that enable the wider public to take an active role in politics"
A plurality of the Jewish public views the addition of Yisrael Beiteinu into the government coalition over Zionist Union as a step in a positive direction, according to the latest Peace Index, released this week by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University.
The Israel Democracy Institute on Tuesday will bestow the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award on two members of the current Knesset: Minister Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) and MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin (Zionist Union).
"The Knesset does not have the judicial expertise, knowledge or necessary tools to determine facts. This bill proposes a fully-blown judicial process, including granting MKs the ability to punish other MKs for criminal acts," according to a statement by Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer and Dr. Amir Fuchs.
The decision by Yisrael Beiteinu to concede on its demands related to issues of religion and state in order to join the coalition reflects a problematic reality.
First session of IDI's Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society highlights Ministry of Finance strategic plan, need for improved public transportation, increased housing supply and better education and employment opportunities for Arabs, ultra-Orthodox
As the Israel Democracy Institute's annual Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society kicks off today in Jerusalem, IDI's Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research sheds new light on Israeli socioeconomic discourse.
IDI leaders say the process that led to Ya'alon’s resignation sends a negative message to all those committed to the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
Israel Democracy Institute's leading economic conference will focus on integrating innovation into the government, actuarial crisis, and role of business press, among other topics
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Rav Lichtenstein, a noted Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and authority in Jewish law. Rav Lichtenstein received the Israel Prize for Jewish Religious Literature for 2014.
Israel Democracy Institute scholars today expressed disappointment in the resignation of retired judge Hila Gerstel from her role as commissioner for prosecutorial oversight.