Articles

IDI President Yohanan Plesner speaks with Zain Asher on CNN’s One World about the challenges Gadi Eisenkot faces in forming a government now that Israel’s president has granted him the mandate to do so. Plesner explains how Eisenkot must navigate divisions within his bloc over the military conscription law and the role of Arab parties—joining the coalition or supporting it from outside—while seeking agreement on the four priorities he has outlined as the basis for a future government.

IDI President Yohanan Plesner joins CNN’s Newsroom to discuss the latest preliminary results from Israel’s 2026 election and the options available to both blocs for forming a government, as neither appears to have a clear path to a majority.

Israelis have cast their ballots for the 26th Knesset, but the results remain inconclusive. In this special online briefing, experts discussed the scenarios on the table, possible paths to forming the next government, and whether Israel could be heading toward another election.

The briefing brought together IDI President Yohanan Plesner, Prof. Tamar Hermann, Director of IDI’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, and David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel, for an in-depth conversation presented by 92NY, IDI, and The Times of Israel.

The conversation was moderated by Amanda Borschel-Dan, Deputy Editor of The Times of Israel.

In every election race, including Israel's 2026 Election, we look to polls to understand which parties are gaining or losing support and how many seats each could win in the Knesset. Yet how can polls conducted at the same time in the same country show different results? At IDI, we convened Israel’s leading pollsters to look behind the scenes of the polls we all consume. The discussion covered how different survey methods affect results, why transparency matters, and how the electoral threshold complicates projections. The discussion also highlighted an important distinction, often overlooked by the public and media: polls do not forecast Election Day results. They measure public opinion at the time they are conducted.

Dr. Guy Lurie, Research Fellow in IDI’s Democratic Values and Institutions Program, joins an i24NEWS panel to discuss Israel’s Military Censor and the delicate balance between protecting national security and preserving freedom of speech. 

As Israel’s 2026 election campaign unfolds, IDI experts are examining the major questions shaping the campaign—and the country’s future. In the latest video in our special election series, Prof. Amichai Cohen, IDI’s newly appointed Vice President of Research, shares three key issues he’s watching.

Prof. Ofer Kenig briefed the Jerusalem Press Club on Israel’s upcoming elections including on how the electoral system works, the formation of party lists, “double envelope” voting, coalition negotiations, and the process of forming a new government after election day.

IDI President Yohanan Plesner and Prof. Tamar Hermann, Academic Director of IDI's Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, join Dr. Natan Sachs from the Middle East Institute to discuss Israel’s upcoming elections, why they are viewed as especially consequential, the role of Arab parties in future coalitions, and what might change under a different government.

Nadav Dagan (PhD), Senior Researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and Research Fellow at the Minerva Center (University of Haifa), together with Daphne Benvenisty, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, join the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions at the University of Haifa, for a seminar where they present findings from their comparative study on Autocratization and States of Emergency. Their study presents a show a clear link between the use of 'states of emergency' and accelerated erosion or dismantling of democracy, and autocratic consolidation.

Professor Karnit Flug, former Governor of the Bank of Israel from 2013 to 2018, and William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at IDI's Center for Governance and the Economy, joined Amichai Magen, a Senior Research Scholar at Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the founding director of the center's Jan Koum Israel Studies Program. After two years of war and growing international challenges, where is the Israeli economy now, and where might it be going? 

Israel is entering a pivotal election year—its first since the judicial overhaul and the war that began on October 7, 2023. Throughout the year, IDI is asking its experts which issues will shape the election campaign. IDI President Yohanan Plesner is watching three key areas: national security, including efforts to advance regional stability and examine the failures surrounding October 7; ultra-Orthodox conscription, given the IDF’s manpower needs and the post-war reality; and Israel’s democratic character, as questions surrounding the rule of law and checks and balances return to the center of the public agenda.

Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York, joined Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, Director of IDI’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society, for an online conversation on “The Fifth Tribe,” the challenges facing American Jewry, and the relationship between Israel and the Jewish diaspora during the war and beyond.

Former President Reuven Rivlin, IDI's Honorary Chair and Joan and Irwin Jacobs Distinguished Fellow, joined IDI's Vice President for Research Prof. Suzie Navot at the annual Shared Society Conference for a conversation on political polarization, the urgent need for genuine constitutional reform, and what it truly means to uphold the principles of a democratic and Jewish state.

IDI's Dr. Guy Lurie explains the far-reaching implications of non-cooperation between the two leaders of Israel's judiciary.
"It's the everyday citizens who are sure to pay the price."

Dr. Guy Lurie, a Research Fellow at IDI's Democratic Values and Institutions Program, offers a breakdown on the risks of politicization inherent in the recent proposal by Minister of Justice Levin and Foreign Minister Sa'ar to reform the Judicial Selection Committee.

IDI's Prof. Yuval Shany and Prof. Irwin Cotler discuss the ICC arrest warrants issued against Israel's Prime Minister and former Defense Minister. The event was hosted by the International Jewish Lawyers organization in partnership with the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (AAJLJ). 

Yohanan Plesner, President of IDI, spoke with CNN's Max Foster as a ceasefire agreement came into force earlier this morning.

Yohanan Plesner, president of IDI, spoke with BBC News' Ben Brown as wide-scale protests erupted in Israel following the harrowing murder of six Israeli hostages by