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Ahead of today’s vote on a bill that would enable religious courts to conduct arbitration with the agreement of both parties, similar to the arbitration that takes place in other frameworks, a policy statement was sent to the Ministerial Committee on Legislation by Israel Democracy Institute’s Dr. Benny Porat.

Top Israeli economist, Professor Eytan Sheshinski, has joined IDI as a senior researcher in the Center for Governance and the Economy, under the leadership of Dafna Aviram-Nitzan.

The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), the Israel Innovation Institute (III) and Start-up Nation Central (SNC) said the government’s recent decision to approve implementing new and innovative interoperability strategies is an important step that could lead to a major breakthrough.

“The time has come to re-raise the issue of the status quo and write new legislation that will be accepted by the majority of Israelis," said Friedman.

IDI hosted an exclusive and high-level roundtable discussion on Facebook policies, Israel’s proposed Facebook Bill and freedom of expression. Simon Milner, Facebook policy director for the United Kingdom, Middle East and Africa, participated.

Today, the V-15 bill advanced to the Knesset, with a vote expected as early as later this week.

Dr. Shuki Friedman says the attempt to threaten a woman’s freedom after it was given to her three years ago by the local beit din in Safed is horrifying.

Latest Peace Index: despite UN Security Council Resolution 2334, majority of Jewish Israelis support continued building in the settlements; Israelis consider trial of Elor Azaria unfair; in 2017, all are optimistic 

IDI was quoted in nearly 500 articles connected to the Elor Azaria verdict, including interviews with Yohanan Plesner, Yedidia Stern, Mota Kremnitzer, Amichai Cohen, Tamar Hermann and Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler. We reached a potential 403 million individuals, through coverage in 28 countries and 42 states, plus Washington, D.C.

"The court must be allowed to pursue the legal process, without intimidation or attempts to undermine its independence."

The Regulation Law, if passed by Israel's government will effectively nullify all previous rulings on the issue, substantially weakening Israel's Supreme Court; the government's decision would be in blatant contradiction of international law as well as Israel's commitments; will provide a boost for BDS activists around the world and confirm international community's belief that Israel is annexing the territories.

Following the conviction of Elor Azaria on Wednesday, January 4, IDI President Yohahan Plesner called on leaders to spearhead a coordinated effort involving the education system, the IDF, and the political leadership.

Ahead of Wednesday’s (January 4) deliberations on the changes in the V-15 Bill, scholars from the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) sent a letter to members of a joint committee of the Knesset’s House and Law Committees calling on them to amend the bill significantly.

Significant drop in public trust in government institutions and politicians; tension between Jews and Arabs is most serious point of friction; most Israelis are proud of being Israeli

Topolansky, Head of IDF’s Personnel Directorate, says after two years of negotiations with Hamas, IDF unable to redeem bodies of Goldin, Shaul

With the contentious Regulations Bill scheduled to be discussed at a special Knesset committee, the Israel Democracy Institute's 'Forum of Former Ministers' harshly criticized the proposal, stating that it "retroactively overturns a Supreme Court rulings, enables the stealing of land from its owners, violates Israeli law and accepted international legal norms and customs, and is an affront to the very concept of justice."

IDI weighed in today on the letter of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Miriam Naor, who reacted negatively to the Justice Ministry's announcement that it intends to change the procedure by which new judges to Israel's Supreme Court are appointed.

Latest Peace Index: A clear majority of Jewish Israelis believes Democratic presidential candidate will take election on Nov. 8

IDI and Tel Aviv University ask: What price should Israel pay for the release of Israelis held captive?

The Israel Democracy Institute’s Dr. Amir Fuchs came out against the statement by Minister Naftali Bennett that Elor Azaria should be immediately pardoned, even if convicted by the military court. Azaria shot a terrorist who came at soldiers with a knife, after the terrorist was disarmed. Fuchs said that Bennett’s proposal is unadvisable.

Despite the many changes that have been made to the bill, largely due to the opposition of many coalition MKs that did not want to harm human rights organizations, the bill is still not a good one, it will not improve transparency, and it has no precedent in the Western World.

It is important to require transparency, not to limit contributions, and to establish an effective and equal process of oversight