Articles

For decades, religious and ultra-Orthodox members of Knesset, backed and encouraged by their rabbis, have worked to inject the secular state with as much Judaism as possible. Over the course of 70 years, the results of this ongoing effort have been minimal, but the price paid by Judaism has been great.

The Israeli government’s plans to deport en masse thousands of persons in need of international protection to undiscolsed ‘third contries’ pursuant to secret (denied, and effectively unenforcable) agreements are deeply troubling from a refugee and human rights law perspective. They should be called off.

Deporting people against their will to the countries they escaped from evokes strong and disturbing recollections of dark episodes in Jewish history.

As the Knesset celebrates its 69th birthday on Tuesday, Jan. 30, here is a chance to see how you score on knowledge of Israel's parliament. What did Israel's lawmakers do before joining the Knesset? What did they do after leaving? what are the benchmark requirement to becoming an MK? How many are currently serving their first term? Let's play!

While members of Knesset represent Israel's diverse society, they're still seen as self-interested and ineffectual by the public.

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.

A recent Knesset bill that would introduce the death sentence for terror-related murder in Israel has broken the decades of relative silence on the matter. 

On the complex relationship between Arabs and Jews in Israel and the secret to bringing down the walls of fear and prejudice

As calls for a "majoritarian democracy" gain strength in Israel, IDI's President warns of the dangers associated with a tyranny of the majority, and makes the case for a richer interpretation of democracy, grounded in the principles of liberty, equality and the separation of powers.

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Dickens’s words seem a highly apt way of describing the current state of the Jewish people, and the relationship between the two largest Jewish communities in the world – those in Israel and the United States.

Israel's political system is being held hostage by sectorial parties, which promote policies that only serve small interest groups. The annulment of the Kotel compromise, the Sabbath supermarket closure bill, the death penalty for terrorists bill, the so-called "Litzman Law" – are all products of a system that weakens the governing party and incentivizes political extortion. We must take control of our fate. Now is the time to empower our representatives to act on behalf of the national interest.

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."

For the ultra-Orthodox sector and for us as a society, justice is not charity.

"Weak media leads to fake news"

David Zeev (Reshet Bet) talks to Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, 

The panel: Is it Trump, Zuckerberg or US - Whose Fault is Fake News? was held at the Globes-Israel Business Conference in Jerusalem on January 11, 2018.

Stereotypes—both positive and negative—are an obstacle to the development of a genuine partnership between the ultra-Orthodox and the rest of Israeli society. The Haredim are Israel's biggest sociological mystery. We must learn the facts rather than engaging in speculation. 

Last year the Democracy Index pointed to an all-time low in public trust in the media. However, in 2017 it seems that the trend has reversed. Why?

Are women leading the change in ultra-Orthodox society or are they preserving their unique way of life? Learn more about the tension between the possibilities that the modern world offers ultra-Orthodox women and the many complex challenges facing them. 

Our Democracy Index shows that while Israel’s citizens love their country and are optimistic about its future, they feel a lack of confidence about their personal futures.

In the US and more recently in Israel there is public discussion over the principled issues of the balance between the different branches of government in matters of national security and the proper mechanism to create accountability in these matters are universal. 

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

How many ultra-Orthodox live in Israel today? How many will watch this clip on the internet? How are ultra-Orthodox women transforming their community? How many are employed? What age to they get married?

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.

Growing numbers of ultra-Orthodox women postponing marriage to pursue a career path, new study finds.

The Israeli High Court of Justice’s Dec. 12 decision in Abu Ghosh v. Attorney-General provides a good opportunity to reexamine the implementation of the prohibition against torture in Israeli law almost twenty years after the court’s landmark 1999 judgment in Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, which outlawed torture.

The general picture produced by the Democracy Index is of a manic-depressive society – is this the beginning of a transition from a turbulent and confused adolescence into a quiet and steady adulthood?

At approximately eight million people, diaspora Jewry comprises the fifth tribe of Israel. The Knesset is currently debating a proposal, which among other things addresses the connection with Diaspora Jewry entitled “Israel – The Nation State of the Jewish People”.

Six countries – Canada, Germany, India, Israel, Poland and South Africa – are paradigm examples of modern constitutional systems where rights may be limited through the application
of a constitutional limitations clause. In each jurisdiction, the constitutionality of a rights limitation has come to rely on the principle of proportionality, and the key exercise in judicially reviewing a rights limitation is the proportionality analysis.

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

“If anything could jeopardize the IDF’s ability to fulfill its mission, it would be loss of the public’s trust. This trust is crucial to our ability to recruit young people every year and demand that they serve in the best units and risk their lives to protect Israel’s security.”
Listen to Chief of Staff, Gen. Gadi Eizenkot’s speech at the "Liberal Democracies and Their Fight against Terror" Workshop, held within the framework of IDI’s Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Program on National Security and Democracy

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