Articles

Following the resignation of Attorney Lior Lotan, the Prime Minister’s envoy for captives and missing persons and the Israeli Defense Minister's comment that "Israel will not ‘repeat the mistake’ of freeing terrorists" there is an urgent need to outline clear criteria for returning captives.

Yesh Atid, Zionist Camp and Meretz have the strongest online presence, while the Joint List and Yisrael Beiteinu lag behind.

Regulation, transparency and enforcement capabilities are crucial steps for lobbying to work.  

The state and its Arab leadership, not only the political leadership, must work together to bring as many Arab citizens as possible into the decision-making echelons.

A summary of where the law stands regarding alleged wrong doing by the premier, as well as timely suggestions for reform, are in order.

When legislators exhibit such disdain for the country’s legislative body, is it any wonder the average citizen does too?

Despite the verdict, the real story in the Azaria affair is the moral, not the legal, issue, and this debate is alive and well.

A set of reforms must be implemented so that Knesset members' supervisory ability over the government will be enhanced.

The Knesset is one of the smallest parliaments in the world, in terms of legislators per capita. As a result, the effectiveness of the Israeli parliament is diminished, especially regarding the important task of overseeing the executive.

For Israel's economy to grow, significant investment in building a strong and effective infrastructure for occupational training and reemployment is critical.

Monthly Peace Index also finds that 65% of Israelis do not trust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the crisis on Temple Mount. 

Israel's Military Censor, an institution that has no parallel in any other democracy in the world, must cease to exist.

The north presents real opportunities for Israel’s society and economy. Turns out that the solutions have been in plain sight all along.

The civil service commissioner holds an important public position, and should not be relegated to serving as a rubber stamp for the government.

In an article originally published in The Jerusalem Post, IDI Former President and Founder Dr. Arye Carmon reflects on the significant progress toward the enactment of a full constitution for Israel.

Cyber-terrorism, terror committed via a computer, is a complex threat which countries all over the world are struggling to outsmart. In this article originally published in Hebrew in Parliament, the Israel Democracy Institute's online journal, Karin Tamar Schafferman explains that fighting cyber-terrorism is "battling an enemy without borders", a truly challenging phenomenon. She warns that the consequences of cyber-terrorism could in fact be more severe than acts of conventional terrorism.

Instead of Judaism being what unites Jews in Israel with Jews around the world, our religion has become the main source of conflict.

In an op-ed first published by The Forward, IDI's president calls on Israeli leaders to empower Diaspora Jews in the crucial debate on identity and faith.

In an op-ed soon to be published by the Jerusalem Report, the former head of the Shin Bet security service argues that mutual responsibility is the cornerstone on which the resilience of Israeli society is founded, and is most strongly expressed in the commitment of the government of Israel to do everything possible to secure the release of its captured soldiers.

A special IDI survey shows that 70% of secular Israelis believe that in recent years life in the public sphere has tended to favor the ultra-Orthodox and religious; over one-third of religious Israelis and 80% of people who define themselves as not religious but traditional either support the separation of religion from state or reducing religious influence on life in Israel.

In a poignant op-ed, published by the Jewish Journal, Dr. Idit Shafran Gittleman confronts the issue of the price a country should pay to bring home its captive soldiers, including those who have been declared dead.

“Pray for the welfare of the government. For if it were not for fear of it, one man would swallow his fellow alive (Avot 3:3).”

The recent challenges at the Kotel are but a symptom of an ever-increasing problem.

Everything you wanted to know about the Labor Party primaries but didn't know who to ask.

Now you know what it's like to feel marginalized and unequal in Israel. Arab citizens know that all too well. That's why we must join forces.

Polling data finds that far more Israelis distrust their leaders today than in 1967.

Basics such as bread and cooking oil began to disappear from the shelves. The Egyptian street boiled with anger. And the foundations of the regime began to shake.

Prof. Yedidia Stern argues that our Jewish identity and culture depend on how we understand and internalize the past.

The European Court of Human Rights’ ('ECtHR') use of proportionality and balancing is inconsistent and does not provide clear guidelines from which policies can be drafted such that those policies can strike a fair balance between individual rights and public interests while not impairing the essence of the rights at stake. While ad hoc and unprincipled balancing may be justified on a theoretical level, on a practical level, a policymaker seeking to understand which rights’ interferences constitute clear violations under the European Convention on Human Rights ('ECHR') is left puzzled.

Israel’s leadership appears to have diverted from Theodor Herzl’s path. Instead of striving to create equality and a common ground, it is doing everything in its power to incite and divide for the sake of a few more votes.