Articles

In this article, IDI Vice President Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern explains the current conversion crisis in Israel, reviews the evolution of attitudes towards conversion in halakhic literature over the ages, and concludes with a proposal that is compatible with Jewish law while responding to pressing contemporary needs.

On May 26-28, 2010, IDI hosted an International Workshop on Binationalism, which reviewed the experience of binational states in their historical context, explored theoretical models of bi-nationalism or multi-nationalism, and discussed the possibilities of implementing such models in today's Middle East. In preparation for this workshop, Prof. Ran Halévi of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, shared the following critique of Tony Judt's proposal to convert Israel into a bi-national state with the readers of the IDI website.

In this article, written against the backdrop of the Holyland real estate scandal and just before Israel's Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers, IDI's Yair Sheleg explores the connection between the security situation and hedonistic trends within Israeli society. Mr. Sheleg recommends a new practice that would remind Israeli politicians of the standards and values to which they are expected to adhere.

In this article, we discuss a new, comprehensive counter-terrorism memorandum bill recently published by the Israeli Ministry of Justice. This memorandum bill aims to consolidate the existing legislation, as well as to provide the authorities with new counter-terrorism tools (including a broad definition of an "act or terrorism").

In an op-ed in Yedioth Ahronoth, Prof. Yedidia Stern points to segments of Israel's population that denounce the national values of the State: supporters of “normalization,” ultra-Orthodox Jews, Arab Israelis, and a new group that has joined them: ultra-nationalists.

In this article, originally published in Haaretz on April 1, 2010, IDI Senior Researcher Prof. Avraham Ben-Bassat warns that Israel's policy of reducing taxes should be frozen since it may precipitate an economic crisis, and advocates giving preference to increasing public spending while preserving the economy's stability.

IDI Senior Fellow, Prof. Tamar Hermann, discusses the implications of the growing Tea Party movement in the United States on democracies around the world.

The following op-ed by IDI Vice President of Research Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern was originally published in Hebrew in the <em>Yedioth Ahronoth</em> daily newspaper on December 8, 2010, just before the Knesset was scheduled to vote on a bill that would recognize the validity of all conversions performed within the context of the service in the Israel Defense Forces—a vote that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed by several days due to competing pressure within the political system. It urges the Israeli government to fend off political pressure, act morally, and assert that anyone who has converted to Judaism in the IDF is a Jew.

IDI Vice President Professor Mordechai Kremnitzer weighs in on the challenges faced by Israel's High Court of Justice, in an article that was published at the end of the third millennium as part of a collaboration between IDI and Walla!, a popular Israeli website.

IDI Senior Fellow Professor Yuval Shany explains the increasingly critical relationship between international law and the Israeli legal system, in an article that was published at the end of the third millennium as part of a collaboration between IDI and Walla!, a popular Israeli website.

IDI Research Fellow Mr. Yair Sheleg highlights growing individualism within both the religious and secular Jewish populations in Israel and takes note of growing rifts between the two communities, in an article that was published at the end of the third millennium as part of a collaboration between IDI and Walla!, a popular Israeli website.

IDI Former President and Founder Dr. Arye Carmon, one of Israel's foremost experts on political reform, sums up the Israeli political scene at the end of the first decade of the third millennium in an article that was published in collaboration with Walla!, a popular Israeli website.

IDI Senior Fellow Professor Tamar Hermann explores developments in the relationship between the Israeli public and the political establishment, in an article that was published at the end of the third millennium as part of a collaboration between IDI and Walla!, a popular Israeli website.

IDI Vice President Prof. Yedidia Stern dissects the tenuous road traveled by the Israeli court system, in an article that was published at the end of the third millennium as part of a collaboration between IDI and Walla!, a popular Israeli website.

Dr. Kalmen Neuman discusses the conflict faced by Orthodox soldiers who must choose between their religious commitment and the authority of the IDF when commanded to evacuate settlements.

In an op-ed in Yedioth Aharonoth, IDI Vice President of Research Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern calls on the leaders of each "tribe"—Russian, ultra-Orthodox, settler, and upper class— to take action to eradicate the negative behavior stereotypically associated with their camp.

In late 2009, a series of crimes were committed by individuals who hailed from different sectors of Israeli society—Russian, ultra-Orthodox, the settlers, and the Israeli upper class. These crimes were attributed to the actualization of traits stereotypically associated with the "tribe" of each perpetrator. In an op-ed in <em>Yedioth Aharonoth</em>, Prof. Yedidia Z. tern warns against public displays of tolerance that create a cultural "city of refuge" that condones such behavior, and calls on the leaders of each "tribe" to assume responsibility and take action to eradicate the negative behavior associated with their camp.

Researcher Michael Philippov exposes stereotypical views of Russian immigrants and suggests that criminality is a product of Israeli society's obtuseness and indifference. He encourages Israel to consider Aliyah absorption seriously and to focus on fundamental problems such as the lack of development of the peripheral regions and insufficient investment in education.

In an article in the Hebrew journal Eretz Acheret, IDI Vice President Yedidia Stern discusses the tension between two civilizations - western-liberal and traditional-Jewish - in Israel, and asserts that the agents of influence in Israeli society prefer to present these two values as mutually exclusive alternatives that are set up for a culture war. To read the full article published in Eretz Acheret, click here.

In an article by Dan Pine originally published in J.Weekly on November 5, 2009, IDI President Dr. Arye Carmon describes Israel's internal domestic developments as its greatest existential threats and stresses the urgent need for political reform.

As calls for an independent Israeli investigation of the events of Operation Cast Lead grow stronger, IDI's Dr. Dana Blander looks at the history of Israel's investigative committees.

This op-ed by IDI Prof. Yuval Shany argues that despite the Goldstone Report’s shortcomings, it strengthens the demand to investigate claims raised against the IDF through an extra-military entity. As he sees it, the main question to address is whether the army's internal investigation of "Operation Cast Lead" meets the requirements of international law.

In this article from The Jerusalem Post, Dan Izenberg considers the impact of the Goldstone report as "political and not legal." The article points to mistakes Israel had made after Operation Cast Lead, and suggests that the current laws of war should be changed, as they do not address the new reality involving civilians in warfare.

A measure introduced by US Senator Benjamin Cardin, which would create a status called "qualified newspaper cooperation," has spurred debate in the discussion about the future of print media. In this article from <em>The Seventh Eye</em>, Hanoch Marmari explains the dangers of US legislative efforts to define "newspapers."

In her article Adi Mintz argues that while for some the Disengagement in 2005 represented a pinnacle of democracy, she experienced it as a deterioration of democracy. At the center of her argument is what she considers to be Ariel Sharon's referendum-dismissive nature, as she suggests that what took place during the Disengagement was not a "truly democratic struggle for public opinion."

Dr. Arye Carmon, co-founder and president of the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), discusses how the lack of a constitution is an internal existential threat to Israel. Dr. Carmon's approach is inclusive and integrative, including such remedies as one-ballot elections and a Constitution by Consensus.

IDI Research Fellow Yair Sheleg argues that it is time to modify the requirements for those who wish to join the Jewish People, with the State overriding the religious establishment through legislation in order to resolve this issue, if necessary.

In an article originally published in <em>Haaret</em>z, Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern writes of Israel's anxious national psyche and offers a few cases of false Israeli apprehensions that have been created by distorted perceptions of reality.

Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer and Roy Konfino argue that the proposed 'Nakba Law,' which forbids public mourning of Israel's Independence Day, is anti-democratic, unconstitutional, and detrimental to freedom of expression and of peaceful demonstration in Israel.

IDI Vice President of Strategy Dr. Jesse Ferris argues that the one- and two-state paradigms are no longer relevant and suggests a redrawing of boundaries among Israel, Jordan and Egypt instead.