Articles

In an op-ed, originally published on the Ynet website, IDI Senior Fellow Dr. Momi Dahan reflects on the wave of social protest of the summer of 2011 and stresses that the response to the protest must be a new social-economic agenda.

In an op-ed in <em>Haaretz</em>, IDI Vice President of Research Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer and Attorney Shiri Krebs respond to a proposed amendment to the Associations Law that would prevent non-profit organizations from receiving contributions from "governments and international bodies like the United Nations and European Union."

Should Sunday be a day of rest in Israel? This debate was reawakened In July 2011, when Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom proposed that Israel should have a long weekend that would be in sync with the rest of the world. IDI Senior Fellow Prof. Avi Ben-Bassat believes that this is populist legislation and that the public is not being fully informed of its ramifications.

Should Sunday be a day of rest in Israel? This debate was reawakened In July 2011, when Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom proposed that Israel should have a long weekend that would be in sync with the rest of the world. IDI Former President and Founder Dr. Arye Carmon believes that this change is necessary, but must be implemented as part of a comprehensive social change aimed at bridging the gap between religious and secular Jews.

In this op-ed from Haaretz, IDI Research Fellow Yair Sheleg reflects on the recent public debate over the Rabbi Dov Lior affair, and wonders why the religious Zionist camp was not as concerned about the contents of the book that Rabbi Lior endorsed as it was about his arrest.

In an op-ed in Maariv, IDI Vice President of Research Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer and IDI Researcher Attorney Amir Fuchs explain why the "Bill to Prevent Harm to the State of Israel Through Boycotts” poses a serious threat to freedom of expression in Israel.

In an op-ed originally published in Haaretz on June 18, 2010, IDI Vice President Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern responds to the dramatic events in the city of Immanuel, warns secular society about the growing demonization of the Haredi community, and urges the Haredi community to have greater faith in the courts—the ultimate protectors of the rights of minorities.

An interview with Dr. Aviad Hacohen, Dean of the Sha'arei Mishpat Academic College, that was conducted prior to IDI's 19th Caesarea Economic Policy Planning Forum, at which Dr. Hacohen and fellow researcher Dr. Lee Cahaner presented their findings on “The Forgotten Age in the Ultra-Orthodox Sector” during a session on Young Adults Aged 18–22.

The violent incidents that took place on the Israeli-Syrian border in June 2011 raise the question of how the Israel Defense Forces should deal with violent events that resemble disturbances while at the same time affecting important Israeli security interests. IDI Senior Fellow Prof. Yuval Shany offers his analysis of the Israeli response to these events.

In anticipation of his forthcoming book on the challenges of rabbinic leadership in Israel, IDI Vice President for Research Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern, shares his opinion on the role of rabbis in Israeli society.

In this op-ed from the bitterlemons-api.org website (June 1, 2011), IDI Senior Fellow Prof. Tamar Hermann contends that Israelis have been turning a blind eye to the Arab Peace Initiative (API) due to a cognitive "iron wall" that stands between them and the rest of the Middle East. She supports her argument with data from the Peace Index polls.

In an op-ed from Yedioth Ahronoth written in honor of Israel's 63rd Independence Day, IDI Vice President of Research Yedidia Z. Stern reflects on the quality of Israeli independence, and asserts that a connection with the wellsprings of Jewish culture is necessary for maintaining the quality of the independence that Israel holds so dear.

In an op-ed originally published in the Globes financial daily, IDI Former President and Founder Dr. Arye Carmon recalls attending the trial of Adolf Eichmann as a teenager in Jerusalem and reflects on the meaning of the Holocaust for Israelis in 2011. 

IDI's international conference "What Do Think Tanks Do?," conducted in May 2011, focused on the role and nature of think tanks in the democratic context. In this article, Dr. Karmit Haber explains the rationale behind the conference and examines the primary roles of think tanks and how they approach a variety of issues.

Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, IDI Vice President of Research, analyzes fundamental principles that bear crucially on the moral aspects of the Goldstone Report, Israel's stance with respect to the report, and contemporary international criminal law in general. 

A survey conducted in April 2011 by IDI’s Guttman Center and the Dahaf Institute on behalf of the Save Israeli Democracy NGO reveals that Israeli voters are fed up with political parties and Knesset members, but are willing to support initiatives that will change the situation.

In an op-ed from the Wall Street Journal, Former American Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Chairman of IDI's International Advisory Council, contemplates Washington's mounting practice of appointing White House "czars"—staff members who have de facto decision-making power over all major areas of government—and discusses what must be done to reverse this trend.

Judge Richard Goldstone’s retraction of his commission's finding that Israeli actions in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead deliberately targeted civilians righted a historical injustice. But did the actions of the State of Israel contribute to the false impression received by the Goldstone Commission? In this op-ed, IDI Senior Fellow Prof. Yuval Shany explores the question of whether the Israeli government should also search its soul and consider participation in future international commissions of inquiry.

In 2009, IDI Former President and Founder Dr. Arye Carmon established The Forum for Political Reform in Israel in response to "the urgent need to generate significant improvement in the capabilities and functioning of the Knesset." On March 28, 2011, Forum Chairman Meir Shamgar, Former President of the Israeli Supreme Court, submitted the Forum's recommendations to the Knesset. In this video interview, Dr. Carmon speaks about the Forum, its key recommendations, and obstacles to political reform in Israel. 

In an op-ed from <em>Haaretz</em>, IDI Research Fellow Yair Sheleg responds to the law allowing admissions committees in small community settlements to bar new residents who do not suit the “lifestyle and social fabric” of the community.

The “Nakba Bill” would impose financial sanctions on institutions that commemorate Israel’s Independence Day as a day of mourning. In this op-ed from the Ynet website, IDI’s Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer and Adv. Amir Fuchs warned that while observing Israel’s Independence Day as a day of mourning by citizens of the State of Israel is “a galling, unpleasant, and defiant act,” the test of a true democracy is whether it is able to allow such expressions of freedom of speech.

In this op-ed from Haaretz, IDI Research Fellow Yair Sheleg decries the ultra-Orthodox refusal to alter standards for conversion to Judaism in recognition of the fact that for many Israelis, Jewish identity is not only an expression of religious observance but also of identification with Zionism and Jewish culture. He warns that the ultra-Orthodox approach is causing serious injustice to thousands of people who wish to live as Jews and raise Jewish children in Israel.

In an op-ed in Yedioth Ahronoth, IDI Vice President Yedidia Z. Stern responds to the proposed "Dov Lior Bill" and decries the possibility that members of the clergy—of any religion—be above the law and immune from prosecution for incitement to violence when their religious teachings may encourage criminal behavior.

Dr. Jesse Ferris, IDI Vice President of Strategy, reflects on the arrival of the Arab Spring in Cairo and makes a preliminary assessment of its origins and implications for Egypt.

Dr. Jesse Ferris places the upheavals in Egypt in historical perspective and argues that Israel should not be so quick to dismiss the chance, however slim, of more open government for its Arab neighbors. 

On January 5-6, 2011, IDI convened a Conference on People with Disabilities in the Jewish and Democratic State, as part of the activities of IDI's Judaism and Human Rights project. IDI Senior Fellow Prof. Shahar Lifshitz, the project's co-director, shares his thoughts on social justice and the just distribution of resources.

A number of controversial bills recently tabled in the Knesset undermine basic constitutional values, add fuel to the international assault on Israel's legitimacy, and may end up damaging Israel's democratic character. In an article in The Jerusalem Post, IDI Former President and Founder Dr. Arye Carmon and Vice Presidents Professors Mordechai Kremnitzer and Yedidia Z. Stern respond to these initiatives.

In this article, IDI Researcher Adv. Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler surveys Israel's regulations regarding refugees and asylum seekers and points to three areas—eligibility for asylum, the rights of asylum seekers, and detention—in which they are incompatible with the UN refugee convention.

Are the ostensibly anti-Arab bills under consideration by the Knesset, the “Rabbis’ Letter” that forbids the sale of real estate to non-Jews, and the findings of the 2010 Israeli Democracy Index clear-cut indicators that racism is on the rise in Israel today? Or are more complex factors at play? IDI Research Fellow Yair Sheleg shares his views on this matter.