Articles

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.

Researchers surveyed aides in 40 Knesset offices. Of those, 92% of aides says they think MKs do not come prepared for Knesset committee meetings and that the Knesset is not succeeding in properly supervising the government (95%).

In 2017, we have to ask: Who is ultra-Orthodox? What are the boundaries of ultra-Orthodox society? What are the boundaries of ultra-Orthodox identity within the Israeli sphere?

Israel's very legitimacy as a Jewish state is under attack.

Ahead of Israel Independence Day: If we are willing to turn down the volume of the extreme voices and listen instead to the mainstream representatives in each of Israel's sectors, we will find cause for optimism about the shared Israeli future.

Those who get their information about Israel from the outside, might think the situation in Israel is not so great. But inside Israel, citizens are fairly proud, unified and optimistic.

As a second generation Holocaust survivor, Dr. Shuki Friedman says that, "beyond the responsibility of building our own lives and the state, there is also a personal responsibility not only to remember, but to pass on remembrance to the next generation."

Recent findings by the Central Bureau of Statistics on the Israeli labor market reveal that 80% of the country's Arab citizens are employed in jobs with difficult physical conditions. Watch a Research Reel about the NEET phenomenon among Israel’s Arabs.

Especially now, it is important to remember: There is no watchdog that is more important, that barks louder or is more effective at safeguarding Israeli democracy.

The truly great task is to push ourselves to be accountable, personally and nationally, to the question of purpose.

The Exodus from Egypt is what brought Israelites their freedom and made them into a nation.

There is a sizeable gap between the way Israelis view their political situation and the way the world assesses the Jewish state.

To tackle the crisis of democracy we must restore the public's faith in its governing institutions.

Poorly funded and under threat from personalization and social media, political parties are in decline.

Israel's security agencies have sweeping surveillance powers, but are subjected to few checks and balances.

How does Israel confront terrorist threats in an era of online incitement and lone-wolf attacks?

Haredim and Arabs must be integrated into society and economy to take the start-up nation to the next level.