Articles

What explains the extraordinary accomplishment of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party in the 2013 Knesset elections? IDI researcher Attorney Amir Fuchs points to one factor that is sometimes overlooked: the fact that the liberal right was left without a political home in the elections of 2013. 

Following the elections of 2013, IDI Vice President Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern hails the incoming Knesset as a unique opportunity to change the nature of the State of Israel so that it is both more Jewish and more democratic at the same time. 

Israeli voters are increasingly influenced by the personality of the party head rather than by the party's ideology. In this op-ed, written before the 2013 Knesset elections, Prof. Gideon Rahat, head of IDI's Political Reform project, shares his thoughts on the cult of personality in Israeli politics. 

IDI researcher Dr. Ofer Kenig draws conclusions from the trends that emerged on Election Day and sketches the anticipated nature of the 19th Knesset.

The 19th Knesset is expected to have a record number of women MKs. Nonetheless, the percentage of women in the Knesset is lower than that found in the parliaments of most other established democracies. IDI researcher Dr. Ofer Kenig provides an overview of the situation.

The findings of the Party Democracy Index, a new tool designed to evaluate the level of democracy within political parties, which was designed by IDI's political reform research team and released in advance of the 2013 Knesset elections.

Naftali Bennett's statement that he would refuse orders if commanded to evacuate settlements raises questions about the type of insubordination that he and his party condone. In an op-ed in Yedioth Ahronoth, Prof. Yedidia Stern calls on Habayit Hayehudi to clarify its position on the matter.

On the occasion of International Migrants Day and an IDI roundtable on Israeli immigration policy, IDI researcher Adv. Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler provides an overview of the treatment of African asylum seekers who have crossed into Israel via its southern border.

In an article written before the elections for the 19th Knesset, IDI researchers Ofer Kenig and Nir Atmor focus on five elements of Israel’s political system that they believe are in dire need of change.  

The statistics and graphs below pertain to the upcoming Knesset elections, which will be held on March 17, 2015. The data were collected and analyzed by Dr. Ofer Kenig of IDI's Political Reform project.

On December 4, 2012, the Israeli Supreme Court heard a petition arguing that the “Admissions Committee Law” is discriminatory and unconstitutional. Attorney Amir Fuchs explains why he sees this law as an insult to Israel's democracy.

IDI Vice President Mordechai Kremnitzer and Doron Navot, author of Political Corruption in Israel, discuss whether politicians convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude should be allowed to return to the Knesset.

IDI researchers Dr. Ofer Kenig and Assaf Shapira review the different ways in which Israeli parties choose their candidates for the Knesset, while focusing on the three parties that had primary elections this year: Habayit Hayehudi, Likud, and the Labor Party.

What is the significance of the UN decision to grant the Palestinian Authority the status of a non-member observer state? IDI Research Fellow Dr. Amichai Cohen explores this question from a legal standpoint.

In an op-ed published in Haaretz, IDI Vice President Mordechai Kremnitzer and researcher Attorney Amir Fuchs point out that despite the assault on democratic values witnessed in the outgoing Knesset, "democracy" does not seem to be on the agenda in the current election campaign.

Israel's launch of Operation "Pillar of Defense" just before the elections for the 19th Knesset is reminiscent of the launch of "Operation Cast Lead" before the elections of 2009. Should the elections be postponed? Dr. Dana Blander discusses elections during times of war, in Israel and abroad, from an historical-legal perspective.

As the academic year started at Israeli universities, <em>Haaretz </em>reported that Israel's Arab population is extremely under-represented in all levels of Israeli higher education. Dr. Nabil Khattab, head of IDI's Arab-Jewish Relations project, shares his thoughts on these findings.

A bill entitled "Basic Law: Israel – The Nation State of the Jewish People" is currently being considered by the Knesset. Although it was sponsored by a large number of Knesset members from a both the coalition and the opposition, the bill is controversial as it may disrupt the delicate balance between the "Jewish" and "democratic" identities of the State of Israel. In this op-ed, IDI Vice-President Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer and Researcher Adv. Shiri Krebs argue that the bill is unnecessary and counterproductive to the goal of a Jewish and democratic Israel. 

This abstract introduces an IDI study of economic development initiatives in Palestinian localities in Israel. The study focused on entrepreneurship, especially in the local food industry, and encourages more comprehensive research on entrepreneurship in Palestinian society in Israel.

On November 10, 2012, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the Israeli prime minister who has served the second longest cumulative term. Dr. Ofer Kenig explores Netanyahu's placement between record-holder David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Shamir.

An abstract of an article that examines the extent of the occupational mismatch among college-educated Arabs as compared to the mismatch among college-educated Jews, based on data from surveys conducted from 2000–2010.

In an op-ed published in The Jerusalem Post, IDI Director of International Communications Yehoshua Oz argues that a central group of larger parties is needed instead of the small parties that have inundated Israeli politics over the last two decades, in order to provide stability and avoid the need for coalitions of many small parties, each with their own special-interest demands.

Reflecting on the 17th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, IDI Research Fellow Yair Sheleg asserts that Rabin Memorial Day should be observed as "Israeli Democracy Day" and shares thoughts on political violence in Israel of 2012.

In an op-ed originally published in Yedioth Ahronoth, IDI Former President and Founder Dr. Arye Carmon welcomes the merger of the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, which he sees as an important milestone in a long, necessary process of repairing Israel's political system.

Research conducted by IDI's Arab-Jewish Relations project reveals a disparity between student achievement in the Jewish and Arab sectors. This abstract points to the variables that explain these disparities.

In an op-ed written in response to Rabbi Shlomo Aviner's declaration that women are forbidden to serve in the Knesset, IDI Vice President Prof. Yedidia Stern discusses the struggle between the integrationist and isolationist trends within Religious Zionism.

An analysis of Israeli public opinion on the issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, as revealed in polls conducted by IDI's Guttman Center for Surveys from 1986 through 2009.

Upon the announcement of early elections, IDI researcher Dr. Ofer Kenig reviews the performance of the 18th Knesset and wonders how it will be judged by history.

In an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post, IDI's Prof. Yedidia Stern, who served on the Plesner Committee for Equality in National Service, and Mr. Jay Ruderman analyze the Haredi community's reluctance to serve in the Israeli army and present an approach that will facilitate Haredi integration into Israel's army and society.

IDI researcher Attorney Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler argues that the response of the Israeli government to the plight of 20 Eritrean asylum seekers trapped between the fences of the Israeli-Egyptian border tests Israel's adherence to rulings of its own Supreme Court.