Poverty in the Jewish and Democratic State

9:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m
OPENING SESSION: THE CRY OF THE POOR

Greetings
Dr. Arye Carmon, IDI President

Opening Presentation
Dr. Meir Buzaglo, Chairman, "Tikun" Movement; Head of the Department of Philosophy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Participants:

• Mr. Kobi Oz,  Musician and Artist - On the Injustice of Poverty
• Attorney Gilad Harish, Director "Lasova" organization - The Real Poverty in Israel
• Ms. Efrat Degani, Chair, Bema'aglei Tzedek - Neighbor, Community, and State: Responsibility to the Poor
• Rafah Anabtawi, Coordinator of Community Work, Kayan-Feminist Organization - Poverty Among Arab Women

11:15 a.m.-12:45p.m.
SESSION 1: THE POOR
Who are the Poor in the Jewish and Democratic State?

Chair: Prof. Yedidia Stern, IDI Vice President; Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University

Participants:

• Prof. Omer Moav, Department of Economics, Hebrew University - Ignorance and Ideology in Policy Making
• Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Rabbi of Har Bracha and Head of the Har Bracha Yeshiva - Charity, Employment, and Rights
• Attorney Yuval Albashan,  Yedid-The Association for Community Empowerment, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - The Poor and the Invisible
• Rabbi David Stav, Rabbi of Shoham and Chairman of the Tzohar rabbinical organization - The Poverty Line in Jewish Law

12:45 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Break

1:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
Happiness and Wealth in the Tales of Rabbi Nachman
Rabbi Dov Zinger, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Makor Chaim;
Head of Beit Midrash Lehitchadshut

1:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
SESSION 2:  THE INDIVIDUAL
The Rights and Obligations of the Middle Class
Chair: Prof. Hanoch Dagan, IDI Senior Fellow; Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University

Participants:

• Rabbi Dr. Benjamin (Benny) Lau, Director of Beit Morasha of Jerusalem's Center for Judaism and Society and Rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue - "Neither Poor nor Impoverished": The Ordinary Citizen - The Rights of the Middle Class in a Just Society
• Dr. Hila Shamir, Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University - The Middle Class and the Welfare State
• Dr. Karnit Flug, Deputy Governor, Bank of Israel - Who are the Middle Class?
  Read the summary on the Bank of Israel website.
• Rabbi Haim Navon, Rabbi of the Shimshoni community in Modi'in;  Migdal Oz Seminary - Does Jewish Law Demand Justice from Society?

3:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Break

3:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Poems for an Empty Refrigerator
Mr. Roni Somek, poet and teacher

3:45 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
SESSION 3:  SOCIETY
The Welfare State and Community Responsibility
Chair: Prof. Shahar Lifshitz, IDI Senior Fellow; Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University
Read the article "Individual and Communal Responsibility for the Poor in the Jewish and Democratic State" by Prof. Shahar Lifshitz

Participants:

• Rabbi Shay Piron, Researcher, IDI;  Executive Director, Hakol Hinuch; Head of the Petach Tikva Hesder Yeshiva and its affiliated High School - The Disengagement: On the Transfer of Responsibility from Charity Organizations to the State
• Rabbi Dr. Joseph Isaac Lifshitz, Senior Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Political Theory, and Religion, The Shalem Center - Can the Modern State Replace the Community?
• Dr. Momi Dahan, IDI Senior Fellow; Head of the School of Public Policy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Why are there More Poor People in Israel?
• Ms. Tammy Molad-Chaiu, Journalist and Social Activist - The State is the Community

5:15 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Break

5:30 p.m.-6:15 p.m.
CLOSING SESSION

• Justice  (Emerita) Dalia Dorner, Israel Supreme Court - Social Rights and Human Dignity in the Jewish and Democratic State
• Prof. Shahar Lifshitz, IDI Senior Fellow - Closing Remarks