Publications Regarding freedom of expression
Articles
What We Should Learn About Ourselves, On the Occasion of Facebook’s 20th Birthday
Written By: Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
Twenty years into the social media revolution, of which Facebook is the poster child, we need to reassess and renew our fundamental democratic principles.
Online Platforms are Making Up Free Speech Rules as They Go—and It’s Concerning
Written By: Prof. Yuval Shany
Banning users from social media platforms raises concerns about free speech protections online
No, Democracies Don't Have "Cultural Loyalty" Laws
Written By: Adv. Edna Harel Fisher
The truth is that the bill was designed to castrate expression and creativity, and induce self-censorship by artists and cultural institutions.
Press Freedom, Democracy Under Fire
Written By: Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
While in Israel there is no formal constitution, freedom of expression is inherent in our Basic Laws. Yet a recent episode between the Israeli government and the foreign press placed Israel in a problematic light and was neither democratic nor right.
IDI Experts Oppose Bill To Halt Funding To Parties Who Support Boycotting Israeli Settlements
A sharply worded policy statement by Israel Democracy Institute experts was sent last week to members of the Ministerial Committee on Legislation against the proposed amendment to the party funding law that allow a committee to halt funding to parties that call for placing a boycott on the state of Israel or any area of Israel, including the West Bank.
The New Journalism: How Digital Media Changed the Rules
Written By: Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
On Wednesday, May 27, 2015, IDI Research Fellow Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of Media Reform and Open Government Projects, chaired a session entitled “The New Journalism: How Digital Media Changed the Rules” at an international conference in Jerusalem. On this page, the session can be viewed in its entirety.
Legal Opinion on the Israel Hayom Law
Written By: Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
A summary of a legal opinion opposing the "Law for the Advancement and Protection of Print Journalism in Israel," which would prohibit the distribution of a full-sized daily newspaper in Israel free of charge.
Legal Opinion on the "Zoabi Bill"
Written By: Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Dr. Amir Fuchs
A summary of a legal opinion on a proposed amendment to Basic Law: The Knesset that was submitted by Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer and Dr. Amir Fuchs to the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs.
The IDF’s Fighting Ethos in the Wake of Operation Protective Edge
Written By: Yohanan Plesner
IDI President Yohanan Plesner stresses the need to ensure that the Israel Defense Forces remains at the heart of the Zionist consensus so as to enable it to continue to be the army of all citizens of Israel.
The IDF: Army of the People or Army of God?
Written By: Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer
IDI Vice President Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer addresses the question of the appropriateness of the letter that Givati Brigade commander Col.Ofer Winter sent to his subordinate officers as Israel prepared for the ground incursion in Gaza in the summer of 2014.
Mourning for Gazan Children Isn't Left-Wing
Written By: Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer
IDI Vice President Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer discusses the High Court of Justice's decision to uphold the Israel Broadcasting Authority's rejection of an infomercial in which the names of Gazan children who were killed in Operation Protective Edge would have been read aloud.
John Doe v. Jane Doe: Several Comments on the Privacy Revolution of Noam Solberg
Written By: Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
IDI Researcher Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler analyzes a Supreme Court ruling that recalled a book and struck a balance between the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression, and discusses larger questions of privacy in the digital age.
Thoughts on the Use of a Gag Order Following the Kidnapping
Written By: Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
As Israel prays for the safe return of Gilad Shaar, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of IDI's Media Reform project, shares thoughts on the use of gag orders and military censorship in the digital age.
Human Rights under Attack
Written By: Dr. Amir Fuchs
IDI Researcher Attorney Amir Fuchs discusses two indirect threats to human rights in Israel: attacks on the Israeli Supreme Court and attacks against Israeli human rights organizations.
No to the Separation of Religion and State in Israel
Written By: Yair Sheleg
Should the American model of separation of church and state be applied to Israel? In an article in <em>The Jewish Week</em>, IDI's Yair Sheleg argues that Israel needs a unique model.
What About Democracy?
Written By: Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Dr. Amir Fuchs
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.
Of Whistleblowers and Leakers
Written By: Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
On May 30th, 2012 Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced his intention to indict <em>Haaretz</em> journalist Uri Blau on charges of aggravated espionage for his role in the Anat Kamm affair. IDI Senior Researcher Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of the Institute's Media Reform Project, responds to this decision.
Say No to the Boycott Bill
Written By: Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer
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.
Religious Incitement: A Test Case for Freedom of Speech?
Written By: Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern
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.
Israel's Alt-Right is Now Mainstream - Are Lawmakers Doing Enough to Stop It?
Written By: Yardena Schwartz
27 years after Kahane’s murder, Jewish extremists praise the rabbi, calling him a righteous prophet whose politics were ahead of his time. Like Kahane, Gopstein’s ultimate dream is an Israel that operates according to Jewish law, or Halacha, where the only Arabs who live there are those loyal to a Jewish theocracy. “At this rate,” he says of Palestinian citizens of Israel, “it’s either us or them”
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Events in Jordan Prove the Power of Israel's Censor Has Grown
Written By: Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler
Israel's Military Censor, an institution that has no parallel in any other democracy in the world, must cease to exist.
