The last few months have clearly demonstrated that achieving democracy is a painful process. We’re nearing the finish line, exhausted and aching. We’ve bared our claws, shamelessly vilified our opponents, made outrageous assertions, and not shied away from telling brazen lies. We made promises we knew we couldn’t keep and did precisely the opposite of what we promised. We squeezed…

According to the polls, the religious-Zionists and ultra-Orthodox will hold a disproportionate number of seats in the next Knesset, as compared to their share of the adult population, which is estimated at 21%. There is nothing new about the fact that the religious and ultra-Orthodox parties—Torah Judaism, the Union of Right-Wing Parties, and Shas—are on the road to winning about…

The merger between the Jewish Home party and Otzma LeYisrael (“Strength for Israel” – a far-right political party) marks the end of an era. Since the founding of the State of Israel, the prominent Religious-Zionist parties have played a central role – yet they have now joined forces with the dangerous fringes on the extreme right.  As a result Religious-Zionism has…

Would you let one soccer team decide for its opponent – which players can take the field, in an upcoming match? The very question is absurd, because the conflict of interest reeks to high heaven. But this is precisely the situation of our Central Elections Committee (CEC), which rules on the disqualification of Knesset candidates and lists. Its members represent…

The terrible human cost of World War II drove the United States to promote the establishment of institutions, rules, conventions, and agreements that would regulate, in the international sphere, such basic issues as arms control, trade, health, environmental protection, and more. This “world order,” which was forged during a period of American dominance and rooted in a multilateral approach to…

The following is an op-ed originally published by the Jerusalem Post A recent report from the Religious Affairs Ministry, which oversees the Chief Rabbinate, points to a significant drop in Jewish Israeli couples marrying through their auspices, the only legal option for Israeli Jews. The report notes a 6.2% decrease in rabbinate marriages in 2018, and a similar trend from 2017 to…

Israel is about to enter a hundred days of media-fueled madness, running through Election Day. The political roller-coaster is gunning its motor before taking Israelis on a wild ride full of surprises, leading up to the election of the national engine-driver. Before we get carried away by the colorful details of the plot however, we should turn our gaze away…

For an Israeli like me, the recent visit to Israel of 450 members of the Park Avenue Synagogue is very encouraging.

The Hebrew University is weighing the idea of changing the language of instruction in some of its degree programs from Hebrew to English. This could be the first step towards making English the language of instruction for undergraduate degrees as well, first in the natural sciences and later in the humanities and social sciences. A decision by the Hebrew University…