Israel-Diaspora Relations

Study: Since October 7, American rabbis have been talking about Israel more often in their sermons

The study, conducted using AI tools, found that sermons in synagogues across denominations tended to focus on politics and Israel, especially after October 7, 2023.
Study: Since October 7, American rabbis have been talking about Israel more often in their sermons

New Subjects in the Field

Opinion Articles

The Ideological Gap Among Jews in the Mahmoud Khalil Case

Even before Israel’s justified military response began, US university campuses were hotbeds of support for Hamas, orchestrated by figures like Mr. Khalil at Columbia University, who unabashedly called for Israel’s destruction.
Opinion Articles
Opinion Articles

In embracing Europe’s far right, Israel is playing with fire

For Jewish communities in France and beyond, this shift is not merely uncomfortable; it is existentially destabilizing
Opinion Articles
Opinion Articles

Fearless Zionism: American Jews need to reshape their view of Israel

Even many who haven’t visited Israel – yet! – have been shaped by their Birthright buddies’ identity revelations.
Opinion Articles
Articles

Interview: Tamar Ish Shalom Talks About Jewish Identity in an Era of Crisis

In an interview with Lahav Harkov, Ish Shalom spoke about her new podcast: The goal is to focus on in-depth processes and the lessons we can learn from this period.
Articles

JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People Index – December 2024

The monthly survey examined the expectations regarding the new Trump administration, the sense of security among US Jews, Jewish identity, and their support of Israel.

JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People Index – November 2024

Most respondents assume that when Trump takes office, US-Israel relations will improve.

To Resist the Academic Intifada’

Last month, the JPPI – Jewish People Policy Institute – published The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath: Facts, Figures, History – my how-to-defend-Israel guide. This week, Wicked Son is publishing To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream – my why-to-celebrate-Israel manifesto. The story of that book is the story of a changing agenda over three years.
Opinion Articles

The Cost of the American Jewish Vote

I realize this program of action may be uncomfortable for many American Jews. Still, the cost of the American Jewish vote for the Democratic party must include policies that will advance Jewish security and identity for the future.
Opinion Articles

Voice of the Jewish People – August 2024

Most respondents believe that Iran is a grave threat to the State of Israel. A quarter believe that it is also a grave threat to the United States.

Researchers Team

Shlomit Mali

Shlomit Mali

Bio

Shlomit Mali is CEO of the AMI - the coordinating body for relations between Israelis and Diaspora Jewry. She is a serial entrepreneur specializing in project leadership an partnership development. Mali was part of the founding team of the Center for Humanities Studies, managed the teacher training department at the National Library, and taught Talmud in various frameworks (SAR – New York; Keshet – Jerusalem; Yad Laisha and others). She holds a master's degree from the  Ravivim program at Hebrew University.

Focus Areas and Research

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Tamar Ish Shalom

Tamar Ish Shalom

Bio

Tamar Ish Shalom, formerly the chief anchor of Channel 10 (later Channel 13) News for 11 years and more recently the host of Channel 13’s weekend news edition, has won several prestigious awards, including the B’nai B’rith Journalism Award for her documentary series on the evolving face of American Jewry and the Givat Haviva Award for advancing shared society between Jews and Arabs in Israel. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Jewish philosophy and a master’s degree in religious studies. Tamar hosts a podcast on the topic of the impact of the October 7th events and the ongoing war on the world’s largest Jewish community outside Israel—the Jewish community of the United States.

Focus Areas and Research

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Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn

Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn

Bio

Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn is currently Visiting Professor at the Ruderman Program in American Jewish Studies and Senior Researcher at the Comper Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa. She is also a '22-'24 inaugural fellow at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Center for Antisemitism Research and a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. She was previously appointed as the Visiting Assistant Professor in Israel Studies at Northwestern University (2018-2022) and the University Research Lecturer in Israel Studies at the University of Oxford (2013-2018). Her research, teaching, and public engagement activities focus on Diaspora-Israel relations, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and the Israeli Ultranationalist Movement. Her first book, City on a Hilltop: American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement (Harvard, 2017), was the winner of the 2018 Sami Rohr Prize in Jewish Literature Choice Award and a finalist for the 2017 National Jewish Book Award. She is currently working on a new manuscript entitled "New Day in Babylon and Jerusalem: Zionism, Jewish Power, and Identity Politics Since 1967," that will offer a transnational history of the post-Six Day War period. Apart from her academic work, Dr. Hirschhorn is an internationally-recognized public speaker, writer, educator, media commentator, and consultant on contemporary Jewish/Israel affairs.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn

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Samuel J. Hyde

Samuel J. Hyde

Bio

Samuel J. Hyde is a South African-Israeli writer and researcher. He began his career studying the rise of Nazism at the Holocaust and Genocide Center and is currently a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. Over the years, he has worked in various research institutes such as the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and UN Watch, and edited Dr. Einat Wilf's We Should All Be Zionists.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Samuel J. Hyde

Western Romance with Despotisms

How did Israel establish democracy? The answer is Jewish cultural tradition

The New Right and The Lie We’re Telling Ourselves

From New York to Tel Aviv, A Journey to Martyrdom

Post-Assad Syria: The end of Baathism and the rise of Islamism

Islamism and The Left’s Moral Black Hole

Hilltop Youth, Hardal: The Anti-Zionist Jews of Israel

Sinwar’s Death and What It Could Mean

Netanyahu is no Churchill

The Case for the Attack on Hezbollah Jihadists

Israel’s Path Forward: Embracing the Jewish Heritage of Secularism

How ‘Suicidal’ Empathy Empowers Radicalism and War

The Radical Convergence of Briahna Joy Gray and Candace Owens

Palestinian Terror: the Metric by which Israel is Judged

Surprised by progressives celebrating Oct. 7? Look at how they have treated Iran

An Arab-Israel axis against the Islamic Republic of Iran is now a reality

Unmasking The New York Times Israel-Palestine Distortions

The Palestinian Path Untaken

Last Call for the Zionist Left 

UNRWA’s Existence Spells Doom for Rebuilding Gaza

Retribution, Redemption & Salvation

10/7 as Jihad

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Yaakov Katz

Yaakov Katz

Bio

Yaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author and journalist. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post where he continues to write a popular weekly column. He is the author of three books - “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards - How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War”. Shadow Strike was recently adapted into a docudrama by Reshet Media and his books have been published in a number of languages including English, Hebrew, Czech, Polish, Japanese and Mandarin. His next book – tentatively titled “Precision Strike” – is scheduled for publication by St. Martin’s Press in the Spring of 2025. Yaakov served for close to a decade as the paper's military reporter and defense analyst and was a lecturer at Harvard University where he taught an advanced course in journalism. He also served as Israel correspondent for Jane’s Defence Weekly. Prior to taking up the role of editor-in-chief, Yaakov served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Naftali Bennett during his tenure as Israel’s Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs. In 2013, Yaakov was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Originally from Chicago, Yaakov has a law degree from Bar Ilan University.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Yaakov Katz

Excluded from the new Middle East, Israel’s military edge faces danger

The West pounds Yemen – but will it ever get tough with Tehran?

Trump on Truth Social: Israel’s Centrality

How the World Zionist Congress Got the ultra-Orthodox to Comply

Dysfunction has taken root at the highest levels of Israel’s government

Israel’s internal fractures are a gift to its enemies

The IDF needs soldiers but Israel is paying yeshivas to dodge the draft

Is the Camp David peace at risk?

Israel’s hostage negotiations cannot become political football

How Israeli leaders ignore accountability, hold contempt for citizens

Trump’s outlandish Gaza plan may spare Middle East from past mistakes

Netanyahu may be resisting it, but a state commission of inquiry into October 7 is now essential

Halevi’s resignation was overdue, now’s the time for a state inquiry

A Hostage Deal Means a Chance for Israel to Heal

A New Dilemma in Syria As Government Is Embraced by the West

Katz-Halevi clash weakens Israel’s security

The media was also responsible for October 7

KAN are not the enemy: Ministers acting against Israel’s democratic character

Israel Can Save the World From a Nuclear Iran. It Must Strike Now

The Uprising in Syria is Providing a Convenient Distraction for Bibi

Trump and Biden’s influence on Israel

The past year has presented unprecedented strategic challenges to the Jewish people

What Israel Proved With Its Most Recent Attack on Iran

Sinwar, Check. Nasrallah, Check. What Comes Next for Bibi and Israel?

Even Laser Beams Aren’t Enough to Deal With the Drone Threat

Israel Must Not Forget Gaza and the Hostages as it Fights Hezbollah

The time for difficult decisions has come

Netanyahu hasn’t cared about Philadelphi Corridor for 16 years

Israeli politicians who attack the US are playing with fire

Israel Must Target Iran at the Same Time as Hezbollah

Why the Israeli High Court ruling on Charedi draft will bring change – slowly

Hezbollah Must Be Removed

How Israel Can Find Its Way Out of Isolation

Israel is outraged at ‘absurd’ ICC, but for the rest of the world, it’s totally logical

Why Israel Can’t Count Solely on Its Missile Defenses

Keeping Israel Jewish without Politics

Israel’s Intelligence Agencies and Military Need More Civilian Oversight

A More Accurate Accounting of the War in Gaza

Israel does not have a culture of accountability

Change needs to come to Israel’s post October 7 state

A Brief Window for Israel to Integrate Its Arab and Jewish Communities

The War in Gaza May End Soon, but Not the Fighting

When the war in Gaza stops, the political war in Israel will begin

Has Israel already lost the war with Hezbollah?

What’s the End Game for Gaza? Netanyahu Must Spell It Out

Three Options for Israel to End the War in Gaza

Israel is on a Collision Course with the US

Fighting for your career instead of against Hamas

Iran Pays No Price for Bad Behavior

The IDF Reservists Fighting in Gaza Will Fight Netanyahu After the War

Israel-Hamas war isn’t just about security, it’s about Jewish peoplehood

Attacks on Israel are only the beginning. All democracies are at risk

Even After the War in Gaza, Israel Will Have to Hunt Down Hamas’ Leaders

Qatar needs to expel Hamas leaders and if not, America should do it for them

If Biden Wants to Stop a Wider War, He Should Ready a Strike on Iran

Resetting the Military’s Approach to Gaza

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, what is Israel to do?

This Is a Pearl Harbor Moment for Israel

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Dr. Rachel Fish

Dr. Rachel Fish

Bio

Rachel Fish is the co-founder of Boundless, a think-action tank partnering with community leaders to revitalize Israel education and take bold collective action to combat Jew-hatred.

Dr. Fish has 20 years of academic experience in the fields of Israeli history, Zionist thought, and Middle Eastern Studies. Currently, Dr. Fish holds a position of Visiting Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at George Washington University’s Graduate School.

She was the Founding Executive Director of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, served as Senior Adviser and Resident Scholar of Jewish/Israel Philanthropy at the Paul E. Singer Foundation, and was Executive Director at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University.

Focus Areas and Research

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Amit Shoval

Amit Shoval

Bio

Amit holds a BA in Economics and Amirim Honors program in the Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Engaged in economic research and large-scale data analysis within the research department of the JGive. A unit 8200 alumnus with a broad background in Middle East affairs. Under the guidance of Prof. Yonatan Givati, responsible for estimating the Israel-Diaspora Index using quantitative methods and relying on economic theory.

Focus Areas and Research

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Prof. Gil Troy

Prof. Gil Troy

Bio

A Distinguished Scholar in North American History at McGill University currently living in Jerusalem, Gil Troy is an award-winning American presidential historian and a leading Zionist activist. He is, the editor of the new three-volume set, “Theodor Herzl: Zionist Writings,” the inaugural publication of The Library of the Jewish People. Two years ago he co-authored with Natan Sharansky Never Alone: Prison, Politics and My People, was published by PublicAffairs of Hachette. Recently designated one of Algemeiner's J-100, one of the top 100 people "positively influencing Jewish life,".

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Prof. Gil Troy

In the Face of Qatari Money

Harvard’s antisemitism report sits on three lies

How Harvard Can Reform Itself

Fighting antisemitism beyond politics: Building alliances, not boycotting

Netanyahu, Bar, and all of Israel’s leaders failed and must step down

Fearless Zionism: American Jews need to reshape their view of Israel

This Is Our Moment for Fearless Zionism

Big problems require great leaps of creativity

The Hamas prisoner release is a justification for death penalty for terrorists

My Solomon Schechter school embodied a bygone American, Zionist and New York Jewish dream

How Israel should respond to the Houthis: Make them fear us more than we fear them

Generational Divides: Supporting our Shared Zionist Dream

Despite a Wary Ceasefire with Hezbollah, Israel Has Much to Celebrate

Jew-Hunting Riots in Amsterdam Expose Dangers of Bystander Inaction

We have failed to integrate the Haredim, and this will have a heavy price for Israel

Crazy Campaign Plus Catastrophic Candidates Equals Surprisingly Normal Results

How are Ultra-Orthodox Jews Protesting IDF Service if They’re Too Busy Studying Torah?

A Brutal US Presidential Campaign: Israelis Should Avoid Replicating it

Dear Students, This is How to Resist The Academic Intifada

The Freedom To Be Sharansky

Israel Must Not End The War Despite Sinwar Success

A Letter to Lebanon: Could Northern Arrows Free Lebanon from Hezbollah?

Biden Should Tell Israel: ‘We’ve Got This’ and Bomb Iran

The Academic Intifada Defeats the Association for Jewish Studies

Keep saying: God Bless America

Zionism After October 7

Unconditional Surrender: How Israel Can Create Peace

To Resist the Academic Intifada’

TikTok Banned My New Book Even Before It Was Published

7 octobre

Israelis have several reasons to say ‘God bless America’ this month

Trump’s surging popularity once again proves political assassinations backfire

The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath

The anti-Zionism of some rabbinical students is a poisonous self-deception

We must work hard to ensure US Jewish community, US-Israel alliance do not break

Jerusalem is the Jewish spiritual, national hotspot

Fighting against antisemitism effectively: Non-Jews should engage too

Campus protests must be branded ‘Academic Intifada’

Harassed students should study in Israel

Israel needs leaders like Joe Lieberman

Forget two states, let’s try a two-democracy solution

Beware of Dangerous Advice: An Urgent Letter to President Biden

Rabbis not supporting the war against Hamas are acting irresponsibly

American policymakers have ideological blinders on

Israel’s Gaza war is self-defense, no apologies needed

How Palestine Hijacked the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Opinion: Netanyahu is not Sinwar but must go home

Can Zionism Save Academia?

Idan Amedi for Prime Minister of Israel

Returning to sites of the massacre, hard yet necessary

Trust Me, You’d Rather Live in a Pro-Israel America

Non-Jews should lead the fight against Jew hatred

Zionism: Still helping Jews save themselves

Israel stopped apologizing on October 7

Why, Once Again, Israel Will Survive

Our Failed Colleges: Time to Get Radical

Israel maintains moral clarity amid smog of Gaza war on Jihad

The Next Generation of Israelis:  We need your Tonal Zionism

Remembering David Ellenson, a Reform rabbi and Religious Zionist

Where are the righteous Palestinians?

All Israelis are hostages

It’s Time for Professors Who Support Israel to Proclaim their Zionism – the Toronto Way

Palestinians can stop the war by overthrowing Hamas

The Nine Big Lies Against Israel and What They Really Mean

Harvard must fight educational malpractice, not just antisemitism

Attacks on Israel are only the beginning. All democracies are at risk

Iran is no mere adversary, it is America’s mortal enemy

Feminists Are Consenting to Hamas’ Rape Culture

American Jews Need to Reexamine their Blinding ‘Conzeptzia Too’

Why Benjamin Netanyahu should vow to retire

Civilization is not a suicide pact

Students, it’s time to find your courage and confront Hamas apologists on campus

Israeli Soldiers Die Because Its Military Is So Moral; How to Fight the Next War

Silence of the tenured lambs

Palestinian Culture is Morally Bankrupt

The Many Ways American Jews Can Help

Amid the shock and horror, the nation stands together with moral clarity and resolve

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Prof. Yonathan Givati

Prof. Yonathan Givati

Bio

We are happy to announce that Prof. Yehonatan Givati has joined the Institute as a senior fellow. Givati completed both his PhD in economics and his Doctorate in law (SJD) at Harvard and is a professor of law at Hebrew University. He is the founding director of the Aumann-Fischer Center for Law, Economics, and Public Policy at Hebrew University and a member of the Center for the Study of Rationality, also at Hebrew University. Givati will head JPPI’s “Israel-Diaspora Index” project.

Focus Areas and Research

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Dr. Shuki Friedman

Dr. Shuki Friedman

Director General

Bio

Dr. Shuki Friedman is the Vice President of the Jewish People Policy Institute. He is a member of the Faculty of Law at the Peres Academic Center and formerly served as secretary of the Locker Committee for Examining the Defense Budget. He was also chairman of the government committee on the sanctions against Iran, and headed the international and foreign law department for the legal division of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Areas of expertise The relationship of religion and state; processes of religionization; secular-religious-ultra-Orthodox relations; ultra-Orthodox employment; the defense budget; Islamic law; international law; the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Dr. Shuki Friedman

Israel’s not a dictatorship, but it’s headed toward becoming one

Even against beasts, the IDF must uphold its character

The double standard of Gaza’s migration ban

The lawless road to anarchy

IDF needs to act on recruiting haredim

A new Middle East requires striking Iran’s nuclear program

Another step towards a Halachic state

Biden’s Sanctions Will Damage the Economy of West Bank Settlements

Biden Admin Can Destroy Islamic Republic’s Nuclear Program, Secure its Legacy

The government’s decisions only worsen the divide in Israel

Protests are justified. Blocking roads is not

Don’t arrest haredi draft resisters

ICC prosecutor’s filing may affect Israel’s character as liberal state

Drafting Haredim Is Now an Existential Issue

Resolve and Optimism between Yom HaShoah and Israel’s National Holidays

A People that Dwells Alone? We Will Not Survive

Rest of Israel’s population cannot be ultra-Orthodox’s flak jackets regarding IDF service

Biden’s sanctions set ominous precedent for the settlement enterprise

Moderate Israelis Need Moderate Leaders – Not Messiahs

The dangerous fantasy of independence from the US

Genocide and the Hague

Acknowledge the Religious Zionist Community’s Sacrifices in the War

Protest politics endangers the hostages

The Haredi Needle Isn’t Moving

Thank you, American Jewish community

A war for the Jews’ right to live

October 7 was awful, but this is not a second Holocaust

Faith restored…in Israelis

The American Jewish heart beats in time with Israel’s

The War – An Opportunity for a Turnaround in Relations Between Haredi and Non-Haredi Israelis

If the Declaration of Independence Falls, Israeli Unity Will Fall Too

Israeli settlers, ultra-Orthodox will pay for trampling over Israel

An unreasonable law

Freedom of speech at risk for haredi critics

Do not give up on Judaism: It’s what makes Zionism profound

The IDF – a model of morality in combat

Haredi leaders must take responsibility

New proposed draft exemption framework for haredim endangers Israel 

US Jews issue penalty card to the Israeli government

Judicial revolution endangers settlement enterprise

The unhealthy law against chametz in hospitals

The Religion and Law Wars endanger us

New bricks in the ultra-Orthodox ghetto wall

Israel – Two Perspectives and the Zionism of the 21st Century

A constitutional coup will backfire

Will the return of the ultra-Orthodox parties to the government curb the integration of the ultra-Orthodox in workforce?

Pin a Medal on Goldknopf

In a contentious election season, Israelis should look to our shared covenant

High Court Snuffs Out Hope for Tech-Savvy Haredim

The Blessing of Unity

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Prof. Yedidia Stern

Prof. Yedidia Stern

President

Bio

Professor Stern is President of the Jewish People Policy Institute and a full professor in the Faculty of Law at Bar-Ilan University. He is an alumnus of the Kerem B'Yavneh hesder yeshiva (1973-1978); holds a law degree (summa cum laude) from Bar-Ilan University (1982), and a doctorate in corporate law from Harvard University (1986). Stern has served as dean of Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Law (1994-1998), and was a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute (1989-2000). For a decade he served as the IDI's Vice President for Research. His areas of expertise are corporate law (merger and acquisitions, corporate finance and corporate governance), and public law (constitutional law, religion and state, human rights, law and halacha or Jewish law). He has lectured and been a visiting scholar at universities abroad (including Harvard, Columbia, Brandeis, and Princeton), and was Distinguished University Professor at Monash University in Australia (2009-2011). Stern has served as advisor to the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee; has participated in numerous committees and public entities, among them the Commission of Inquiry on the Treatment of Residents of Gush Katif (2009); the National Committee for Civic Studies (2009-2011, committee chair); the Takana Forum for the prevention of sexual harassment in the religious community (founding member); the Government Committee for Equality in the Burden of Service (2012); the Committee for Regulating Governance in Higher Education (2014). He has served on the boards of multiple companies, including (currently) that of Bank Leumi. Stern has been awarded the Zeltner Prize for Excellence in Legal Research (2009), and the Gorny Prize for Outstanding Activity in Public Law (2012). Professor Stern has written and edited over twenty books; has published over fifty research articles in five languages; is the coeditor (with Professor Sagi) of the journal Democratic Culture (19 volumes to date); regularly publishes essays and articles in the Israeli and international press, and is interviewed by the Israeli and international media on issues of law and society, religion and state, Judaism and democracy, Jewish identity and Israeli culture. Born in England (1955), married to Dr. Karen Friedman-Stern, father of eight.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Prof. Yedidia Stern

Flashing Red Lights in Boston

A sober look at the 5 wedge issues setting Israel ablaze

Dividing Israel: How politics of trust threatens inquiry into October 7

Splitting the Attorney General role would be a win-win all around

Turning the Shin Bet into a political battleground would be a detriment to all of Israel

We should all compromise to protect Israel’s judiciary from political strife

To stop the Israeli exodus, we need a constitution

The promise and pitfalls of the latest judicial reform outline

The wrong priorities: The absurdity of today’s Israel is on full display

Netanyahu’s trial – To mediation

Israelis can only fortify the national home by reconciliating among ourselves

Israel’s Resilience: Uniting in Celebration on Simchat Torah

Yariv Levin and his judicial reform have failed. Here’s why

Israel is in desperate need of a hostage deal and strategy

A Hostage Deal – How Will We Decide?

Europe and the Jews

Drafting Haredim – Coercion Is Not the Answer

We need a broad national emergency government now

A Decision is Required

Encouraging Haredi Participation in the IDF

Do we deserve our IDF soldiers?

Israel cannot afford to stop the war in Gaza

Israel requires a thin constitution

The Gaza War Should Set a New Tone for Israeli Unity Going Forward

Israel’s Achilles’ Heel

Harvard is Risking Moral Bankruptcy and Opposes Human Rights

What is the price of Israeli sovereignty?

The Genesis War

Israel – from adolescence to adulthood

Restoring the covenant of fate

Israel is in danger from a radicalized Center

How to Avoid a War over the Law of Return

To prevent another Tisha B’Av, we must learn something from the past

Can equality be enshrined in an Israeli constitution now?

Can Israel’s political strife be solved by a ‘thin’ constitution?

Israeli conservatism has collapsed

Do not alienate those who disagree with you politically

Dialogue should prevent Israel’s slide into civil war

Neither side can win on judicial reform

The time for dialogue is now!

No to Levin’s revolution, yes to changes in the legal system

Israel’s judiciary shows its limited power

Israel’s Knesset must leave the Law of Return alone – opinion

A Public Yom Kippur

Rosh Hashanah or January 1st?

Herzl and the First Zionist Congress: Then and now

How Much Should Israel Value Jewish Interests Over its Own?

On Freedom

The Haredim: What Was Is Not What Will Be

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Noah Slepkov

Noah Slepkov

Chief Technology Officer

Bio

Noah Slepkov is a fellow and chief technology officer at JPPI and he is lead developer and managing partner at theMadad.com. At JPPI he is focused on public opinion surveys and big data research. Previously he served as Foreign Policy and Strategic Advisor to Member of Knesset Dr. Einat Wilf and worked in the Israeli Knesset as a Parliamentary Assistant. Noah holds an Honors BA in Jewish Studies from York University and an MA in Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution from the Lauder School of Government at the IDC Herzliya. He also studied Economics at the University of Toronto and Political Science at the University of Western Ontario. Prior to immigrating to Israel from Canada in 2008, Noah worked on campuses across Canada organizing Jewish student events and leading Israel advocacy efforts.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Noah Slepkov

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Dr. Shlomo Fischer

Dr. Shlomo Fischer

Senior Fellow

Bio

Dr. Shlomo Fischer teaches sociology in the School of Education at Hebrew University and at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.He is also currently a research fellow at the Van Leer Institute. His research interests include the nexus of religion, politics and class in Israel, contemporary religion and the sociology of the Jewish people. He has published extensively on radical religious Zionism and the West Bank settlers as well as on the Shas movement. Fischer has worked in the field of education for the past 25 years. In the past 10 years he has worked in the field of religion, democracy and tolerance. He has edited (together with Adam Seligman) The Burden of Tolerance: Religious Traditions and the Challenge of Pluralism (Hebrew; HaKibbutz Hameuchad and the Van Leer Institute, 2007) which addresses these issues. From 1996-2007 he was the founder and Executive Director of Yesodot – Center for Torah and Democracy which works to advance education for democracy in the State-Religious school sector in Israel and was also one of the founders and is on the Board of the International Summer School for Religion and Public Life which is based in Boston, Mass. He is a graduate of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership in Jerusalem.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Dr. Shlomo Fischer

What Does the Cancellation of the Torch Lighting Ceremony Really Mean?

Who was Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook?

Hamas out, Arab criminal gangs in?

A New Era for Evangelicals and Israel, a Bridge to Progressives?

A New Era for Evangelicals and Israel, a Bridge to Progressives?

American Evangelicals, Jews, and Israel

Religious Zionists against the Land of Israel

Axing the Oslo Accords Killed the Narrative, Not Just the Process

Managing the Growing Challenges to Jewish Cohesion

October 7 was a feature, not a bug

The Hostage Dilemma

Musk, Soros and Antisemitism “Under Erasure”

No peace, no shtreimel

The Lag BaOmer Bonfire and Cultural Depth

Israeli Politics is Undergoing Tectonic Change

Opinion: Engage Moderate Religious Zionists on Israeli Judicial Reform

Israel’s Haredi education system needs major reform

The State of Israel, the Diaspora, and the Nation-State Law

2021 Jewish World Dialogue – Executive Summary

Political Extremism and the Jews

One, Two, or Three Jewish Identities among Jewish Americans?

Antisemitism and its Impact on Jewish Identity

The Growth of the Haredi Communities in the Diaspora

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Dr. John Ruskay

Dr. John Ruskay

Senior Fellow

Bio

John S. Ruskay came to UJA-Federation in 1993 and held several positions before being appointed Executive Vice President and CEO in October 1999, serving in this role until July 2014. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968, Dr. Ruskay earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science at Columbia University. He served as Educational Director of the 92nd Street Y from 1980 to 1985, and Vice Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America from 1985 to 1993. Dr. Ruskay has written extensively and speaks nationally on how the American Jewish community can most effectively respond to the challenges and opportunities of living in an open society; the critical role of Jewish philanthropy; and the central role of community. He has served as a senior consultant to the Wexner Foundation and The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, and has chaired the Publication Committee of the Journal of Jewish Communal Service and the Professional Advisory Committee of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. Dr. Ruskay has received numerous honors, including the Bernard Reisman Award for Professional Excellence from Brandeis University's Hornstein Program, the Mandelkorn Distinguished Service Award from the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America, and honorary doctorates from the Jewish Theological Seminary (2011), Hebrew Union College (2103), and Yeshiva University (2014). The Ruskay Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership is being established to provide in-service professional enrichment for the next generation of communal leaders. Dr. Ruskay is married to Robin Bernstein; together they have five children and seven grandchildren.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Dr. John Ruskay

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Shmuel Rosner

Shmuel Rosner

Senior Fellow

Bio

Shmuel Rosner is a researcher, editor and columnist. He is the editor of the "THE MADAD" project, for politics, society, identity and culture in Israel and serves as a television commentator for Kan News.

Rosner was the editor-in-chief of the non-fiction books in Kinneret-Zamora-Dvir from 2009 to 2021. He was a columnist for the New York Times newspaper from 2012 to 202. He was the head of the news department at Haaretz (1996 to 2008). He is a sought-after lecturer on Israeli politics, security, and policy; the state of the Jewish people; American history, politics, and policy.

Focus Areas and Research

Articles by Shmuel Rosner

How Long Does a War Take?

How Long Does a War Take?

Hamastan, Fatahstan, Realistan

The price tag that comes with Biden’s trip to Israel

How I Got Israel Wrong

Israel is dodging the ultra-Orthodox question

Pluralism Index 2023: Israelis Want a Democratic and Jewish State

WHO IS A JEW? VIEWPOINTS OF ISRAELI JEWS

The new Israeli officials seeking to redefine Jewish identity

Should Moral Considerations be Brought to Bear in Foreign and Security Policy? Attitudes of Israeli Jews

Shared Spaces, Challenging Spaces: What the findings of JPPI’s 2022 Pluralism Index survey reveal

The 2021 Arab Israeli Riots and their Consequences

The Jewish Camp of the Nine Percent

The 2021 Israel Pluralism Index: Consensus and Disagreements

Israeli Election: Initial Lessons

The Diaspora Jewish Community, Post-Pandemic: Trends and Recommendations

2020 Pluralism Index

2020 JPPI Pluralism Index: Digital Event

Answer our survey and see where you land on the map of Israeli Judaism

70 Years of Israel-Diaspora Relations: The Next Generation

70 Years of Israel-Diaspora Relations: the Next Generation

Jerusalem and the Jewish People: Unity and Division

Jerusalem and the Jewish People: Unity and Division – Interim Report

2017 Pluralism in Israel Index

Exploring the Jewish Spectrum in a Time of Fluid Identity

Jewish Values and Israel’s Use of Force in Armed Conflict: Perspectives from World Jewry

Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State

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