Article Library

Jewish, Democratic and Equal

Accusations against Israel, both in Israel and abroad, allege that a democratic country cannot have a particularistic identity. Some believe that a state must be neutral and that preferential treatment of any national group unjustifiably compromises the equality of citizens of other nationalities. These voices contend that in order for its large Arab minority – some 20% of the population…

The Moral Imperative

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Op-Ed: A lesson from 1980

This article was originally published in The Washington Post on March 16, 2016   At a moment of impasse over President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by Antonin Scalia’s death, it would be useful to remember this example: A…

The Mikveh Bill: When My Purity Means Your Impurity

Ludicrously, we are talking about the “Mikveh Bill,” which was advanced earlier this week by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation. The bill calls for forbidding the use of public ritual baths by anyone who is not prepared to acquiesce to the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate, and immerse in accordance with its strict edicts. The bill seeks to cleanse the ritual bath…
Geopolitics

Op-Ed: The Truth from the U.S.

This article was originally published in Forward. American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro recently charged that Israel employs a doublelegal standard in the West Bank: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians. No one can question Shapiro’s friendship toward Israel. His worrying observation reflects the frustration of many Americans who are true friends of Israel and yet deeply concerned about its…
Geopolitics
ישראל

A Statecraft-Security Israeli-Jewish View

The Jewish People Policy Institute discussion and critique of the “IDF Strategy” document, including recommendations by the Founding President (Emeritus) of JPPI .Professor Yehezkel Dror. For the full report (in Hebrew)- A STATECRAFT-SECURITY ISRAELI-JEWISH VIEW OF THE CHIEF-OF-STAFF’S DOCUMENT “ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES STRATEGY” For the executive Summary (in English)- A STATECRAFT-SECURITY ISRAELI-JEWISH VIEW OF THE CHIEF-OF-STAFF’S DOCUMENT “ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES STRATEGY”-…
ישראל
יהדות

New Western Wall Prayer Space Highlights Wider Divide Among Jews

By Isabel Kershner, The New York Times JERUSALEM — It seemed a solution worthy of Solomon: create a permanent egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall alongside the gender-segregated area that has been the subject of vitriolic protest. The Israeli government’s compromise decision this week was hailed as “historic” and “revolutionary,” yet it also underscored the divide between Israel and its Orthodox establishment and…
יהדות

The Charedi Draft: Here We Go Again

Here we go again, like a broken record, and the sound is dissonant, disappointing, and disgraceful. Israel’s Security Service Law, which drafts our sons and daughters into the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), compelling them to risk their lives for their country, has been amended again by the Knesset because of changes in the make-up of the coalition government. Made in…
ישראל

Israel Today: Society, Identity, and Political Affinities

This paper presents and analyzes the social, identity, and political preferences of Israeli society while mainly focusing on Israel’s Jews. It portrays the development of these traits over Israel’s existence, with a special emphasis on the past 25 years. Although each of these characteristics stands on its own, this analysis connects each examined characteristic with what preceded it. This approach…
ישראל