Recently, Israeli Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked stated that Israeli democracy is “strong as an ox.” She said it is “healthy, vigorous, alive and kicking, and stronger than all its critics and naysayers.” At the same time, some on the left say they detect the development of anti-democratic processes in the Knesset and Israeli society, yet they dismiss any fears…

Moreover, Israelis have a positive attitude toward other Israelis. Three-fourths of Jews and slightly more than half of Arabs believe that Israelis can always depend on other Israelis to help them out in times of need. Despite the nonstop parade of controversies and crises that we tend to wallow in as a result of drama-filled news broadcasts and boisterous Knesset…

This year’s Dialogue Process marks the third year that JPPI has been building a structure for a systematic discourse on issues that are at the core of the collective interests of the Jewish people globally.

Only a week ago, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a law that prevents his state from contracting with entities that boycott Israel and other US allies. Pennsylvania is the 16th state to pass such a law in the past year and a half. Having reviewed these various efforts for the Jewish People Policy Institute’s (JPPI) 2016 Annual Assessment of the…

The time to fill the champagne glasses will be when Israel is able to make the most of a trusted and friendly new administration to advance a peace initiative. After the US election the question on Israeli minds is how the results are likely to impact the triangular relationship: Jerusalem, Washington and the American Jewish community. Is there good reason…

This animosity has its roots in a dangerous lack of understanding of Islam and how it differs from Christianity’s view of the individual and the community. In recent years, we have watched as European governments have sought to restrict or completely prohibit practices perceived as contradicting national or liberal democratic values. The recent hubbub about the burkini is just another…

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known collectively as the yamim nora’im are an opportunity for Jews around the world to unite in some serious soul-searching. In recent years, the world’s two largest Jewish communities, in Israel and the United States, have grown apart. There are many reasons: One major factor are the different processes Israeli society and American Jewish communities…

This break from reality isn’t only critical to the individual, but to a nation’s well-being. Holiday prayers remind us of our inherent vulnerability: “…Which nations will live by the sword and which nations by peace, which will go hungry and which will be sated” (Rosh Hashanah liturgy). This verse drives home the random, transient and fragile nature of the supreme…

Battles about cinema openings, clashes over automobile traffic and wars over shopping malls have, in general, ended with crushing defeats for the religious side. Many activities that were formerly banned in the name of the religious status quo are now conducted in the open. Thus, the operation of shopping malls, industry and cultural and public events that necessarily involve religious…