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Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Immunity for the Prime Minister—IDI experts explain Israel’s immunity law, what happens when it’s requested and what the implications may be for the political system.

Israeli researchers find significant overlap between Alzheimer’s-related mutations and those producing certain intellectual disabilities. Researchers believe that autism is caused by mutations in the egg or sperm or during pregnancy, particularly in the activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) gene. A new Tel Aviv University study published in Molecular Psychiatry found that ADNP mutations continue to occur in old age and accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients.

From July 1971 to May 1973, we lived in Jerusalem’s Beit Hakerem neighborhood, then only a walk across an open valley to the Givat Ram campus of The Hebrew University. No high-rise hotels there then. Lots of stray cats and schoolboys playing soccer in the street.  Prior to leaving for Israel to carry out dissertation […]

The November 27, 2019 signing of the maritime delimitation agreement between Turkey and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, has heightened concerns among many countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. The deal will negatively affect Turkey’s relations with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel; pose further challenges to the already questionable plans for the EastMed pipeline; and raise the stakes for outside actors involved in the Libyan civil war, likely prolonging the conflict there. It may, however, have a boomerang effect from Ankara’s perspective in that it strengthens Egypt’s determination to become an energy hub for the region.

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute and Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO Start-Up Nation Central, open the two day conference, welcoming senior executives from the public and private sectors. They’ve come together to work on a long-term vision for Israel’s economy and for addressing the market’s core issues.

Surgical Theater began in 2010 with the idea of giving neurosurgeons the ability to prepare for specific surgeries the way fighter pilots prepare for specific missions. Today, the virtual reality visualization platform is in 15 leading US hospitals, such as New York University, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Houston Methodist, George Washington University, Mount Sinai, Stanford and Children’s National Hospital.

With the Knesset dissolving itself last week and declaring a third election within a year, Israel seems paralyzed and polarized. The country has been stuck in a transitional government since December 2018, and the new vote will not take place till March 2, making for an immensely durable impasse. During this time of stalemate, the government has avoided major military operations and been unable to approve the military budget, among other high-priority fiscal issues.

The seventh annual public opinion poll of the MITVIM Institute on Israel’s foreign policy was conducted in September 2019. It was carried out by the Rafi Smith Institute and in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung, among a representative sample of Israel’s adult population (700 men and women, Jews and Arabs) and with a margin of error of 3.5%. This report presents the poll’s key findings, grouped under four categories: Israel’s foreign relations, Israel’s Foreign Service, Israel and its surrounding regions, and Israel and the Palestinians.

In late November 2019, the European Parliament ratified the appointments of Charles Michel as President of the European Council and Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission, as well as the appointments of the 27 commissioners under her responsibility over the next five years. The Commission is in effect Europe’s government, responsible for implementing the strategy of the European Union and for ongoing management of various issues assigned to it by its members. After a new government is formed in Israel, it would behoove the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli delegation in Brussels to prepare an agenda for a first meeting between the political leadership of the EU and Israel.

Israel has a plastic problem. The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva V’Din) reports that Israelis produce twice the international average of plastic waste per person per day. Aside from all the plastic bags, takeaway containers, forks, knives and spoons, we throw out 250 million plastic cups every month. The Tel Aviv-Yafo and Jerusalem municipalities are working toward removing disposable plates, cups and cutlery from public preschools and schools.

A medical team from Israel is on its way to the Pacific island nation of Samoa to assist overwhelmed healthcare workers trying to contain a serious measles epidemic and treat those already infected. A reported 65 people – mostly children — are reported dead from the outbreak, which has affected more than 4,400 citizens in the country of 200,000 since October. Unvaccinated children under age four are most at risk of deadly complications from the highly contagious virus.

From the beginning of the Palestine Mandate in 1920, Arabs in Palestine opposed Zionism; Arab states and leaders joined the opposition to Zionism in the 1930s. After WWII, Arab states were vehement in their opposition to Zionism, though the merits of their arguments were genuine, Arab leaders were more interested in controlling the land of Palestine than in the Palestinians themselves.

The Middle East is among the world’s richest regions in natural resources, but despite the Persian Gulf’s ostentatious oil wealth, as a whole, the region teeters on the economic precipice. East Asia, South Asia, and even Latin America—once peers in business and development—have left the Middle East in the dust. Rather than embark on slow and steady growth, Middle Eastern economies remain trapped by boom-and-bust cycles of economic development, often a case of two steps forward, two steps back.

The symposium held on December 2, 2019 analyzed the consequences of U.S. retrenchment for the future of Israel and the Middle East. For more than four decades, the United States has played a large part in the Middle East regional order. However, it is now pulling back from the region in a manner that has generated uncertainty and insecurity for America’s allies and partners. The event convened experts to discuss whether Israel is in a particularly exposed position given its traditional dependence on the United States.

Assembled by Ken Stein and Eli Sperling Emory University and Center for Israel Education kenstein@israeled.org or kstein@emory.edu   Tamuz Avivi, “Female Representation in Israeli Politics,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, August 19, 2019. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/female-representation-in-israeli-politics Shlomo Ben-Ami, “The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Conundrum,” Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, Fall 2019. https://www.international.ucla.edu/israel/currents  Barukh Binah, ” US Policies toward Israel and the […]

DrizzleX Internet-connected micrometers will automatically monitor usage, locate and report leaks and water overuse in managed residential properties. “In America, people use about four times as much water as in Israel… About 30 percent of water usage in multifamily properties is waste, adding up to $8 billion per year — aside from the cost of property damage caused by leaks and misuse.”

The Druze generally vote on utilitarian considerations, such as voting for parties expected to be included in the coalition and to influence government policy. Few of them vote for ideological motives. Social networks voiced fierce criticism following two legislative acts that have hurt Druze over the past year: Kaminitz Law and Nation State Law. Despite this, the Druze artificially separated their stance on these laws and voted for parties that supported those laws.

The November 2019 Israeli Voice Index revealed that 35% of the general public thinks that now that Attorney General Avichai Mandelbilit has decided to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – he should resign and stand trial. 37% of Likud voters agree with this sentiment. The survey also found that 82% of the public thinks that it will not be possible to form a government in the remaining days before the December 11th.

Former IDF spokesman and Knesset member Nachman Shai speaks of elections, Israel in public opinion, Donald Trump, a two-state solution and his plans as an Emory visiting scholar. Nachman Shai gained international attention in 1991 when he was the face and voice of the Israel Defense Forces, which was forced to hold its fire amid repeated […]

The announcement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law” is in line with Israel’s official position, and its inherent message – that preoccupation with the question of the legality of the settlements narrows Palestinian flexibility and discourages the achievement of a negotiated resolution to the conflict – is correct. However, the announcement’s practical value is minor, and there are even potential risks and costs for Israel.

Two sophomore albums from Israeli musicians have received nominations for the upcoming 62nd annual Grammy Awards. The Anat Cohen Tentet, fronted by Israeli jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen, received a Grammy nomination in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category for “Triple Helix.” Southern Avenue, a Memphis-based soul/blues/R&B band cofounded by Israeli guitarist Ori Naftaly, received a Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category for “Keep On.”

2019.8 Prevención de Palestina: una historia política desde Camp David a Oslo por Seth Anziska. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018. 435 páginas. libros – Opinión  Por el Profesor Kenneth Stein, Presidente, Center for Israel Education, agosto 2019. El desarrollo de la historia no otorga segundas oportunidades. No hay cambios. El peso de las malas elecciones o el […]

After lengthy groundwork by the National Security Council, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Economic Council, Israel’s political-security cabinet decided to establish an advisory committee to examine national security issues as part of the approval process for foreign investments. The decision comes as a result of American pressure and Israel’s fears of damage to the strategic relations with the United States, after Washington made it clear that it expects Israel to change its stance on Chinese activity in the state.

The idea that has arisen recently of holding elections in the Palestinian Authority appears more serious at this stage than in the past. The main promoter of the idea is Abu Mazen, who advocates separate elections: first for the parliament, and only later for the presidency. Although Hamas has long demanded that the two elections be held simultaneously, a change in Hamas’s stance is evident, following its declaration that it is willing to proceed with the elections, while hinting that it might consent to Abu Mazen’s plan. Yet despite the positive attitude that the PA and Hamas are currently displaying toward elections, it appears that there are still many other barriers to overcome.

“Decision Points” is a new Washington Institute podcast that provides fresh insights into critical moments in the U.S.-Israel relationship from prominent historians and policymakers. The series is hosted by Ziegler Distinguished Fellow David Makovsky, a renowned expert on U.S.-Israel relations, including territorial solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Whichever Israeli government ends up coming to power will be faced with a set of urgent security challenges that are coming from a range of arenas, all at the same time. Critical decisions on these challenges and establishing a defense budget will be the order of the day for the PM and his security and diplomatic ministers.

Following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw United States forces from the Kurdish zone in northern Syria, the international media and many political and military commentators hurried to crown Russia as the big winner in Syria and present it as the entity enjoying free rein there. However, regional actors are in fact in no hurry to cut their ties with Washington; they recognize the limits of Moscow’s power and are leveraging their developing relations with Russia to improve their bargaining position vis-à-vis the United States.

Ankara’s provocative policy stems from its worries about being boxed in by rivals in the East Mediterranean, some old (Greece and Cyprus), some new (Israel and Egypt). Erdogan seemingly believes that he can undermine this supposed “anti-Turkish axis” by challenging maritime zones around its weakest link, Cyprus—an approach in keeping with his more offensive-minded foreign policy in the neighborhood (e.g., see his ongoing intervention in Syria). Unlike his predecessors, Erdogan feels empowered to pursue Turkey’s interests unilaterally, even at the price of regional isolation.

October 2019 Israeli Voice Index revealed a decline in Israelis’ assessment of President Trump’s commitment to Israel’s security. The survey also found that 62% of Israelis support the parties they voted for in the last elections, seeking to join a Blue and White led coalition.

Assembled by Ken Stein and Eli Sperling Emory University and Center for Israel Education kenstein@israeled.org or kstein@emory.edu David Adesnik and Aykan Erdemir, “Trump’s first mistake in Syria was ever trusting Erdogan at all,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, October 17, 2019. https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/10/17/trumps-first-mistake-in-syria-was-ever-trusting-erdogan-at-all/ Jawad Anani and Shimon Shamir, “Jordan-Israel Peace at Twenty-Five: Past, Present, and Future,” Washington Institute […]