Dr. Yedidia Stern, President, Jewish People’s Policy Institute July 28, 2023 (By posting a guest’s views, CIE does not take a position on the contents, nor verify facts nor the assumptions presented.) Israel’s political center…
The Prime Minister presented the view that his coalition carried out a necessary step to ‘restore a measure of balance’ between governmental institutions. He indicated that discussions about the other elements of the proposed judicial overhaul would take place between now and November. Specifically he asked members of the Israel Defense Forces to remain outside of the current political controversies.
July 24, 2023 Speaking within hours of the passage of legislation upending the reasonableness standard used by the Israeli Supreme Court to review laws, Hadassah Academic College Professor Doron Shultziner explains features of the protest and counterprotest movements active…
In just under an hour, Herzog emphasized the special US-Israeli relationship, citing common values between the two democracies, noting, “when the US is strong, Israel is stronger. And when Israel is strong, the US is more secure.” He cited Israel’s domestic and foreign policy challenges in its 75th year.
Jewish People’s Policy Institute Shuki Friedman, Jewish People’s Policy Institute (Opinion) By gladly posting a guest’s views, CIE does not take a position on the contents, nor verify the facts nor the assumptions presented. A…
Neither Israel’s political culture nor Israel’s democracy based on Jewish self determination simply materialized on May 15, 1948. A connection exists from Jewish self-rule in the Diaspora to Zionist political autonomy during the Yishuv and to contemporary Israeli political culture. Likewise, the origins of Israeli democracy are found in the hundreds of years of Jewish Diasporas transitioning into the Zionist movement to the state; from aliyot before the Palestine Mandate to 1948 and since. Components of Israeli political culture…
May 7, 2023 Firsthand Accounts of Israel’s Civil Society in Action In a 46-minute conversation recorded during the first hour of our special two-hour Israel@75 webinar and Teen Israel Leadership Institute session May 7, 2023, CIE Founding President Ken…
May 7, 2023 In a 32-minute presentation recorded during the second hour of our special two-hour Israel@75 webinar and Teen Israel Leadership Institute session May 7, 2023, Adina Karpuj, a podcast producer for Israel Story who lives in Jerusalem, talks…
By Ken Stein, May 1, April 4, March 22, March 5, February 11, 2023 Four months after Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in as Prime Minister to lead Israel’s 37th government in late December 2022, his cabinet…
Explore the foundational text of the State of Israel.
As Israel turns 75 this spring, it is in the throes of a dynamic controversy over governance. Where might this ‘crisis’ or potential ‘political earthquake’ fit into Zionism’s history, and Israel’s tomorrows still to come?
A chronology and selected commentaries on the first three months of the Netanyahu government’s effort to revamp the Israeli judiciary.
Prime Minister Netanyahu offers two speeches to the nation within four days, first emphatically pushing ahead with the judicial overhaul process, then calling for a pause.
Citing deep disaffection among elements of Israeli military reserve units and expressing those concerns to Prime Minister Netanyahu privately, Defense Minister Gallant makes his opinion public, causing Netanyahu to fire him, resulting in hundreds of thousand of Israelis in the streets. Two days after Gallant’s speech, Netanyahu calls for a pause in pushing forward the judicial overhaul legislation.
Pressman Academy in Los Angeles, part of CIE’s Day School Initiative, has graciously shared its Megillat HaAtzmaut and accompanying, grade-specific lesson plans for exploring Israel’s Declaration of Independence at Yom Ha’Atzmaut. Reading of Megillat HaAtzmaut:…
This video, prepared as Israel approached its 73rd birthday in 2021, incorporates multiple perspectives on the previous year. Have members of your class, in small groups or collectively, create a similar video addressing the highs…
Israel, like Britain, is a parliamentary democracy, but, like Britain, Israel lacks a formal constitution. The following items show how the system works and include Israel’s proposed 1948 constitution and the Basic Laws that fill…
After his urging compromise on the proposed judicial overhaul, President Isaac Herzog, in the starkest of terms, says Israel is approaching the “abyss of a civil war” as opponents and proponents head toward a showdown. He characterizes the proposed overhaul as “wrong, oppressive, and undermines our democratic foundations.”
President Herzog offers a compromise to the coalition’s proposed judicial overhaul in the forms of enacting a new Basic Law, and writing amendments to existing Basic Laws. Its detail suggests considerable behind the scenes discussion, and if only portions are enacted upon, this document could be seen in the future as a benchmark in Israel’s “constitutional” history.
In a rare address to the nation, President Herzog calls for deliberate compromise in the wake of the Netanyahu government’s proposed massive overhaul of the judicial system. The overhaul generated the largest public outpouring of opposition to a proposed government policy since Israel considered accepting German reparations in 1951-52.
Amid the massive public protest of the Netanyahu government’s suggested changes to the judicial system, former Israeli Supreme Court judges join the attorney general in expressing opposition to the government proposals and call for a committee to review the judiciary and suggest a balanced plan for changes.
After Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara met with newly elected Justice Minister Yariv Levin about the Netanyahu government’s proposal to overhaul the judicial system, the attorney general crisply and cogently offers her opposition to that proposal.
President Isaac Herzog visited Manama, Bahrain, his fourth trip to a Middle Eastern country in 2022 (Abu Dhabi in January, Istanbul in March, Amman in June and Sharm el-Sheikh in November), all aimed at bolstering bilateral relations with Arab states. Talks in Bahrain focused on expanding trade and sharing, among others, Israeli solar and desalination technologies.
