Chaim Arlosoroff, 1899-1933
Arlosoroff, an ardent socialist and Zionist, was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Palestine in 1921. He was a founder of the Histadrut labor federation. Working with the Jewish Agency, he helped negotiate the Haavara…
Frederick “Frank” Kisch, 1888-1943
A British brigadier general, Kisch chaired the predecessor to the Jewish Agency, the Palestine Zionist Executive, from 1918 to 1921. Kisch was prolific in Jewish life in Mandate Palestine. He helped found the Palestine Philharmonic…
Polls and Surveys – Israel and the Conflict
Public opinion both shapes and reflects policy choices. Attitudes provide snap shots of short and long term trends. Assembled here are a variety of current data about policies, reflections, and expectations.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Opening Speech as Prime Minister, 2022
Yair Lapid, the leader of the Yesh Atid party, graciously thanks his predecessor, Naftali Bennett, for his service. As prime minister at least until a month or so after the scheduled November 1 Knesset election, Lapid emphasizes the value of Israel’s inclusive democratic principles. He affirms a commitment to keep Israel a majority-Jewish state and maintain support for a strong economy. While stressing Israel’s security and defense needs, including those from “Gaza to Iran,” he speaks with hope of solidifying Israel’s regional security presence based on the 2020 Abraham Accords.
CIE’s Israeli Elections Resources
On April 9, Israelis head to the polls to elect the 21st Knesset. CIE’s extensive collection of election materials has a wide variety of resources. Our election content includes items related to Israel’s democracy, electoral process, results of past elections as well as information about the political parties and factions. Materials are available for use in a variety of learning settings or for expanding your personal knowledge. These include: analyses, infographics, videos, and links of interest.
Remarks by Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to the INSS 15th Annual International Conference, 2022
Bennett makes remarks about a new self-defense system, fears about Iran, managing the pandemic, economic growth, and Israel’s growing relationship with Middle Eastern Arab countries.
An Israel Syllabus That Informs — Decades of Proof
On January 1, 2022, I completed 43 years of teaching at Emory University. It was a great run and great fun. Along the way, I accumulated more pieces of paper than was necessary, among them…
Yitzhak Rabin: Israel Leadership in a Lifetime
Yitzhak Rabin’s life story, in the words of former Knesset member Nachman Shai, is “the story of the State of Israel.” He fought to create and defend it in 1948 and 1967, represented it in Washington, led it twice as prime minister, liberated Jews from captivity in 1945 and 1976, and embraced an opportunity for a chance at a longtime peace with the Palestinians in 1993. Rabin possessed essential qualities of an admired leader: credible, authentic, honest, visionary, and strategic. In addition, Rabin was taciturn, incisive, and suffered no fools. For a lifetime, he put the Jewish people on his shoulders as defender and diplomat.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Address to the United Nations General Assembly
Affirming Israel’s strong relationship with the US and Jerusalem’s normalized relations with six Arab states, Israel’s Bennett castigates Iran for its support of toxic regional insurgencies, and promising to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He makes no mention of the Palestinian issue.
President Isaac Herzog, Assembled Speeches and Abbreviated Remarks, 2016-2021
Herzog recognizes the gap between Israel and American Jews, proclaiming the critical and immediate need for education of each community of the other.
Critically Consuming Information About Israel and the Middle East, Ken Stein, Gabriel Epstein, Jackie Epstein, Jacqeline Berci, Avi Posen, Tal Grinfas-David (35:51)
How can adults and students alike know what information to trust about Israel and the Middle East, especially when it comes to social media? How can any of us learn to be critical consumers of…
Identity and Politics in Israel, Dr. Jonathan Rynhold (30:46)
Applying demographic statistics and polling data, Professor Jonathan Rynhold lucidly examines Israel’s politics through the lenses of ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. He concludes that Israeli society and its political priorities are ever changing, evidenced by the June 2021 formation of Israel’s most ethnically and politically diverse government coalition ever formed.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Inaugural Address to the Israeli Parliament, 2021
Prime Minister Bennett outlines and offers details for meeting domestic and foreign policy challenges facing Israel. He asks all the citizens of Israel to forge together under the banners of realism and practical solutions.
The Sephardim: Making the State, Politics and Culture, Professor Yaron Ayalon (39:54)
In a 40-minute video recorded June 14, 2021, Dr. Yaron Ayalon of the College of Charleston and Rich Walter of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta delve into the history and the political and cultural…
Explainer: The Presidency (6:18)
On June 2, 2021, Isaac Herzog was elected over Miriam Peretz to a seven-year term as Israel’s 11th president. When he takes office in July, succeeding Reuven Rivlin, he will become the first second-generation Israeli…
Happy Israel Independence Day 2021! (20:21)
CIE asked friends and experts in the field of Israel Studies to discuss the challenges and successes of the State of Israel in this past year, and to reflect on the coming year. Below, we…
The Return of Palestinian Politics
Palestinian legislative elections are scheduled for May 22. Whether or not the vote takes place, finally scheduling elections was nothing short of remarkable. Palestinian politics has been in gridlock, with elections suspended since the terrorist group Hamas won a parliamentary majority in 2006. However, PA President Abbas could still postpone the elections.
Preliminary Election Results for 23 Knesset Election
One of the most striking elements to emerge from the preliminary results is that the current Knesset is going to be much more fragmented. If only eight party lists were elected to the Knesset a year ago, thirteen factions succeeded in entering the parliament in this round.
2019-2021 Elections
Israel entered a period of political instability when its governing coalition fell apart in December 2018 over the issue of Haredi military service. The articles, activities and other digital resources below provide insights into how and why Israel’s Knesset elections in April and September 2019 failed to produce a new government, leading to a third election within a year on March 2, 2020. The urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic helped break the political logjam with a unity government featuring a rotation agreement for prime minister between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, but that government failed to survive into 2021. For the fourth time in less than two years, Israelis are electing a new Knesset on March 23, 2021.
The Israeli Political System
Elections, Parliament, Political Culture, Prime Ministers, Parties and the Voting Public Israel has a parliamentary system of government with some unusual features in the elections and the creation of multiparty ruling coalitions, as explained by…
Results of Israel’s Elections
Israel’s 25 Knesset elections and three direct elections for prime minister have resulted in 14 different people serving as prime minister, in addition to one person, Yigal Allon, who served only on an interim basis….
Nachman Shai: Veteran Labor Voice seeks Return to Knesset
Former three-term Knesset member is motivated to run in the March 23 elections to create a better Israel for his children and grandchildren, provide a voice for the vital senior population, topple Prime Minister Netanyahu, and restore the Labor Party’s legacy.
Fall of Liberal Zionism: CIE Board Members Yaron Ayalon and Nachman Shai (3-part series, 1:15:50, 1:07:34, 1:04:38),
CIE board members Nachman Shai, a former Knesset member and a Labor candidate in the March 2021 election, and Yaron Ayalon, the director of the Jewish studies program at the College of Charleston, discuss the decline and possibilities for revival of the once-dominant political left in Israel in a series of three online conversations held in the first three months of 2021.
The Israeli Supreme Court as an Engine for Social Change (22:29)
Speaking Feb. 14 to Jewish teen leaders, former Israeli Supreme Court clerk Gal Levy Ben Haim explains the Israeli judiciary and its role in society, using cases about LGBTQ and women’s rights as examples.
