Status of Israel’s Judicial Overhaul, January 2026CIE+
Three years after the Israeli government began the process to overhaul the judiciary, and after two years of war delayed efforts, the drive to rein in judicial independence continues.
Explainer: Oslo II Agreement Between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, September 1995CIE+
September 28, 1995 After signing the Declaration of Principles (DOP) on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, commonly known as the Oslo Accords, on September 13, 1993, Israel and the PLO reached three additional interim agreements before Oslo…
Explainer: Israeli LeadershipCIE+
Jews always have bound themselves together by committing to Torah values, taking care of one another, adapting to new settings, coping with persistently precarious living environments, and finding leaders who looked past immediate obstacles to…
Women in Israel and Zionist HistoryCIE+
When Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned in 2008 amid allegations of bribery, Israel came within reach of a milestone in gender equality — one that was a credit to the Jewish state as much as…
Explainer: Israeli Government and PoliticsCIE+
Jewish-majority self-rule existed in Eretz Yisrael during the First and Second Jewish Commonwealths, 1020 to 586 B.C.E. and 538 B.C.E. to 70 C.E., respectively. Then living for centuries as minorities throughout Europe, the Middle East…
Explainer: The Economy of the Yishuv and the State of IsraelCIE+
By Ken Stein and Scott Abramson, March 23, 2025 Zionist/Jewish Economic Development in Palestine Before 1948 Jewish physical growth in Mandatory Palestine in the period known as the New Yishuv was sufficient through land acquired…
Domestic Discord — Haredim in the Military and Proposed Judicial OverhaulCIE+
Two major discordant issues that vexed Israel before October 7, 2023, continue to cleave Israeli society: a possible exemption from mandatory military service for the Haredim and the Netanyahu government’s persistent effort to wrench from…
Amichai Magen, ‘Israel’s Summer of Discontent,’ Israel Journal of Foreign AffairsCIE+
The summer of 2023 left Israeli society more divided than ever, with the direction of the Jewish state an unknown.
Yedidia Stern, The Radicalization of Israel’s CenterCIE+
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…
Shukri Friedman – “Speak Out Against the Haredim? Go to Jail,” Jewish People’s Policy InstituteCIE+
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…
Origins of Israeli Democracy: Jewish Political Culture and Pre-State PracticeCIE+
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…
Reaction and Review of the Four Elements of the Planned Overhaul of Israel’s JudiciaryCIE+
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 focused…
The Declaration of IndependenceCIE+
Explore the foundational text of the State of Israel.
Israel’s Proposed Judicial Overhaul: Events and Published Items, January 1-March 28, 2023CIE+
A chronology and selected commentaries on the first three months of the Netanyahu government’s effort to revamp the Israeli judiciary.
A “Constitutional” DemocracyCIE+
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…
Are Ultra-Orthodox Parties Risking Losing the Allegiance of their Voters?CIE+
For many years the ultra-Orthodox were perceived as “captive voters” who would always comply with their rabbis’ instructions to cast their ballot for ultra-Orthodox parties. In today’s new reality such directives are no longer enough
Israeli Parties Present 40 Lists for November Knesset ElectionCIE+
Michael Jacobs and Ken Stein Israel on Nov. 1, 2022, is holding its fifth Knesset election since spring 2019 and its 25th since the state’s founding in 1948. Voters are facing a new mix of…
Polls and Surveys – Israel and the ConflictCIE+
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.
CIE’s Israeli Elections ResourcesCIE+
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.
The Return of Palestinian PoliticsCIE+
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 ElectionCIE+
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 ElectionsCIE+
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 SystemCIE+
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…
