The public and the judges have decided: Eden Alene, a 19-year-old native of Jerusalem, will represent Israel at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Holland, May 12-16. Alene is the first Israeli of Ethiopian descent to be chosen for this honor. She wowed the audience and all-star panel of judges in the reality show “The Next Star to Eurovision.”
The Democracy Index project, now in its 17th year, is based on an annual survey of public opinion, taking the public pulse of the country on issues such as the state and resilience of Israeli democracy, the trust in government institutions, feelings about the Jewish and democratic character of the state, and Israel’s standing in comparison to other democracies. This year the survey includes two expanded sections focusing on Israelis attitudes towards the IDF and their attitudes towards Diaspora Jewry.
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.”
The study finds that most Arab Israelis are in favor of the Arab parties joining the government, but do not recognize Israel’s right to define itself as the nation-state of the Jewish People. Additionally – 65% of Arabs are proud to be Israeli – the highest since 2003.
The integration process of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel has been especially difficult, given the complexity of their interaction with the host society. A number of factors are at the root of these challenges, even before we bring up the color of their skin and the racism it feeds or inspires. First of all, Israelis of Ethiopian descent, first and second generations are a relatively small group (around 150,000 people, 1.7% of the entire Israeli population). Hence their ability to exert political pressure via the institutionalized channels, mainly political parties and on Election Day is quite limited.
Israel’s government must nurture a spirit of unity and national purpose by building a policy consensus as broad as possible. This is necessary both in preparation for likely combat operations against Iran and its proxies, and in order to respond wisely to the American peace plan and to intelligently manage conflict with the Palestinians.
On the eve of Israel’s 71st Independence Day, 82% of the Israeli public thinks that the national balance of achievements shows more successes than failures and 62% think legal proceedings against Prime Minister Netanyahu should not be stopped, notwithstanding his success in the elections.
On March 25th 2019, President Trump signed an order for the United States’ official recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This article surveys Israeli public opinion regarding this issue, and its reactions to this announcement. Surveys have shown a consistently high level of support among Jewish Israelis for keeping the Golan Heights, and while there is some disagreement – Jews across the political spectrum support President Trump’s decision.
If in the past, we tended to speak about tensions in Israeli society in terms of Arabs and Jews, religious and secular, or Right and Left, the findings of the Israel Democracy Institute’s 2018 Israeli Democracy Index, released last week reveal a major new split: the split over Israeli democracy. In today’s Israel, the fundamental question that defines the state—what is democracy?—is becoming an increasingly significant bone of contention.
The majority of the public (53%) sees Israel’s situation in a positive light and is proud to be Israeli (88% of Jews and 51% of Arabs); For the first time the #1 tension in Israeli society is the tension between Right and Left; Israel ranks high on international indicators of political participation.
Head Chef and co-owner of Philadelphia’s Zahav Restaurant, Michael Solomonov has become a celebrated figure in American fine-dining. Solomonov, a James Beard Award winning chef, brings many classic Israeli dishes to Philadelphia. Zahav, opened in 2008, with its nearly 2-month wait for a table on a weekend evening is not the only location in Philadelphia to taste his mastery of Israeli cuisine. He has opened other restaurants, including Dizengoff Hummus. Solomonov’s food barrows from many flavors and dishes that have become integral to Israeli cuisine and culture over the decades.
Aveva Dese, an Ethiopian-Israeli singer & songwriter, is a rising star in Israel’s music scene. Many of her songs are in Amharic (official language of Ethiopia) and represent a greater trend of Israeli musicians performing in various diasporic-Jewish languages spoken by members of their families and communities.
One can praise the Israeli habit of Yom Kippur bicycle riding, or one can denounce it. However, one thing one cannot do is ignore it. The streets of Israel have been flooded with bike riders on Yom Kippur for quite a few years, and it has become clear that bike riding on Yom Kippur has gone mainstream.
While heralding the flourishing political relations between the United States and Israel, American media channels over the last six months have also reported that recent measures taken by the Israeli government, such as the passage of the National Conversion Law and the freeze on the pluralistic Western Wall plan, have significantly exacerbated the crisis of faith in the State of Israel among extensive segments of the American Jewish population.
The discussion surrounding the Nation-State Law has sparked a heated debate in Israeli society. One side claims that the law is a proper and necessary legislative anchor for the national character of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, against those who seek to deny the Jewish people’s right to a national home in its homeland. The other side argues that this is discriminatory legislation, which undermines the democratic nature of the State of Israel.
The existence of a large Arab minority within the State of Israel has presented the Israeli leadership and Jewish society in the country with a challenge that continues to help shape the fundamental character and historical entity of the state.
By Dr. Eli Sperling Representative of a greater resurgence of Judeo-Arabic music in Israel, the piyyut movement is continuing to spread throughout religious and secular segments of Israeli culture and society. Piyyut, the Hebrew word…
According to a National Economic Council report, Israel’s population will increase by 5 million people over the next 23 years.
CIE’s focus on Israel engagement with students before they reach college age is strongly endorsed by Gary Rosenblatt, Jewish Week editor.
“The three brainwashed Muslim fanatics from Umm al-Fahm, who carried out the Temple Mount attack, are not Israelis. An Israeli is someone like former MK Shachiv Shnaan, who taught his son that Israel is his state, the state he sacrificed his life for while defending the Temple Mount.”
During the May 2021 Israeli-Palestinian clashes, Arab citizens of Israel clashed with Jewish Israelis. By comparison in October 2000, similar clashes were longer, more intense with similar underlying causation. Read the context with the findings of the Or Commission that investigated them.
Dive in, or choose a pathway: Topics, Types, Eras and/or Languages. Explore robust content. Come back often for more.