Origins of Israeli Democracy: Jewish Political Culture and Pre-State Practice
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…
Ken Stein, Zionism’s Overarching Concept: Seek and Preserve Jewish Self-Determination
להיות עם חופשי בארצנו Zionism’s two part history, Early History to 1897 and Zionism 1898 to 1948 Where has Zionism succeeded? What remains incomplete or unfinished? Finished or well-shaped results of Zionism Unfinished results…
Reaction and Review of the Four Elements of the Planned Overhaul of Israel’s Judiciary
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 Lists of 75
To commemorate the State of Israel’s forthcoming 75th birthday, the Center for Israel Education is sharing lists of 75 people and things that form a mosaic of Israel’s past, present and future.
The Declaration of Independence
Explore the foundational text of the State of Israel.
April: A Land of Education, Sports and Culture
While the Zionist-Arab/Israeli-Palestinian conflict is never absent from the calendar, April is a month that has brought advances toward Israel being a normal part of the global community through educational institutions, cultural achievements, sports victories, diplomatic gains and technological contributions.
March: Painful Path to Arab-Israeli Peace
March has seen some of the worst moments in Zionist history. The first Arab-Jewish battle at Tel Hai in 1920 killed Joseph Trumpeldor. The War of Attrition forced Israel to pay a continual toll for its success in the 1967 war. Terrorist attacks on Tel Aviv’s Savoy Hotel in 1975 and along the Coastal Road in 1978 traumatized the nation. Six Arab citizens were killed in 1976 when land protests turned violent.
Shmuel Rosner, Camil Fuchs, and Noah Slepkov, “Pluralism Index: 2023: Israelis Want a Democratic and Jewish State.”
(with permission) Read Article The vast majority of all Israelis want Israel to be a democratic state; strong support for Israel as a Jewish state and adherence to articles in Israel’s Declaration of Independence, (Espanol) (עִברִית) (Português)…
The Israeli Government’s Proposed Judicial Overhaul: Events and Published Items, January 1, 2023 – March 28, 2023
When Israel’s government announced the elements of judicial overhaul that it was seeking, Israelis and those across the world voiced abundant and vociferous views. The media paid attention to the weekly gatherings of large crowds…
A “Constitutional” Democracy
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…
Jerusalem Timeline
The Jewish people have a 3,000-year history with the city of Jerusalem as a political, economic, religious and cultural center. In ancient times, the city housed the First and Second Temples where Jews from throughout the Land of Israel and the growing Diaspora made regular pilgrimages. Español | Italiano
Elaykim Rubinstein, “The Players of Camp David – An insider Israeli view on the personalities and ideas that drove the history-making Camp David Accords,” Cairo Review, Winter 2019.
Introduction With an extraordinary legaI mind and life of civil service to the state of Israel, Rubinstein served as an estimable Supreme Court Judge, as legal adviser during the Egyptian -Israeli negotiations, worked closely with…
2022-2023 Day School Initiative Partner School Testimonials
“We are very grateful for the learning and the PD that the program provides our faculty and look forward to continuing this in the next school year 2022-23.” Sinai Akiba, Los Angeles, CA “For years…
Jacob Metzer, “The Divided Economy of Mandatory Palestine”
Adopting a systematic, yet non-technical, approach, Jacob Metzer’s book is the first to analyze the divided economy of Mandatory Palestine from the viewpoints of modern economic history and development economics.
February: Zionism and Israel in the Real World
Compiled by the Center for Israel Education, January 2023 February has historically been a month when the Zionist dream of a Jewish homeland and its defense confronted realities of world politics and diplomacy, from a…
January: Stumbles Toward Peace
Compiled by the Center for Israel Education, January 2023 January in Zionist history has been a month for frustrated peace efforts and life transitions. Jan. 2, 1927 — Death of Ahad Ha’am Ahad Ha’am, the…
The Jordanian, Israeli, Palestinian Triangle
The Jordanian, Israeli, Palestinian Triangle Ken Stein January 27, 2023 From the June 1967 War, when Israel captured lands on the West Bank of the Jordan River, portions of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the…
“The Day After Abbas”: Strategic Implications for Israel
Udi Dekel and Noa Shusterman, with permission of INSS
Moshe Naor, “Israel’s 1948 War of Independence as a Total War,” 2008
Examination of the mobilization of society for the Israeli War of Independence effort enables one to present a more extended process that began in October 1947 — some two months prior to the outbreak of the war — and ended, from the standpoint of mobilization of personnel, at the beginning of 1949, when demobilization of the first draftees from the wartime army took place, and from an economic standpoint in April 1949, when an Austerity system was declared in the State of Israel.
Are Ultra-Orthodox Parties Risking Losing the Allegiance of their Voters?
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
