The Judicial Overhaul seemed to be vague about some issues that Israel was and still is facing, such as the Palestinian conflict. Some would say that the time when Israeli society was so divided between Judicial overhaul protestors and Judicial Reform supporters was the right time for Palestinians to try and gain leverage in the International arena. Even though the past few months were the bloodiest in a long time, with 34 Israelis and more than 100 Palestinians dead since January 1st, 2023, the West Bank has been mostly quiet. Is that so? To get a better understanding, we have Ms. Noa Shusterman Dvir, Director of the Palestinians and the Region Program at MIND Israel.

@NoaShusterman #Israel #IsraeliPalestinianConflict #JudicialOverhaul

The justification for the Judicial reform of the current coalition is promoting is the lack of governance. But is governance what we are lacking in Israel? To discuss Israel’s real challenges and what actions are needed to be taken to strengthen Israeli democracy and improve the public Bearucracy, we have Roy Folkman, a Former Member of the Knesset of Kulanu Party, A Social & High-tech entrepreneur and the author of “Version Update - New rules for Israeli Politics,” published in 2021 and seems today as crucial than ever. 

#IIsrael #IsraeliPolitics #IsraeliDemocracy #Democracy #JudicialOverhaul

For many years, the Israeli Non-haredi Orthodox, who identified as “Religious Zionism,” was considered to be the Hyphen between Jewish and Democrate - Committed to the Equilateral Triangle of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael & Torat Yisrael (The People, the land, and the bible). Over the years, they were considered to be the new generation of Serving Elite - In the IDF, Media outlets, Politics, and Public Administration. In recent years and mainly these days, it seems they chose a side. Is that so? Along with Ohad Merlin, we will try to bring depth to what happened: from moderate, they seem to transform into extremists, to the “religious Zionsm” Party we see today. 

Ohad Merlin is an organizing and founding member of the Democratic Religious Zionist protest group.

#Israel #JudicialOverhaul #YallaTikvah #BenGvir #Smotrich #ReligiousZionism

In our Previous episode, we shed light on Israel’s democratic structure, checks and balances, and the lack of. When the democratic structure is so fragile, the role of the gatekeepers becomes crucial to ensure proper governance and keeping the rule of law.  In recent years, Israeli politicians worked hard to weaken the gatekeepers, but now they do it with full power. What are they trying to do, how, and what will be the implications?

On January 3rd, 2023, less than a week after the Israeli government was sworn an oath in the Knesset, Minister of Justice Yariv Levin dropped a bomb. In a press conference, he presented a list of judicial changes the newly formed coalition would like to enact. 

Since then, the state of Israel has been spinning in a clash between the Judicial “Reform” supporters and the Anti Judicial Overhaul protesters. But how did we get to this situation? Aren’t there any checks and balances? 

To better understand the origins of our current Judicial Crisis, I am glad to have Dr. Ori Aronson, An Associate Professor of Law at Bar-Ilan University and former assistant to Israel’s Chief Justice Aharon Barak.

https://www.lawprofsforum.org/en

#IsraeliDemocracy #JudicialOverhaul #Israel #Democracy

Our second part of the discussion with Mr. Nir Reisler about why the Israeli left needs to embrace Republicanism.

#Nationalism #Israel #IsraeliPolitics #IsraeliLeft #Democracy #IsraeliDemocracy

It seems like fear and hatred had won in the Israeli elections. In a one-sided game, the Bibi block delivered what they came to deliver and won 64 seats in the 25th Knesset. Having that said, more than the Right wing – Haredi block won, we can defiantly say that the “center”-left and their allies have lost. While Bibi played to win, Yair Lapid tried to continue the deadlock, and as we know from sports – when you play defense, you are most likely to get a goal. What were the results? What’s their meaning? What happened in the Arab parties and the Zionist left? And what will the next coalition look like? Along with my friend, Jeff Becker, we try to explain.

#YairLapid #Netanyahu #Likkud #YeshAtid #IsraeliPolitics #Knesset

(Originally aired November 2nd, 2020)

November 4th marks 27 years of the assassination of Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir. The murderer, an Orthodox Law student, was influenced by the toxic environment of the growing opposition to the Oslo accord led by then head of Opposition, MK Benjamin Netanyahu.

It seems that no real discussion was made, and no real lesson was learned. Israeli democracy is weakening while no real discussions are made. Different individuals seek to fade Rabin’s memory and Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination from Israel’s history.

What was happening in those days, and how is it connected to what is happening today in Israel? Along with Jeff Becker I have shared my personal experience as a teenager living in Jerusalem in the years prior to the murder and the days after the murder of the late PM Yitzhak Rabin.

You can listen to the Podcast on -

#YitzhakRabin #YigalAmir #BenjaminNetanyahu

Republicanism, not Republicans, was the foundation of the Nation-state. 

How was it implemented in the state of Israel, and what happened to it over the years?

#Israel #Republicanism

On Episode 69 we spoke to Adir Binyamin about the legislative branch - The Knesset, Israel’s parliament. So how do you get elected to the Knesset? Who can vote, and whats the process?

For that, we have my dear friend, Mr. Guy Ben Gal. Guy is An Israeli educator and has been active in both political and education fields in Israel for the past 15 years. Guy worked as a high school civic studies teacher, a civic education instructer in the ministry of education, and a junior high principal. Guy has a BA and MA in political science from Hebrew and Haifa universities.

#Elections #IsraelPolitics #Knesset #IsraeliParliament #IsraeliDemocracy