Assaf Shapira

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Mar 21, 2024, 3:56 PM

Israel’s troubling but not catastrophic democracy score

Supreme Court President Esther Hayut and all 14 other judges hear petitions against the 'reasonableness law' at the court in Jerusalem on September 12, 2023. (DEBBIE HILL / POOL / AFP)

The new ranking by a top global watchdog reflects the impact of the judicial overhaul -- as well as the opposition to it

Aug 3, 2023, 10:58 PM

Resistance is necessary, but so is decentralization

As protests and "days of resistance" continue to consume the streets of Israel, the coalition's commitment to weakening the powers of the judiciary remains strong. One of the main arguments against undermining the status of the Supreme Court is...

Mar 19, 2023, 3:30 PM

Israel is still a free country – but now with a warning sign

A top democracy index hasn't yet ranked Israel with Hungary. That will change if the majority becomes all powerful

Nov 20, 2022, 2:57 PM

When the Israeli political parties that run together don’t serve together

As a combined faction, the 3 parties of Religious Zionism handily passed the electoral threshold, but their split once elected, though legal, seems wrong

Oct 11, 2022, 9:39 PM

Been elected? Deal with it

With less than a month to go to Israel’s fifth elections in three and a half years, it is clear that governmental instability has wreaked huge damage. The work of the Knesset and of the government has suffered, as...

Apr 6, 2022, 7:37 PM

Can a new government be put in place? An explainer

In the wake of the announcement by MK Idit Silman that she no longer supports the current government, what developments can we expect to see in the near future?

Jan 6, 2022, 12:20 PM

Political reform: The imperative of the hour

Public trust in Israel's political institutions has hit an all-time low. Only 10% of the Israeli public trust the parties; and trust in the Knesset (21%) and Government (27%) is not much higher. These are among the findings of...

Dec 25, 2020, 8:34 AM

Who’ll give the Knesset millions more in party funding? The Knesset

In a classic conflict of interests, the parties dip into the public coffers before every election, flouting any semblance of fiscal responsibility

Aug 9, 2020, 4:11 PM

Disbanding the Knesset for lack of an approved budget makes no sense

The rule, unique to Israel, was meant as an incentive to avoid budgetary deadlock. Today, it simply offers Netanyahu an easy exit strategy

May 4, 2020, 1:25 PM

The rotation agreement: One state, two governments

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right), Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Chief Justice of Supreme Court Esther Hayut at the memorial ceremony for the late President Shimon Peres, at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, on September 19, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In giving equal power to Likud and Blue and White, the coalition deal creates a political structure unprecedented in Israel or anywhere else

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About Me

Dr. Assaf Shapira is the director of the Political Reform Program at the Israel Democracy Institute.