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Apr 22, 2023, 11:22 PM

The Latest and Last Jewish World Chess Champion?

Ian Nepomniachtchi is currently playing a match for the world chess championships. He is Russian – and he is Jewish. Among his accomplishments is winning a gold medal at the Maccabi Games. For the majority of the years since Wilhelm...

Apr 11, 2023, 6:37 AM

Judicial Reform: Yes To Herzog, No to The Three Stooges

This is my tenth blog here at the Times of Israel on the judicial reform crisis. I have felt obliged to weigh in because I have decades of practical and academic experience with constitutional reform in my own country,...

Apr 5, 2023, 4:44 AM

The Constitutional Crisis: What “Broad Agreement” Means – and How to Reach It

Constitutional laws have an elevated status. They prevail over ordinary laws. They constrain the wishes of a current parliamentary majority. They also reflect the fundamental values of a society, not mere policy preferences. Laws with elevated status should be the...

Apr 1, 2023, 9:09 AM

Judicial Selection: Crash Site or Launch Point?

The selection of judges is the most urgent issue on constitutional reform. The Coalition's plan to bring it to a vote caused strikes, university closures, and public dissents from within the Likud camp. President Herzog has now tabled a comprehensive...

Mar 24, 2023, 5:49 AM

The PM’s Speech: Promising, But “Two Plus One” Makes Less Than Zero

There is potential in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to get the constitutional debate back on track, and head for a constructive and widely accepted outcome. Yet his new approach cannot do any good unless and until he modifies the Coalition’s...

Mar 9, 2023, 12:40 PM

Bezalel Smotrich’s apology can be a turning point

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Religious Zionism faction meeting in the Givat Harel settlement in the West Bank, February 14, 2023. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

With dialogue and good faith, a clear and distinct process can finally emerge for making constitutional law

Mar 7, 2023, 8:34 PM

Judicial Reform: An Alternate Midrash to Minister Karhi’s

Shlomo Karhi, Minister of Communications, the other day sent a Purim-time message to Israeli reserve soldiers who are protesting against judicial reform, even to the point of refusing to report for service. Minister Karhi quotes Mordecai telling Esther that...

Mar 5, 2023, 5:44 PM

Kiddush Hashem: Jewish leaders in Israel should act like leaders who are Jewish

Israel, as the Jewish nation-state, is bound by its Jewish dimension to honor the highest principles of the Jewish tradition. "Kiddush Hashem" means sanctifying the name of the Creator by publicizing the glory of a just Creator in public,...

Feb 23, 2023, 1:57 AM

Judicial Reform: Losing by Winning

The coalition that is “winning” on judicial reform is defeating Israel and itself. Don’t get me wrong. A push for judicial reform could, with good will and careful deliberations, have a highly positive and enduring outcome. There are valid points...

Feb 21, 2023, 8:56 PM

Reforms to the Legal System That Everyone Should Support

President Herzog has made sensible and necessary proposals for reaching consensus on judicial reform in Israel. Several of his proposals call for a middle ground in between the Levin proposals and their critics. (I made similar suggestions in an...

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About Me

Bryan's Jewish-themed musical "Consoulation: A Musical Mediation" premiered in the Spring of of 2018; https://consoulation.com His new album will appear in the coming months. Bryan Schwartz graduated with a doctorate in law from Yale School and holds an endowed chair at the University of Manitoba Law School. He is the author or editor of over thirty books and collections of essays. Bryan also created and helps to deliver an annual summer program at Hebrew University in Israeli law and society. He has served as a visiting Professor at both HU and Reichman university. . As a practising lawyer, Bryan has argued a number of cases at the Supreme Court of Canada, advised governments, and served as an arbitrator at the provincial, national and international level.

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