Yedidia Stern, at The Blogs

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Mar 28, 2023, 2:36 PM

A miraculous display of civil heroism

Israelis protest outside the Knesset government’s planned judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem on March 27, 2023 (Erik Marmor/ Flash90)

The political center is taking to the streets to fight for values and interests that transcend identity group politics

Mar 19, 2023, 3:04 PM

The People’s Framework or civil war

As we stand at the edge of the abyss – a constitutional crisis literally embodying the idea that “might is right” – the president of Israel decided, this past Wednesday, to place the People’s Framework on the national table....

Feb 12, 2023, 2:02 PM

Dialogue should prevent Israel’s slide into civil war

Protesters estimated by organizers to number 145,000 rally in central Tel Aviv, on February 11, 2023, against controversial legal reforms being touted by the country's far-right government. (Screenshot of drone footage; used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

If legal experts with differing opinions could just hash everything out, we might see real, consensus-based reform

Sep 25, 2022, 4:39 PM

Rosh Hashanah or January 1?

Rosh Hashanah 'foods' for a sweet new year: honey, apples, and pomegranate. (Liron Almog/Flash90)

This season of Jewish holidays goes a long way to preserve our Jewish identity, protecting us from the pervasive divisiveness and assimilation in Israeli society

Jan 5, 2022, 3:43 PM

The Haredi leadership: Crime and its punishment

'We believe victims' fliers placed on billboards of a Haredi neighborhood on December 31, 2021. (Courtesy)

The ultra-Orthodox self-segregate from Israeli society, but the Walder affair is revealing major cracks in the 'wall of holiness.' A day of reckoning is coming

Sep 1, 2021, 3:48 PM

The (non-)draft law for Haredim

Ultra-Orthodox men walk outside the IDF recruitment office in Jerusalem, on December 5, 2019. (Olivier FitoussiFlash90)

Lowering the draft age for the ultra-Orthodox to let them leave the army at the usual age sounds like a good idea, but it might just bring down this people's army

Aug 8, 2021, 3:50 PM

Artem – brother or other?

Artem Dolgopyat of Israel celebrates after winning the gold medal on the floor exercise in the artistic gymnastics men's final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on August 1, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/ Natacha Pisarenko)

Israel must find a way to allow marriage for all and the best option is to set up a civil union track that doesn't undercut the Rabbinate's halachic authority

Jul 19, 2021, 2:06 PM

High Court gender segregation ruling provides for ‘A Room of Their Own’

Illustrative: Ultra-Orthodox young women who are part of the Adva program that aims to train them with skills for the high-tech sector. (Courtesy)

In agreeing to limited separation in academia, the Court rejected the extreme positions of both the Haredim and those who oppose them

Jun 6, 2021, 3:31 PM

American Jews, how ‘Jewish’ are you?

(Star of David necklace - iStock)

Jewish pride has replaced the humiliated Jew of history, but where Israelis are entrenched in the trappings of Jewish identity, American Jews must choose

Oct 30, 2020, 1:37 AM

Yitzhak’s blood cries out to us from the ground

Twenty-five years have passed since Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered. Today, half of all Israelis cannot remember that terrible day. But the other half, those over age 30, certainly cannot forget it. But is the memory of that...

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About Me

Yedida Stern is the President of the Jewish People Policy Institute and is Professor Emeritus at Bar-Ilan University.