Podcasts

In this podcast INSS researcher Adi Kantor converses with Mohammed Wattad, Associate Professor and the Dean of Law at Zefat Academic College and a senior researcher at INSS. Together they discuss the alarming situation inside the Arab community in Israel regarding the current wave of civilian terror. In only four months, since PM Netanyahu’s 6th government was sworn in, the Arab sector has seen 78 acts of homicide, with women, children, and small babies among the victims. President Isaac Herzog referred to the current situation as an “emergency” and as “civilian terror that threatens us all.” What explains this current escalation in violence? What are the challenges and barriers facing the Israeli Police in their efforts to confront it? What are the responses of the state and the Minister responsible for eradicating this problem? In addition, how do Arabs in Israel view the current attempts toward a judicial overhaul, how does it affect them, and what is the role of the Supreme Court in their everyday life?

In honor of Independence Day 2023, celebrating 75 years to the State of Israel, INSS convened a panel of experts to discuss Israel’s Declaration of Independence, which while signed 75 years ago, continues to have much influence over us – particularly in these days, weeks, and months. In this podcast, INSS Managing Director Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman; former Israel Security Agency head Maj. Gen. (ret.) Ami Ayalon; and former Commander of the General Staff Corps Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen discuss with INSS senior researcher Dr. Idit Shafran Gittleman how the values in the Declaration of Independence are reflected in Israel’s security concept, the IDF identity, and decision making processes in the security establishment. The participants will try to clarify whether and how the events regarding the judicial overhaul influence these issues, and if we in Israel can truly identify the path we have chosen to take.

INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with senior researcher Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch, who heads the program on Law and National Security at INSS, to discuss her special publication (co-authored with Dr. Bell Yosef from Tel Aviv University) on the independence of Israeli courts and the connection to Israel’s national security. The new legislative reform, introduced to the public by Justice Minister Yariv Levin on January 4, 2023, is apparently one of the most burning issues on the Israeli agenda at the moment, as it is seen by many sectors in Israeli society as an attempt at a legislative coup that threatens to change the very basic democratic and liberal principles on which Israel was established. The purpose of the podcast is to understand what is meant by the term “liberal democracy” in the Israeli context; how is it connected to national security; what are the dangers in this proposed reform to the judicial system; what are the implications on social, legal, economic, and security levels (both domestic and international); and what should be the recommendations for decision makers based on the following analysis.