Publications
Now is the Time to Reduce the Number of Ministers
In 2014, the Knesset passed an amendment to Basic Law: The Government restricting the number of government ministers to nineteen (including the prime minister). The explanatory notes to the...
The “Swords of Iron” War and International Law
Is it permissible to strike a hospital? When is it justified and proportional to harm noncombatants? What about humanitarian aid? How did other Western countries conduct war in similar...
Following the HCJ ruling on Special Ed
In One Line:The Supreme Court canceled the Ministry of Education’s policy decision that shortened the school day in the Special Ed system due to a shortage of teaching staff....
Is the Declaration of Independence of Binding Legal Status?
Following the HCJ hearing on the amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary regarding the reasonableness doctrine (HCJ 5658/23). One-line Answer: The Declaration of Independence is of enormous historical importance,...
What Can We Learn from Canada About Judicial Use of Unwritten Principles?
An interesting 2021 ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada is very relevant to the conversation in Israel about judicial reform: What is the relation between “the language of...
The Legal Starting Point and The Sovereignty of The People
A small piece of jurisprudential theory, in light of the HCJ 5658/23 hearing (regarding the amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary) In One Line: If every judicial system is...
Hamas’ Use of Human Shields and Israel’s Response – Legal Aspects
SummaryHamas’ use of human shields, including using hospitals and civilian objects to store weapons, launch attacks and place operations, is forbidden under international law and constitutes a war crime....
Don’t be Tempted: Even Temporary Price Controls Cause Harm
Recently, the Economics Committee saw a proposal to temporarily expand price controls to include products such as water, baby diapers, flour, tuna fish and more. The Ministry of Economy’s...
Don’t Let the War on Hamas Normalize the PA
Following the massacre on the Simchat Tora holiday, prominent Western leaders have expressed support for Israel and its war on Hamas. President Biden, the Prime Ministers of Britian and...
The Duty to Protect, Not the Right to Bear Arms
Tens of thousands of applications for a license to carry a private firearm were filed with the Ministry for National Security in the past two weeks, among them from...
legal issues regarding a siege on Gaza
Israel has a right under international law to impose a complete siege, which would be a land encirclement of the combat area of the Gaza Strip. Since Gaza has...
The ICC has a chance to restore its reputation and prosecute Hamas for war crimes
October 7, 2023, was the bloodiest day in Israeli history. As the world now knows, in the early hours that morning, during a Jewish holiday, more than a thousand...
Israel’s government has a duty to use every lawful means of warfare to defeat Hamas
Israelis are still burying the 1,200 victims of the Saturday attack on southern Israel by Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group that seized power in Gaza in 2007. As the...
The Siege of Hamas Is No War Crime
Israel’s critics level false war-crimes charges to keep the Jewish state from defending itself Most victims of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel weren’t yet buried when some prominent international voices—including U.S....
Who Supersedes Whom– The Court or the Basic Laws?
On the backdrop of the HCJ hearing on the amendment regarding incapacitation to Basic Law: The Government (HCJ 2412/23) and the amendment regarding reasonableness to Basic Law: The Judiciary...
Is there a binding constitutional custom in Israel to appoint a representative from the opposition parties to the Judicial Selection Committee?
The proposed bill for changing the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee has prompted wide public and professional debate. As of now, the Knesset has chosen its two representatives...
Will the Court Place itself above the Constitution?
If the court will rule that its authority is above basic laws, Israel will be the only county in the world where a constitutional system is led by a...
Israel’s Districts: Demographic Trends, Human Capital and the Labor Market
A new chapter in Kohelet Economic Policy Forum’s chart book highlights the disparity between Tel Aviv and Central Districts and the others Nisan Avraham and Eran Yogev, Kohelet Economic...
Is it Legitimate for Parliament to Legislate Restrictions on Judicial Administrative Review?
An interesting judgement from the British court is of particular relevance to the discourse in Israel: Is legislation that deems some government agencies’ decisions immune to judicial review acceptable,...
May a workers’ union strike as part of a political demonstration?
Following the court decision that canceled the Israel Medical Association (IMA)’s strike against the judicial reform (SK 57697-07-23). One line answer: The Labor Court determined that the IMA’s strike...