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We are proud to present the monthly newsletter of the Institute for Zionist Strategies. At the heart of the newsletter is a survey of the activities of the 19th Knesset's activities in the realm of state and religion. We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Miri Shalem as the Institute's general manager. The newsletter features additional updates about Institute activities and a number of recommended articles. Enjoy!
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Appointment of a new general manager – Miri Shalem


Miri is a social activist who headed the ground breaking Bet Shemesh Community Center. Among her other activities have been organizing the national dance conference for Orthodox women, and initiating a flashmob protest by Bet Shemesh women against segregation. She established a local women’s help and consultant center.
Miri has been widely recognized for her activities promoting social change.  Over the past eighteen months she also served as a head of the campaign of Eli Cohen, the mayoral candidate in Bet Shemesh. Miri has a BA in economics and political science, and an M.A in Gender Studies.

We wish Miri the best of luck!

New Publication


With the end of the 19th Knesset's term, the Golden Path project for normalizing relations between nation, religion and state has published a survey of the Knesset's activities in the realm of state and religion, primarily proposed legislation which never made it into law. We have also looked at what happened to the reforms promised by Minister of Religion Naftali Bennett and his deputy, Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan.

In his recent article, 'I never Promised to Keep My Promise', Institute President Joel Golovensky shows how political pledges mean about the same today as they did decades ago. As a detailed illustration, he examines the IZS Report on proposed religious reform, and how Bayit Yehudi leader Bennett and his assistant minister Ben Dahan delivered on almost none of their self-proclaimed promises.
Read the article here.

You can read (in Hebrew) the surprising and disappointing findings in Zeev Kam's comprehensive article, published in the Justice supplement of the Makor Rishon newspaper. In addition, a review of the report can be found in the article by Netanel Leifer on the Kipa website, and in the article by Yael Friedson, published on the NRG website.

Institute activities

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We are pleased to take part in promoting, for the third year, the Spirit of Zion award for young Zionist initiatives. Among the former prize winners is Michal Barkai, a lawyer who is a graduate of the Institute’s Young Leadership program and the founder of 'Alma', a pre-army preparatory school.

If you feel that you or someone you know is a worthy candidate, you should study the procedures on the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism website.
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'Blue & White Human Rights' runs the 'Moral Medicine' project together with staff from the Efrat medical center. Last week, the center was visited by former minister Yaakov Peri.

Peri was very impressed by the emergency medical center and praised it:  “not only for its aid to the Palestinians but also for the fact that you give dedicated service to some 60,000 Israelis in  the area.
From experience I can say that there is nothing like medical services to bring people closer”.   The full article about Yaakov Peri’s visit (in Hebrew) can be seen here
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This month, Institute project manager Adi Arbel spoke before students and researchers from the University of California within the framework of 'The Olive Tree Initiative' about viewing the Arab-Jewish conflict from a national-liberal point of view, about the need for a basic law defining Israel as a nation state, and about the activities of 'Blue & White Human Rights'.

Articles


Articles published this month by Institute members deal with a variety of issues on the public agenda.
 
  • Dr. Yoaz Hendel, the IZS chairman, comes out against the left that shoots itself in the foot every time it opposes one of the principles of Zionism.
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  • Israel Harel, the founding chairman of the IZS, claims​ that Military advocate general is swept up in populism over Gaza war.
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  • Listen to the interview with Joel Golovensky, the founding president of the IZS, on CBC radio, about the purpose of the nation state bill.