Understanding the Struggle for Democracy

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In January, Israel’s newly elected government announced plans for the radical transformation of the country’s legal system. Since then, Israelis have been taking to the streets in hundreds of thousands to protest these reforms which many consider a constitutional coup and an acute threat to Israeli democracy. Women, LGBTQ+ populations, and their allies are particularly concerned as the government’s agenda unravels, as are those concerned for the fate of Israel’s more vulnerable populations and present and future minorities.

Join us at 2pm (EST) this Sunday, March 26, for an expert panel on the current Israeli government’s proposed reforms and recent acts, why these are considered such a threat to Israeli democracy, what is at stake, and how our community can support the efforts of Israelis in this time. 

Participants are invited to email questions they would like panelists to address in advance of the panel, and the moderator will present these to the panelists to the extent possible, mindful of time restraints. 

Panel Participants:

Dr. Ronit Levine-Schnur is a Senior Lecturer at the Harry Radzyner Law School at Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), Israel. She is also a founder of the Israeli Law Professors’ Forum for Democracy, established to make the professional opinions of Israeli law professors available to the general public in light of the current government’s proposals for judicial reform and the threats this poses to Israeli democracy. 

Levine-Schnur will discuss the current transformative regime changes advanced by the Israeli government, the threat they post to Israel’s democracy, and legal academics’ actions in response. 

Dr. Yofi Tirosh is an Associate Professor and Vice Dean at the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law and a Research Fellow at Jerusalem's Shalom Hartman Institute. Her groundbreaking work on antidiscrimination law and the intersections between law, culture, and the body has been published in leading international journals. Alongside her academic work, Tirosh is an award-winning public advocate of civil and women’s rights and a regular legal commentator on national media. 

Tirosh will discuss gendered aspects of the reforms being advanced by Israel’s current government.

Shai Agmon is the Rank-Manning Junior Research Fellow in the Social Sciences at New College, University of Oxford. He writes on issues in contemporary Israeli politics both in peer-reviewed journals as well as in Haaretz, Y-Net, Telem Magazine, and more. Shai was a campaign manager in the 2019 primaries for the Israeli Labour Party leadership, Policy Advisor at the “First 100 Days” team of the Blue and White Party’s government, and Political Officer for the British Ambassador in Tel Aviv. 

Agmon will discuss the current moment as following the rise of populism and the decline of democracy in Israel over the past 10 years. 

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Meirav Jones, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University and a Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. Jones moved to Canada from Israel in August 2020 and serves on the board of J-Space Canada.