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Publications | Floersheimer Studies

Publications

2007
Hasson S.
Between Nationalism and Democracy: Scenarios on Majority and Minority Relations in Israel
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

This study examines the relationship between nationalism and democracy in Israel and offers several scenarios on the issue of future relations between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority in Israel. The study focuses on the following cardinal questions:

* What is the ratio between nationalism and democracy in Israel?
* What are the factors shaping this ratio in Israel?
* What are the possible scenarios on the issues of nationalism and democracy and minority-majority relations in Israel?
* What can be done in light of the future possibilities described in the scenarios?

hasson_between_nationalism_and_democracy.pdf
Is A Viable Democratic Palestine Possible? Future Scenarios for Palestine
Nasrallah R.
Is A Viable Democratic Palestine Possible? Future Scenarios for Palestine
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

In this publication Nasrallah sets out to explore whether or not a democratic Palestinian State is possible. To answer the question he analyses the events and processes within the PA since Arafat's death, and pays special attention to the rise to power of Hamas and its impact on the political and social system. Following this analysis he presents three scenarios: Total Collapse, National Consensus and Building a Viable State, and The Impasse. Relying on the three scenarios, Rami Nasrallah explores the barriers and opportunities strewn along the way to a viable Palestinian State.

nasrallah_is_a_viable_democratic_palestine_possible.pdf
Jerusalem in the Future: The Challenge of Transition
Hasson S ed.
Jerusalem in the Future: The Challenge of Transition
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

This publication presents the complex reality of Jerusalem as a divided city analyzed by six contributors. Shlomo Hasson examines the territorial, social, economic, and political developments in Jerusalem and explores how they may affect possible solutions to the problem of Jerusalem. Shlomo Hasson and Rami Nasrallah explore the different possible futures that may be played out in the city due to the impact of local, national, and international developments. Rassem Khamaisi proposes the alleviation of the Palestinian plight through the realization of the right to the city. Amiram Gonen explores new ways of strengthening Jerusalem by creating new contacts between Israelis and Palestinians. Noam Shoval examines the morphology of the city and the impact of the security barrier on everyday life. Ifat Maoz presents survey data on public opinion regarding different solutions to the problem of Jerusalem.

jerusalem_in_the_future.pdf
Land and Planning Majority-Minority Narratives in Israel: The Misgav-Sakhnin Conflict as Parable
Luz N.
Land and Planning Majority-Minority Narratives in Israel: The Misgav-Sakhnin Conflict as Parable
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

This publication examines the Sakhnin-Misgav land dispute in the Galilee as a test case for one of the main issues of majority-minority relations in Israel. The study outlines the various forces involved, directly or indirectly, in the protracted debates held by a special committee nominated by the Minister of the Interior on requests by the Sakhnin municipality to extend its municipal boundaries. The study mainly focuses on analyzing the characteristics of the discourse among the various factors involved in planning and lands uses, both in this particular case and on an overall national level. The analysis highlights the rise of new powers in the planning arena and the ongoing land discourse, and most particularly the appearance of civil groups and organizations.  Concurrently, central government does not relinquish its hold or influence on these issues, at times applying covert practices which endorse the inequitable spatial division.

luz_land_and_planning_majority_minority_narratives.pdf
The Arab Education in Israel: Dilemmas of a National Minority
Abu-Asbah K.
The Arab Education in Israel: Dilemmas of a National Minority
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

This study examines collective educational rights within the framework of an in-depth review of the relations between the Jewish majority and the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel. The study offers examples of minority educational systems elsewhere, highlighting similarities and differences between them and the Arab-Palestinian minority. The study also touches upon the investment in resources and the commensurate achievements as well as on the organizational framework of the Arab educational system in Israel.

abuasbah_the_arab_education_in_israel.pdf
Ben-Elia N.
The Missing Link: Regional Government in Israel
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

This study examines the issue of regional government as an efficient means for governing sub-national regions in Israel, particularly peripheral regions. Against a background of territorial disparities and a malfunctioning regional governance, a new tier of governance is required, one which relies on political empowerment and a prudent devolution of authority.

benelia_the_missing_link.pdf
Pfefer A.
The Origins and Future Course of the National-Haredi Public
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

In the last two decades the National-Haredi (ultra-orthodox) community has become a central part of the religious public in Israel. This research shows how the national-haredi community recently identifies with extreme right wing political trends and is often reviewed in the general media. Despite that, it has neither been clearly defined nor has it justified an in-depth examination of its cultural, social and spiritual characteristics.

This research is a first attempt of its kind to define the characteristics of this group, highlight significant milestones in its development and the way in which it influenced the religious public and its relationship with the Israeli public at large. It analyzes the transformations witnessed by the religious public which gave rise to this phenomenon, as well as endeavors to predict its future course.

pfefer_origins_and_future_course_of_the_national_haredi_public.pdf
Kliot N, Khamaisi R, Shmueli D.
Views and Perceptions of the Separation Fence in Jewish and Arab Localities
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

This study presents the views and perceptions of Arab and Jewish residents on the separation fence built in proximity to or actually on the "Green Line," as a result of the brutal terrorist attacks conducted by Palestinian organizations against Jewish localities. The study is based on interviews with residents of Arab and Jewish localities near and west of the "Green Line". In these interviews the researchers sought the plethora of views, conceptions, feelings, experiences and their analysis as to the impact of the separation fence on residents.

kliot_khamaisishmueli_views_and_perceptions.pdf
Haredi Opposition to Haredi High-School Yeshivas
Lupu Y. Haredi Opposition to Haredi High-School Yeshivas. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2007.

This study pursues the roots of conflict in Haredi society against instituting general studies in Haredi High School Yeshivas. Whereas a silent consent exists for colleges and vocational frameworks which provide such education, the few Yeshivas promoting them are faced with an all-out war. These Yeshivas were established in recent decades to address the growing demand for training ultra-orthodox married men to earn a living, by integrating general education in their religious curriculum. The conflict is associated with ideological justifications, which present the introduction of such studies at this stage in life as prohibited from the very outset. Haredi leadership prefers to present this breach as a new phenomenon, born in Israel, and condemned. Dr. Lupu's study adds historic perspective to the conflict showing that it has plagued Haredi society since its "golden era" of Eastern European Yeshivas even prior to the inception of the State of Israel, and that integrating general studies in the religious curriculum was endorsed by some of the Torah sages in Haredi society.

lupu_haredi_opposition_to_haredi_high_school_yeshivas.pdf
2006
Redistributing Municipal Revenues: Financial Measures and Territorial Modifications
Razin E ed.
Redistributing Municipal Revenues: Financial Measures and Territorial Modifications
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006. Razin_Redistibuting Municipal Revenues.pdf
The Local Democratic Deficit: A Seeming Democracy ?
Hasson S ed. The Local Democratic Deficit: A Seeming Democracy ?. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

Summarizing the Second Annual Local Government of The Harold Hartog School of Governance and Policy, this publication consists of three parts: The first unfolds the concept of Democratic Deficit and explains how it is formed, the dangers embodied in it  and how we may overcome i and establish the democracy correctly. The second part presents the discussion among the panel members and the third part contains the questions asked by the audience and the answers given by the speakers.

Hasson The Local Democratic Deficit.pdf
Khamaisi R. The Impact of the Separation fence on the Arab Population in Israel: Initial Observations. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This study attempts to assess the various impacts of the separation barrier on the sense of affiliation and identity, the economy and the spatial organization of the Arab population in Israel. The study points to the unequivocal message to the Arabs in Israel, that they will continue to be citizens of the state in any future agreement with the Palestinians.The fence however, creates a barrier between them and their brethren, their families and cultural affiliations across the other side. The fence makes economic ties with Palestinian urban centers more difficult, but on the other hand it accelerates local demand in Arab localities on the west side, thus contributing to a certain rate of growth in business and services which hitherto suffered a slump. Concurrently, localities in close proximity to the fence return to their pre 1967 peripheral status which stunts their development potential.

Khamaisi The Impacts of the Separation Fence.pdf
Tzoreff Y.
The Palestinians in Gaza: Reflections on the Post-Arafat Era and the Disengagement
. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This study examines the impact of two concurrent processes on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the changing leadership and governmental reshuffle on the one hand and the Israeli disengagement on the other hand. The relationship between the Palestinian Authority and its residents are also examined as are the means used to present the Oslo Accords to them, and other functioning characteristics underlying the political stalemate. The Palestinian reactions to disengagement are considered, the power struggle developing among the various foci of power and the impacts on the inter-organizational relationship. The researcher attempts to point out possible directions of development in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship after the stabilization of the Palestinian government and the implementation of the disengagement program.

Tzoref_The_Palestinians_in_Gaza.pdf
Jerusalem in the Future: Scenarios and Shared Visions
Hasson S, Nasrallah R eds. Jerusalem in the Future: Scenarios and Shared Visions. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This publication is a product of a two-year cooperation effort between the International Peace and Cooperation Center and the Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies carried out with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The two teams worked on a series of scenarios regarding possible futures for Jerusalem, a vision of a desired future and a preliminary strategic framework towards its realization.

jerusalem_scenarios_and_a_shared_vision.pdf
Razin E, Hazan A. Redistributing Municipal Wealth in Israel: Reducing Inequalities in the Revenues of Local Authorities. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This study analyzes options for redistributing revenues from local taxes and levies on non-residential real estate among local authorities, with the aim of reducing fiscal disparities among local authorities.

The study recommends considering the implementation of alternatives at the local and regional levels, with clearly defined limits on conditions that permit revenue redistribution without the consent of involved parties. Implications in the direction of strengthening local government or concentration of power in the hands of government ministries depends on the manner of implementation: imposition subject to restraint and clear constraints, in which the central state is considered to be a fair broker, or an arena for bitter conflicts and for controversial decisions that are largely motivated by the need to alleviate short-term fiscal problems of the central state.

Razin Hazan_Redistributing_Municipal_Wealth_in_Israel.pdf
Arabs in Israel: Barriers to Equality
Hasson S, Karayanni M eds. Arabs in Israel: Barriers to Equality. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This book deals with two main questions: what are the barriers to the equality and the development of the Arabs in Israel? and how can the effect of these barriers be reduced?

The picture presented by the book is that despite certain improvements in the social area, especially in the area of education, the inequality between Jews and Arabs remains as it was.  The book offers a preliminary background for the analysis of the fundamental barriers preventing equality between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

Hasson_Karayanni_Arabs_in_Israel.pdf
Ben-Elia N. Core Local Services: Expanding the Public Responsibility of the Ministry of Interior. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This publication examines those issues which should be included in the Ministry of Interior's agenda along two axes: the right of citizens to decent local services and the obligation of the ministry to provide them.

benelia_core_local_services.pdf
Ben-Elia N. The Fourth Generation: A New Local Government for Israel. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This book attempts to develop a new conceptual view of local government in Israel and possible paths of institutional development towards the next decade. The urgency of such a task is based on two key assumptions. First, and mostly, the emergence of a new public agenda that shifts the traditional dominance in Israel of security related issues towards social and civic concerns. Second, the exhaustion of present patterns of governing and public governance and the consequent need for institutional change.

The book describes the key features of a new type of local government in Israel  (the ‘4th generation’) and explores three different scenarios for its actual emergence.

ben-elia_the_fourth_generation.pdf
Ben-Elia N. From Municipal to Supra-Municipal Modes of Service Delivery in Israel. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

An alternative solution to the local government crisis with respect to the declining capacity of many municipalities to secure services for their residents. The proposal shifts away from the horizontal perspective, which identifies the change in local government with the changing municipal map, to a vertical perspective, which emphasizes the structural change in local government. Supra-municipal options for service provision are examined on the basis of a 'bottom-up' delegation of authority and regulating services.

benelia_from_municipal_to_supr_municipal_modes.pdf
Political Cultures in Development Towns
ItzhaDahan . Political Cultures in Development Towns. Jerusalem: Floersheimer Studies; 2006.

This study examines the world views, ideologies, traditions, norms and social and cultural networks prevalent in development towns among various protagonists and groups – governmental and civic. The study highlights the crossroads, conflict and junctures which develop in a tenuous social field, and offers decision-makers an alternative strategy in light of this cultural and political labyrinth.

dahan_political_cultures_in_development_towns.pdf