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.

Proposals to cede Arab localities from Israeli to Palestinian sovereignty, presented as "populated land exchanges", involve forcibly revoking the citizenship of tens of thousands of Arabs. Since the October 2000 events these proposals penetrated the heart of public discourse. The Arab leadership and public vehemently oppose these proposals. This study examines the Jewish discourse supporting the idea alongside Arab opposition to it in Israel and the territories as well as its implications on the character of the State of Israel. It examines Israeli and international legal perspectives and demographic and territorial implications. The study emphasizes the danger and folly of this idea and recommends discussing the idea as part of the Arab-Jewish discourse and as part of the status of the Arab minority in a democratic Jewish state.

As a sequel to The religious-Secular Divide in the Eyes of Israel's Leaders and Opinion Makers, Refracted Vision discusses the causes and impact of fear; increased segregation; increased insecurity over identity, and decreased commonality on religious-secular relations through a historical analysis. It examines how variables, often blamed for tensions, both impact on and are manifestations of deeper issues. Policy recommnedations offer new ways of strengthening relations, which may alter Israel's current reality and provide for an environment of greater understanding, opportunity and cohesiveness.

The research addresses the shifts in the post Arafat era and examines their impacts on the disengagement plan. The main focus of the research is to examine the viability of the plan as originally intended by prime minister Sharon, as a divorce arrangement, or whether it can be used to lay the foundations for long range political agreements or even a final status solution,which recognizes the limitations of both sides.

This study examines patterns of cooperation between small municipalities both in israel and abroad. Cooperation frameworks aim to achieve efficacy and reduce expenditure as well as to improve the quality of services to citizens, reduce risks, solve mutual problems, develop municipal and economic projects and to forge nucli of power to confront central government.Undoubtedly, mutual trust is a fundamental factor in any arrangement as is a good working relationship between employees in positions of power, whether elected or professional.

The author of this study, Rabbi Bezalel Cohen is a graduate of the Lithuanian yeshiva world. From an insider’s perspective and through his involvement in advancing employment in ultra-orthodox society, he offers an analysis of the inherent economic deficiency and its root causes, chief among which is the issue of employment. The analysis raises a series of conceptual and inherent barriers in ultra-orthodox society, which  impede the transition of Haredi men, hitherto engaged in Torah study, into the labor market.

This study highlights the characteristics of decision-making in the disengagement process on issues concerning the evacuation of settlements, uprooting settlers and its outcome, recompensing evacuees and resettling them. In order to examine the decision-making process more comprehensively, the author compares between the process of evacuating the Sinai settlers in 1982 with those of Gaza in 2005. The study analyses similarities and differences between these two processes and highlights lessons that were drawn as well as those that were overlooked. 

The study was written until July 2005 and its contribution is mainly in drawing conclusions that are likely to guide decision-makers in Israel in any future evacuation of settlements in Judea and Samaria.

This research examines the attempt to establish the role of Lithuanian Yeshivas as a spiritual alternative to western culture, such that will facilitate the real vocation of every young Haredi man - to come closer to God. The Haredi concept of western culture is one that focuses on "body building" and material possessions and is therefore limited. By contrast Haredi society and the Torah world in particular are viewed as focusing on the spiritual, reaching for a closeness to God and aspiring to sanctity, and hence unlimited. The research examines the difficulties in realizing this utopian vision, so central to understanding the Haredi society of scholars, and these are described against a background of crises in the yeshiva world in recent years and a significant drop from Haredi learning establishments.

This research focuses on the internal discourse of the Gush Katif settlers, exposes their socio-political perceptions, and attempts to understand the motives and the socio-psychological reasoning determining the settlers’ conduct. An understanding of the settlers’ discourse entails understanding their perception of “a home” -  a geographic location strongly tied with their individual and community identity.  The research highlights the frequent tension between the humane, individual and communal discourse and the national-religious discourse.

The year 1996 marked a shift in the attitude of ultra-orthodox society to vocational and academic training for men. Also noted were changes in and expansion of vocational and academic training for women. Across Israel institutions of higher learning for Haredi men and women sprang, adapted to the special heterogeneous needs of this population. Thousands of men and women study in them and prepare themselves for a life of earning and integration into the labor market. This study reviews the shift from ideological, historical and socio-political perspectives and proposes recommendations to substantiate and expand this phenomenon.

This research is based on a model which aims to identify and map the psychological variants affecting, alongside demographic and other variants, political and strategic decisions in conflicts.

It identifies the factors underlying the support for specific compromise resolutions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, thus complementing other studies which identify psychological, demographic and other factors underlying the militant policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Arab-Jewish willingness to engage.  Identifying public preferences is likely to improve planning and intervention that will address, emotional and perception barriers to political processes (such as disengagement) in the conflict.

What will happen the day after disengagement? Will disengagement bring peace and stability to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and promote negotiations towards a permanent status solution, or will the opposite occur reinforcing the radical Islamist factions who maintain that force alone will convince Israel?

This essay examines these questions from the viewpoint of four central and widely held geopolitical approaches in Israel: The Necessity of Separation; Two State Solution (“Two States for Two Peoples”); The Greater Land of Israel and a Bi-National State. It presents the different approaches, details the scenarios relevant to them, and analyzes the political options common to them and offers several recommendations.

The Haredi Nahal battalion has been operating within the IDF since 1999. It originally intended to admit recruits from the Haredi population, but over the years its lines opened to Yeshivot students, both National-Haredi and Hesder yeshivot alike. The author examines the relationships which developed both within the battalion itself and between the military and the Haredi institutions. Alongside an attempt to evaluate any opportunities rooted in bringing closer a religious population to the IDF, the author examines the risk involved in founding an independent, sectoral unit in the army - a notion quite contrary to the fundamental IDF concept.

This study focuses on the correlation between Torah studies and employment in the ultra-orthodox community in London. The findings show that around two thirds of Haredi men work, usually in real estate, commerce or teaching, by contrast to the situation in Israel where the rate is around a third. It appears that London’s ultra-orthodox men seek balances between Torah studies and employment, which manifest themselves in the following categories: A full-time scholar who devotes his entire time to study; a part time scholar engaged in random employment during vacations; a part-time scholar who divides his time equally between study and employment; a breadwinning scholar who works and determines his own study schedule. But for all, the commitment to study remains an integral part of Haredi life.

This study describes the difficulties confronting the settlers of  the Gaza strip in light of the current disengagement. It highlights both their distinguishing and similar characteristics and the impacts of their various attitudes on key issues: a religious world-view, an ideology of holding the land, economic concerns, socio-communal ties and individual psychological angst.