Video Archive – 2019 Conference
Amiad Cohen
Charting a Course for the Conservative Movement in Israel
Amiad Cohen, Director of Tikvah Fund Israel, on the vitality of Israeli society and its belief in life and the increasing need for ideological, intellectual, and cultural support for the intuitively conservative views held by most Israelis.
Roger Hertog
The Marketplace of Ideas
Roger Hertog, Chairman of the World Tikvah Fund, and founding partner of the Standford-Bernstein investment firm, talks about the flourishing of Israel and the enormous importance of developing conservative ideas and thinking deeply in order to deal with the new challenges it faces regarding economics and society.
Douglas Murray
Progressive Ideas and the Strange Death of Europe
British author and writer Douglas Murray, author of the bestselling book The Strange Death of Europe, lectures on how the universalist progressive worldview harms Europe’s ability to deal with deep moral ideas and ultimately believe in the justice of its own cause and existence, and on the differences between Europe and Israel regarding nationalism and patriotism, borders and religion.
Rotem Sela, Dr. Gadi Taub, and Dr. Ronen Shoval
Postmodernism, Political Correctness, and Freeing the Discourse
PC culture, imported from the US in the last twenty years, argues that the way to change reality runs through changing the language and public discourse. Rotem Sela, publisher at Sela Meir, Dr. Gadi Taub, and Dr. Ronen Shoval have a talk about the dangers inherent in this approach to the principle of free speech and free distribution of views and ideas in Israel and on the basic error in the view that changing appearances changes reality.
Professor Moshe Koppel
From Vision to Reality
The Kohelet Forum works on studying and promoting policies in the fields of governance, nation, and economic freedom. Professor Moshe Koppel, Chairman of the Forum, lectures on how one can influence political reality and how to deal with the bureaucracy and its power. A rare look behind the scenes of advancing public policy in Israel.
Dr. Yoram Hazony
The Jewish Ideas That Built the World: Religion, Nation, and Freedom
What is Israeli conservatism, which part of the Israeli public does not consciously define, but which makes the whole world stare in amazement? What actions and behaviors mark Israeli conservatism as such, and how can one see its depth? Dr. Yoram Hazony lays out his view on Jewish-Zionist-Israeli conservatism, tying it to the deep connection we have to our shared history as a people.
Sagi Barmak, Hadas Lanciano, Avrum Tomer, Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer
Identity Politics and Weakening the Weakened
Identity politics took shape in the west during the sixties and exalted the excluded and discriminated. The emphasis was shifted from the virtues of the individual to the collective and untransferable sentiments of the group. Dr. Sagi Barmak talks with Hadas Lanciano, Avrum Tomer, and Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer about the influence of identity politics on Israel. Does it bring historic justice or to reverse racism and grudges? And is there a conservative response to this view?
Dr. Ran Baratz
Nation, State, and the Freedom to Flourish
The radical ideas in favor of dismantling the nation, religion, and state influence public discourse and public opinion in Israel and throughout the world to this day. Dr. Ran Baratz provides a fascinating survey of major conservative thinkers who dealt at length with these views: Edmund Burke on the importance of the small platoons for forming a nation, Alexis de Tocqueville on the political importance of local responsibility, and Friedrich Hayek on the limitations of the individual and the importance of the free market. Finally, Baratz surveys the prosperity brought by the economy to the quality of life of freedom-promoting states.
Yoav Sorek, Emily Amrousi, Irit Linur, and Benny Ziffer
Conservative Culture – Is There Such a Thing?
What is conservative culture? Do conservative limitations paralyze creativity or allow it to be a true breakthrough? And are conservative creators pushed outside the milieu by cultural gatekeepers? Journalist Emily Amrousi talks to writer Irit Linur, Haaretz cultural editor Benny Ziffer, and Hashiloach journal editor Yoav Sorek.
Dr. Eran Bar Tal, Amihai Chikli, Ricky Maman, and Moshe Turpaz
How to Teach Excellence
With mediocre results, a convoluted employment model, and without a coherent identity, the Israeli education has been the subject of withering public criticism. Journalist Dr. Eran Bar Tal talks to Amichai Chikli, Ricky Maman, and Moshe Turpaz on how to improve one of the most important institutions in the country.
Erez Tadmor, Rabbi Haim Navon, Rabbi Amihai Eliyahu, and Adv. Eran Ben Ari
Big State or Small Government
Does the state create the community or the community the state? What is the role of government ministries in developing communities and creating a national ethos, if it has one? Erez Tadmor talks to Rabbi Haim Navon, Rabbi Amihai Chikli, and Adv. Eran Ben Ari on The place of the state in our Jewish and communal life.
Meir Rubin, Dr. Amatzia Samkai, Eyal Gabbai, and Dov Zigler
Israel 2030 | Deregulation, Growth, and Prosperity
The Israeli economy is in a good state, for now, but how do we ensure a better future for the next generation? How hard is it to set up a business in Israel? And what is the secret to economic growth in the long term? Meir Rubin, Director of the Kohelet Forum, Eyal Gabbai, Chairman of Meuhedet Health Fund and former Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Amatzia Samkai, Director of Samkai Strategies and the Betzedek movement, and Dov Zingler, an economist studying financial markets, have a fascinating conversation in the future of our economy.
Erel Segal, Avi Bell, Elad Malka, and Gil Bringer
A Free People – Governance Enabling Freedom
Erel Segal talks to Prof. Avi Bell, Elad Malka, and Gil Bringer on how the legal system operates vis-à-vis elected representatives: Who sets the tone, when is the legal system supposed to express its views or advice the government, is the “customer” of the “gatekeepers” the people themselves, which means they should represent the elected majority, or is there another client? How does reality look and what can be done?