This event, which is the second of our four Bronfman Debates on the Future of Israel @ the Munk School, will focus on the future of Israeli democracy. It is no secret, or it should not be, that the condition of democracy in Israel has eroded in the last years, not only due to the stalemate of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, but primarily due to a move in recent years from liberal democracy and institutions to a majoritarian-type democracy based on ethnic roots and religion. The questions on the condition of Israeli democracy, on its relationship to the (non-existing) peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, and particularly on the future of Israel’s democracy are of utmost importance.
Dan Meridor is best known for his long and distinguished career in the Israeli government. In 1984 he was elected to the Knesset and served as a Member of the Knesset in the years 1984-2003 and 2009-2013. Between 1982 and 1984, Mr. Meridor served as the Secretary of the Cabinet under Prime Ministers Menahem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir and was Minister of Justice between 1988 and 1992. Mr. Meridor was also Minister of Finance (1996-1997), Minister of Strategic Affairs and member of the Inner Cabinet (2001-2003), and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Knesset (1999-2001). Between 2004 and 2006, Mr. Meridor headed a committee to develop Israel’s new defence doctrine. Between 2009 and 2013, Mr. Meridor was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intelligence.
Mohammed Wattad is a legal scholar specializing in international and comparative criminal law, comparative constitutional law, and international law. He is a graduate of Haifa University, Oxford University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Columbia University, Toronto University, and the Max Planck Institute in Germany. He is currently an assistant professor at Zefat Academic College in Israel, and a visiting associate professor at the University of California at Irvine. Professor Wattad is the 2015 winner of the Best Young Scholar Award on Israel Studies, and the 2007 and the 2008 winner of the Best Legal Oralist Award of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences. From 2003-2004, Professor Wattad served as a legal clerk at the Supreme Court of Israel under the supervision of Justice Dalia Dorner.
Thursday, 25 February 2016 – 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility
Munk School of Global Affairs – 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto
Register: http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/19730/
For more information: sylvia.adler@utoronto.ca