Public Policy in Israel
Perspectives and Practices

Israel's current policy-making capacity is not sufficient to meet the challenges the country faces. This volume presents a framework for understanding the fractured decision-making process in a politically divided Israel. In a nation that lacks consensus on the very nature of the state, and where policy making is heavily controlled by partisan politics, policy implementation capabilities are crucial for the very survival of Israeli society. Contributors discuss the role of public policy making on Israel's large public sector, electoral reform, the question of immigration absorption, and wartime planning, and they consider the extent to which the Israeli Supreme Court has become involved in the policy-making process in the wake of the collapse of political mechanisms for conflict regulation. This book provides essential information for students of political science and public policy seeking a clearer understanding of the political challenges facing the twenty-first century Israeli state and a blueprint for the radical reform of Israel's policy-making system.

Part 1 Foreword: Critical Choices Part 2 Introduction: Policy-Making in Israel: The Survival Imperative Part 3 Critical Issues Chapter 4 Social Cleavages and Decision-Making in the Political System Chapter 5 Policy-Making and Immigrant Absorption Chapter 6 The Mismanagement of Israel's Water Resources: A Study of Administrative Myopia in Public Policy Part 7 Players, Rules, and Practice Chapter 8 Justices as Policy-Makers Chapter 9 Policy Change in Government Coalitions and Party Politics Chapter 10 A Recipe for Failure: Public Policy in the Context of Electoral Reform Chapter 11 The Six-Day War and Its Aftermath: A Case for Professionalism in Policy Planning Part 12 Public and Private Domain Chapter 13 Privitization Policy: 50 Years of Low-Intensity Conflicts Chapter 14 Unintentional Yet Unmistakable: The De Facto Public Policy Towards the Third Sector Part 15 Specific Issues Chapter 16 State and Non-State Actors: A Multi-Layered Analysis of Labor Migration Policy Chapter 17 Policy-Making in the Personal Social Services Chapter 18 Archaeological Public Policy Chapter 19 Cracks in the Mirror of Military Hegemony: The Courts and the Media as Agents of Civil Society