democracy

Political Participation and Trust in the Age of Generation Z. The image was prepared using DALEE and is not a scientific image.

If we listen to what Gen Z really thinks about democracy, they might stop saying they prefer authoritarianism

New UK research reveals worrying trend of growing support for strong leadership without parliament and elections – but a deeper understanding of the concerns of the younger generation could change that
"Lil Gallant 2". A demonstration in Haifa against the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The Senate of Tel Aviv University warns against the return of the coup d'état

Following the discussions of the heads of the coalition factions (15/12/2024) in which Justice Minister Yariv Levin demanded that the change in the composition of the committee for the appointment of judges, and Israel's transformation into a dictatorship, be brought up, the universities are also hastening to oppose
Eyal Waldman speaks to the members of the Science and Technology Committee of the Knesset, 3/3/2024. Screenshot

Eil Waldman in the Science Committee of the Knesset I would like to investigate in depth whether there was improper interference that led to the cancellation of the Israel Awards

"The truth is that my candidacy was not liked by the Honorable Minister and those close to the Prime Minister and perhaps even the Prime Minister himself because I am known to be an opponent of him and the political revolution he tried to bring about," said Waldman
Elon Musk. Illustration: depositphotos.com

False prophets: how Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are misleading the digital economy

A study revealed that solutionism - the belief that technological solutions can address social problems while achieving profit is dominant among the leaders of technology companies and is spreading in the digital economy. The authors of the study criticize
David Ben Gurion. Photo: Knesset website

Against the background of the political discourse in Israel: 'The political thought of David Ben-Gurion'

A new book examines the views of the country's founding father
A march from Independence House on Rothschild Boulevard to Kaplan, September 17, 2023.. Photo: Avi Blizovsky

The one that rises and the one that falls: the national resilience of the coalition supporters compared to that of the opposition supporters

This is how the constitutional revolution affects our national resilience index
Prof. Elon Vadia at the Israeli chip club meeting, 23/6/14. Photo: Shmuel Oster

All brain researchers at the Hebrew University signed a letter: to excel in science, curiosity and freedom of thought are required and these are in danger from the dictatorship

Forty male and female researchers, the entire staff of the Multidisciplinary Center for Hebrew Brain Research express their fear of limitations that will be imposed on freedom of thought and the politicization of higher education, which will result in limitations on research that may upset
The collapse of the Israeli economy. Illustration: depositphotos.com

68% of the Israeli start-up companies took legal and financial measures to protect against the legal changes

This is according to a survey published by the Start-up Nation Central association. Avi Hasson, CEO of Start-up Nation Central: "Companies and investors are taking active steps to move operations away from Israel and this behavior has increased significantly in the last three months. trends
Demonstration of opponents of the coup in Haifa, May 27, 2023. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How reasonable is the probable cause?

In light of claims from readers as if we are citing the various objections to the legislation (for example, by the University Heads' Committee) without citing the reasons of the other side, Nir Lahav has edited an article that presents the claims from the sides of the legislation
Presidents, rectors and CEOs of research universities in Israel, including Prof. Aryeh Tsavan, chairman of the RA and president of Bar Ilan University; Prof. Asher Cohen, president of the Hebrew University; Prof. Ariel Porat, president of Tel Aviv University; Prof. Uri Sion, president of the Technion; Prof. Alon Chen, president of the Weizmann Institute and Prof. Ron Rubin, president of Haifa University. Photo credit: Courtesy of the Hebrew University

The presidents of research universities in Israel: We are worried about the government's harassment of academia, the buds and effects of which we are already seeing

The committee of heads of universities published a special announcement this morning following the cancellation of the reason for reasonableness in the Knesset and the fear of the inability of the judicial system to assist in such cases. The universities will assist any faculty member who joins the protest. "And the educated at the time
Presidents, rectors and CEOs of research universities in Israel, including Prof. Aryeh Tsavan, chairman of the RA and president of Bar Ilan University; Prof. Asher Cohen, president of the Hebrew University; Prof. Ariel Porat, president of Tel Aviv University; Prof. Uri Sion, president of the Technion; Prof. Alon Chen, president of the Weizmann Institute and Prof. Ron Rubin, president of Haifa University. Photo credit: Courtesy of the Hebrew University

The heads of the research universities in Israel: This is a difficult and sad day for all of us, a day we feared for a long time

"The constitutional coup that the government of Israel is dragging the country into will be a disaster for the academy as well! We call from here on the lawmakers in the Knesset - do not reach out to damage the democratic foundations of the State of Israel! Stop before it happens
Damage to Israeli science. Produced using Dali 2.

Six leading research institutes in Germany issued a statement fearing for the freedom and autonomy of science and research in Israel

The declaration is jointly signed by the Max Planck Society, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Helmholtz Society and the German Council for Sciences and Humanities
Demonstrators against the coup in Tel Aviv, 2023. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Four ways populists endanger democracy

The populists are lying when they claim they want to empower us all by denying judges the authority to oversee democracy. They really want to break through the strongest constitutional barrier against authoritarianism
Soldiers patrolling the Western Wall, May 21, 2018. Illustration: depositphotos.com Illustration: depositphotos.com

Rationality is dead! Long live populism

This week's decision to cancel the status of the women's lobby brought to attention the difference between those who take a rational position and populists who are based mainly on shouting and subjugation
The image was produced using Artssy AI software. Defining the keywords artificial intelligence, Autonomous weapons, Surveillance, cyber threats, Unemployment, Threat to democracy

Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and many others in an open letter: Strong artificial intelligence is dangerous for democracy

The signatories of the letter call for a six-month pause in the development of systems more powerful than OpenAI's new GPT-4. "Strong AI systems should only be developed once we are sure that their effects will be positive and their risks
relocation. Illustration: depositphotos.com

73% of faculty members fear that they will be forced to leave the country if the coup goes ahead

This is according to a new survey conducted by the Israeli Young Academy during the month of March. In the segmentation of the results by age, it can be seen that there is an increase in the chances of leaving at all ages, but it is more pronounced for faculty members
My ballot in the Knesset elections. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Tel Aviv University Senate statement regarding the damage to Israeli democracy

In a statement, the members of the Senate and university officials write: "We call on the Israeli government and the Knesset to stop the legislative processes that fundamentally change the order of the democratic regime in Israel." They express fear that the media and academia will be next
Human rights. Illustration: depositphotos.com

A summary of the history of the West - the values ​​of the modern era, part XNUMX

In the 18th century, the process of turning monarchies into democracies began, but it still took many years for blacks and women to get basic rights
Knesset. There must be an authority that audits the Knesset and the government, so that they pass laws that do not contradict the fundamental laws. Illustration: depositphotos.com

A summary of the history of the West - the values ​​of the modern era, part one

All over the world, including in Israel, there seems to be a wave of populist governments that oppose what are known as Western values ​​- freedom, equal opportunities and globalization (of which science is one of the successful examples). Nir Lahav reviews the
Fear of brain drain. Illustration: depositphotos.com

RA statement regarding the legal changes

"As those entrusted with the research and education of the future generations of the State of Israel, we warn you that the proposed reform of the legal system could result in fatal damage to the Israeli academy," said a statement issued by the presidents of all
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney. Image: depositphotos.com

What is the difference between a populist and a dictator? The ancient Greeks have answers

The first basic principle is that tyranny is defined by the distribution of power within the state and not by ideology or behavior * The second basic principle is that power corrupts and the distribution of power determines behavior
The worsening of political polarization in the US. Are the Republicans killing their voters? Image: depositphotos.com

"Mortality gap" - Republicans die at higher rates than Democrats

In Democratic districts, death rates have decreased by 22% since the beginning of the century, while in Republican areas they have decreased by only 11%
Polarized opinions in the US. Image: depositphotos.com

Scientists discover biological differences between liberals and conservatives

The scientists were able to predict political behavior just by looking at an fMRI brain scan and published in the rigorous scientific journal -PNAS
Polling stations in Ashkelon in the Knesset elections on February 10, 2009. Image: depositphotos.com

What do we do with all these choices?

lies Image: depositphotos.com

The mathematics of human behavior can identify the influence of fake news on election results

A researcher combines psychological theories of human behavior and the field of information science to reach insights. These findings have implications for the way to combat wrong information distributed on the net
The three monkeys - an illustration of the fooling process. Image: depositphotos.com

Stupidity defeated democracy

Stupidify Stupidify according to the Oxford dictionary. There are too many people who want the citizens to be stupid. Democracy fell when ancient Rome became an empire, the end is known. You have to do everything to stop
Climate demonstration in Vancouver, Canada, September 2019. The sign mocks the then US President Donald Trump for his ignorance in the fields of science in general and the environment in particular. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The oil tycoons' attack on democracy: promoted the rise of authoritarianism around the world and worsened the climate crisis

A new book by American researcher Eve Darian Smith describes how around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic. This retreat in democracy and "creeping authoritarianism," as the US State Department put it, is supported
Deep Pike. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Deepfake - and the future of democracy

Deepfaked movies can cause harm to real people who appear in them and even cause wars between countries. No wonder the US and the EU recognized Deep Fake as an immediate threat to democracy
Academy of Sciences president exchange ceremony at the president's house 14.11.21 Photo: Michal Fatal happy_2

"The dichotomy: on the one hand, there is a strengthening of science and appreciation for scientists, but there is also a growing movement of disdain for science"

The incoming president of the Israeli National Academy of Sciences, Prof. David Harel, is trying to dispel this dichotomy. In a conversation with the science website, he explains that, among other things, he intends to reduce the gap between
McKay made no secret that he wanted to make a film about the insistence of many of us not to look up and see the climate crisis. Credit: Netflix

Hollywood against the climate crisis - when the world doesn't even listen to Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence

"Don't Look Up", the new film by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, presents a satirical and poignant look at humanity and the role of the media in the fight against today's major environmental problem
A crisis of trust in science and democracy. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The war on science is getting a step higher: we must restore trust in science to save democracy and the future of humanity

Belief in science has turned from the basis of democratic decisions into a political matter. Researchers who examined the processes are trying to explain how we got to this situation and what needs to be done to stop the phenomenon * This is a coalition in which the people
A book and equipment used by Arab doctors in the Middle Ages. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Lying with a determined forehead? This technology will expose you

A new development will make it possible to reveal "liars" by movements of the facial muscles
Demonization of the corona vaccines. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Conspiracy theories, from creationism to resistance to vaccines, and what can be done against them

"Brandolini's Law" states that the amount of energy required to disprove a conspiracy theory is ten times the amount of energy required to produce it
Will world politics be run by robots and artificial intelligence? Illustration: shutterstock

Should we replace the politicians with artificial intelligence?

A survey distributed in eight European countries in 2019. According to the survey results, about a quarter of all Europeans would like artificial intelligence to replace the politicians they currently suffer from * 91 million Europeans support AI
The green future: using bicycles. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The forecast: a more severe economic crisis than expected

Prof. William Nordhaus, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2018. Nordhaus was the first to create a quantitative model that describes the interrelationship between climate and the economy, and he tries to estimate in his works the expected economic price
US President Donald Trump downplays the importance of scientific findings regarding global warming in the event of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Screenshot from YOUTUBE

Nature: Some of the damage Trump has done to science is irreversible

The journal Nature conducted a comprehensive investigation on the damage that Trump has caused to science in the four years of his presidency, and on the eve of the 2020 election
The smallpox epidemic arrived in Mexico by the Spanish expedition led by Papino de Narvaez and spread throughout the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in the late 16s. Photo: shutterstock

How the modern world was shaped by plagues 500 years ago

Epidemics of virgin soil - ones that the local inhabitants had not yet encountered - wiped out most of the native populations in America. The lack of local labor made it necessary to import slaves. This established the supremacy of Europe. It's possible
The map of the regeneration dam in Ethiopia and the lake that was created because of it. From Wikipedia

Water war or water peace?

Building dams on rivers for the purpose of generating electricity or distributing water has always caused discussions and friction because of the need for "green" energy and the transportation of water, versus the desire to preserve the environment and nature. Ethiopia completed the
A jury in Mexico. From jumpstory

Things that donors know: why are there no juries in Israel?

Climate March 2017, the end point in front of the US Embassy. Photo: Avi Blizovsky

Will the politicians take action and try to save the planet from climate change?

face recognition. Illustration - shutterstock

Facial recognition: Ten reasons to worry

Dr. Noam Lemalstrich Letter, dean and founder of the School of Communication, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya. Photo: Niv Kantor

"The human press will survive the age of artificial intelligence"

The "March of Science" in San Francisco, on April 22, 2017. Photo: Matthew Roth.

The war over the facts undermines the foundations of democracy

Polarization means tribalism. American society has become so tribal that belonging to the political left is like a statement of faith, a declaration that the phenomenon of climate change is real. And similarly, identifying with the right necessarily means denying climate change. Pictured: A sign with the inscription "Science is real", at the Women's March in Washington DC. Si, January 21, 2017. Photo: Liz Lemon.

The denial of science - what does it come from?

Demonstrator during the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations, 2011. Photo: Glenn Halog.

Questions for the future of humanity: Will we survive the economic disparities?

American Spirit / Shutterstock.com

The voice of the skeptic - eternal peace / Michael Shermer