Conferences
Conferences 2025-26
The local and international conferences organized and supported by the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics form a distinguished academic stage upon which to present perspectives of some of the world’s top scholars concerning the research questions that arise under the Center’s research theme of “The Challenges of Democracy.”
The Erosion of Democracy
September 8, 2025, Buchmann Faculty of Law, TAU
Co-sponsored with the DemoCrisis – Civic Action Network, and the Israel Bar Association
Round the world democracies are facing severe challenges. Institutions once considered stable are being undermined, and judicial independence is eroding. Israel has joined the ranks of countries where democratic stability is weakening, with a noticeable decline in the standing of the judiciary. We are witnessing troubling developments such as Boycott of the President of the Supreme Court, the unlawful dismissal of the Attorney General, attempts to undermine democracy's gatekeepers, attacks on the legal profession, violations of human rights, and disregard for laws and formal procedures. The speakers in the conference were leading judges from Poland and Israel, and legal experts.
For the schedule (in Hebrew) please check here
Separation of the Functions of the Attorney General
17 November 2025, Buchmann Faculty of Law
Co-sponsored with the Buchmann Faculty of Law
The Legislation proposal to split the role of the Attorney General, submitted to the 25th Knesset as a private member’s bill, is not a novel initiative. The idea of dividing the office has been raised on multiple occasions in the past, yet it has not previously advanced into concrete legislative action. The current proposal seeks to introduce a profound structural transformation of the Attorney General’s role. Its central objective is to separate the government’s legal advisory functions from the criminal enforcement functions, such that prosecutorial powers would be transferred to an independent Prosecutor General, who would head a distinct prosecution service not subordinate to the Attorney General.
The proposal also encompasses several additional structural changes, including the creation of an institutional separation between the body that advises the government and the body that represents it before the courts, as well as the establishment of a mechanism that would allow government ministers to obtain separate legal representation in situations involving conflicts of interest.
The symposium examined the principled and institutional questions arising from the proposal: whether dividing the role could contribute to an appropriate balance among the branches of government and strengthen public trust in the legal system, or whether it constituted a measure liable to undermine the independence of law enforcement authorities and weaken mechanisms of oversight and accountability vis-à-vis the executive. It also addressed the question of whether the current government, which was engaged in an ongoing confrontation with the judiciary, was the appropriate institutional actor to advance a reform of this nature.
The Annual Conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law
4-6 December, 2025, Dan Carmel Hotel, Haifa
Co-Sponsored by the Israeli Association for Public Law
The annual conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law has firmly established itself as a renowned event within the realm of public law. This gathering serves as a significant platform for judges, advocates, attorneys, and legal scholars who engage with and hold an interest in various aspects of public law. It offers an arena for deliberating critical matters, undertaking studies and investigations, fostering meaningful exchanges among participants, and advancing the field of public law in Israel.
For the invitation (in Hebrew) please check here
Can the Public be Trusted – Yuval Feldman, Book Event
24 December 2025, Buchmann Faculty of Law
Professor Feldman’s new book, Can the Public Be Trusted? (CUP 2025), examines a central paradox of governance: why states continue to rely on punitive enforcement even when voluntary cooperation often produces better results. Drawing on case studies from tax collection, COVID-19 compliance, and environmental regulation, the book investigates the conditions under which citizens comply willingly rather than out of fear. Integrating insights from law, psychology, and Behavioral economics, Feldman explores why regulators are frequently reluctant to trust the public, despite substantial evidence of the effectiveness of trust-based regimes. He further analyses how cultural and technological factors shape patterns of cooperation and identifies the circumstances in which trust-centered approaches are likely to succeed or falter. The book offers valuable lessons for regulatory scholars and policymakers seeking to design more effective and responsive governance.
Defining, Regulating, and Combating Antisemitism
NYU Berlin on March 16-17, 2026.
Co-sponsored by Law and Ethics of Human Rights; College of Law and Business (Israel); Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism (Tel Aviv University); Minerva Center for Human Rights (Tel Aviv University); NYU Center for the Study of Antisemitism; NYU School of Law; NYU Berlin; and NYU Tel Aviv.
In recent years, many of the most contentious debates surrounding freedom of expression involve antisemitism – and some of the fiercest divides within Jewish communities stem from efforts to combat antisemitism by legal means. The recourse to law has only intensified since Oct. 7, with a new focus on the funding and regulation of universities. Antisemitism has emerged as the test case for negotiating the extent of civil rights protection and the bounds of free speech in an era of intense political polarization. In this charged atmosphere, scholarly analysis of law’s advantages and limitations is sorely needed. Toward that end, the workshop will examine the changing legal landscape with regard to antisemitism (in multiple countries) and the political implications of the increasing recourse to law.
Papers presented at the conference will be published in a special issue of the journal Law and Ethics of Human Rights (LEHR), to be co-edited by Gila Stopler, Julie E. Cooper, and Hanna Lerner.
The 13th Annual Privacy Conference
May 3, 2026, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored with the Chief Justice Meir Shamgar Center for Digital Law and Innovation
Privacy studies are an emerging cross-disciplinary field of study. The annual workshop on privacy and cyber studies is a platform for presenting and discussing cutting edge studies on privacy. Participants are typically from a broad range of disciplines: computer science, information systems, engineering, law, media studies, psychology and sociology, economics and more. The workshop is based on a call for papers, and submissions are carefully selected.
For the conference schedule (in English), please check here
Book Launch – Informational Privacy
May 3, 2026, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored with the Chief Justice Meir Shamgar Center for Digital Law and Innovation
For the events schedule (in English), please check here
Constitutional Law and Procedure
24 June, 2026, Naftali Building, Social Sciences Faculty, Tel Aviv University
Co-sponsored with the journal Law, Society & Culture, Buchmann Faculty of Law
The symposium marking the publication of Volume 9, Constitutional Law and Procedure, of the journal Law, Society & Culture, held last week, explored the relationship between constitutional law and procedure. The articles in this volume examine, from a range of perspectives, how procedural rules shape the realization of constitutional values and, conversely, how constitutional principles give procedural law its purpose, boundaries, and meaning.
The symposium brought together the volume’s authors and additional guests and featured two panel discussions, each led by one of the volume’s Editors-in-Chief. The first panel, led by Professor Yaniv Roznai, addressed constitutional litigation before the High Court of Justice, as well as procedures for constitutional amendment and constitution-making. The second panel, led by Professor Alon Klement, focused on constitutional principles in procedure. In both panels, the Editors-in-Chief engaged the authors in discussions through questions arising from their individual articles, as well as broader questions reflecting the volume’s common themes.
The symposium also featured a thought-provoking lecture by Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Justice Noam Sohlberg, titled “On Procedure and Substantive Rights: A Constitutive Tension? Reflections Looking Ahead.” In the lecture, he examined different ways of understanding the relationship between procedure and substantive values, moving from the view of procedure as an obstacle to rights, through its role as an instrument for realizing them, to the idea that procedure may itself embody independent constitutional values. Justice Sohlberg suggested adopting this third approach, which understands constitutional procedure not merely as a set of technical rules, but as a field in which substantive constitutional commitments are shaped, mediated, and expressed.
