The Radical Regime Transformation in Israel Marks the Start of an Intra-Jewish Religious War

Gila Stopler is Dean of the Law School and an associate professor of law at the College of Law & Business in Ramat Gan (Israel).

Introduction

Simcha Rothman, member of the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) and chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, is working with Justice Minister Yariv Levin to change the Israeli regime by taking over the judiciary and removing checks on the executive branch and its leader. Rothman was quoted in closed conversations in April 2023 saying that Israel is at the start of a religious war and that he has no intention of withdrawing from passing the reform. Rothman’s statement reveals the deep divide in the Jewish-Israeli public regarding the status of religion in the country and religion’s centrality in the current national crisis as well as in the question of the nation’s continued shared existence. The intensity of the intra-Jewish religious rift and its effect on the state are surprising when considering the starting point, in the days of the establishment of the state, when the religious minority in the largely secular Jewish population was small and its political power so scant that Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion believed it would become extinct within a few years. [1]

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Sacralization of AI

Yulia Razmetaeva is a visiting researcher at Uppsala University (Sweden) and Head of the Center for Law, Ethics and Digital Technologies at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University (Ukraine). The post is a part the Sacralization of AI series.

We created AI. Now, AI is re-creating us. Smart algorithms have already changed much in our societies and lives. Artificial intelligence has changed our daily habits, decision-making processes, work environments, transportation management, natural disaster response and recovery, peacetime elections, and the defense of nations in wartime. There will be even more changes when we replace even more human effort with that of machines. There’s no way we can do without algorithms—they are indispensable, and we now rely on them for each and every step we take. As AI seems to have penetrated every tier of our lives, it is now part of the atmosphere, along with oxygen, and is essentially perceived as a deity or holy spirit that is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.

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Religions’ Roles in Peacebuilding in The Gambia

His Excellency Ambassador Professor Muhammadou M.O. Kah is Ambassador of The Republic of The Gambia to the Swiss Confederation and is a permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the World Trade Organization, and other international organizations at Geneva. The following is an edited summary of his remarks at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 4 October 2022.

The Gambia Post-2017: Vision with Action

The Gambia places a high priority on the promotion and protection of human rights. Our constitution and supporting legislation reflect that, as do ongoing legislative and criminal justice reforms that began in 2017. The year 2017 is an important one for The Gambia, which was held hostage for 22 years under a dictatorship. The country’s human rights credentials were unimpeachable prior to those 22 years. Since 2017, when the people of The Gambia decided to vote out the 22-year dictatorship, the country has embarked on restoring what it was known for: being the true hub of human dignity and human rights, peace, and security in West Africa, and an example for the African continent. We strive to ensure that our citizens can exercise their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights effectively, regardless of their ethnicity, race, place of origin, political opinion, gender, and importantly, their religion. Accordingly, the government’s vision of putting in place solid mechanisms in 2017 to promote and protect human rights in The Gambia has borne fruits, although the work towards its sustainability continues. This reminds me of words invoked by the late former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela: “Action without vision is only passing time. Vision without action is merely daydreaming. But vision with action can change the world.”[1]

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