Before human rights was a universally accepted concept, and before there was Israel, there were prominent Jews who supported both. James Loeffler tells the story of human rights pioneers and how their commitment grew out of the Jewish diaspora experience.

Prof. Yoav Alon, a historian of the Middle East, discusses his award-winning book “The Shaykh of Shaykhs: Mithqal al Fayiz and Tribal Leadership in Modern Jordan.”

Is the current wave of national-populism new, or is it rooted in older historic trends? Can its supporters be de-demonized, humanized or at the very least understood?

Are museums still relevant in the digital age? Neil McGregor, the former director of the British Museum, analyzes the enduring validity of museums in the age of technological upheavals and fake news.

Transparency International is among the most prominent global organizations fighting corruption through exposure, documentation and measurement. Delia Rubio, Chair of the organization, discusses the challenges, pitfalls and goals of their work, while Alona Vinograd of the Israel Democracy Institute brings the question of corruption home to Israel against the backdrop of a heated political stage.

Shibley Telhami is the master of survey research in the Middle East. Through survey data, his research tracks and explains changes over time on the most sensitive public issues, from the Arab Spring, America, Israel, al Jazeera, and democracy.

Dr Gilad Malach, head of the ultra-Orthodox research program at the Israel Democracy Institute, discusses the findings of the 2018 statistical report on the ultra-Orthodox society in Israel, which he directed.

Dr Hagai Boas, head of the Science, Technology and Civilization Program at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, discusses his co-edited volume “Bioethics and Biopolitics in Israel: Socio-Legal, Political and Empirical Analysis.”

Israeli film scholar Dan Chyutin observes that Israeli film once reflected secular Israeli society, and religion appeared mainly as stage dressing. But in recent decades, a steady stream of films have put religion, especially ultra-orthodox Judaism, in the foreground. Is this a mirror of Israeli society? Or just an excuse to discuss our favorite films?

Israel’s 2018 Democracy Index, an annual survey of the health of Israeli democracy, shows off the deepest contradictions in Israeli life. Tamar Hermann explains why half the country thinks democracy is endangered but half do not, why the left-right divide is now seen as the most threatening division in Israeli society, while the number of Israeli Jews who think things are going well has been rising for over a decade.