Pardon Me – What Netanyahu’s Request Reveals About a Divided Israel
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 • 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
This event is hosted by UJA Federation New York and The Jewish Agency For Israel.
About the Session
This talk will examine the implications of Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request for the democratic fabric of Israel – not merely as a legal issue, but as both a symptom and a catalyst of profound social and emotional polarization.
We will explore how the debate surrounding the pardon reflects broader tensions over core democratic norms and situate it within Israel’s ongoing democratic backsliding. Against this backdrop, we will ask whether and how Israel can navigate the current crisis in a way that reinforces its democratic foundations.
About Dr. Dana Blander
Dr. Blander is a Research Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) and a clinical psychologist. Her doctoral thesis,“Ambivalence as a Challenge to the Political Order”, combining political philosophy and psychoanalytic insights, won the Alex Berger Award of the Hebrew University in 2008. She served as a visiting lecturer at Tufts University (2010–2011). Her research focuses on core governmental mechanisms, including state and parliamentary commissions of inquiry, private legislation, and the powers of the presidency. She is co-author ofThe Handbook of Israel’s Political System (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and editor ofCan Democracy Recover? by Yaron Ezrahi (Cambridge University Press, 2025).
This event is hosted by UJA Federation New York and The Jewish Agency For Israel.
About the Session
This talk will examine the implications of Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request for the democratic fabric of Israel – not merely as a legal issue, but as both a symptom and a catalyst of profound social and emotional polarization.
We will explore how the debate surrounding the pardon reflects broader tensions over core democratic norms and situate it within Israel’s ongoing democratic backsliding. Against this backdrop, we will ask whether and how Israel can navigate the current crisis in a way that reinforces its democratic foundations.
About Dr. Dana Blander
Dr. Blander is a Research Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) and a clinical psychologist. Her doctoral thesis,“Ambivalence as a Challenge to the Political Order”, combining political philosophy and psychoanalytic insights, won the Alex Berger Award of the Hebrew University in 2008. She served as a visiting lecturer at Tufts University (2010–2011). Her research focuses on core governmental mechanisms, including state and parliamentary commissions of inquiry, private legislation, and the powers of the presidency. She is co-author ofThe Handbook of Israel’s Political System (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and editor ofCan Democracy Recover? by Yaron Ezrahi (Cambridge University Press, 2025).
