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Dan Ben-David

Young students in a classroom in the ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem, August 25, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
August 5, 2026, 5:14 pm
Why these elections are the last chance to save Israel from its ‘spiral of collapse’
Israel’s entire education system is in crisis. And its fastest-growing community, the ultra-Orthodox, is getting by far the worst education of all. An inadequate education spells a non-competitive workforce, a weakened army, and a country that simply won’t survive
By David Horovitz
Children play beside a fragment of an Iranian ballistic missile that landed in a schoolyard in Peduel in the West Bank, March 23, 2026. The Hebrew graffiti on the missile chunk reads: 'The people of Israel live.' (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
May 27, 2026, 10:56 am
Low test scores, interrupted studies, diverging values: How dire is Israel’s school system?
The poor results of a national science test are raising alarm bells. Experts say the problems run far deeper, are more urgent and are harder to solve
By Ben Sales
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in the Knesset, February 7, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90/File)
March 18, 2026, 5:40 pm
‘Cynicism on steroids’: Experts pan budget cuts in wake of coalition fund increase
Cuts to healthcare, education and science could have been prevented by halting the allocation of billions in coalition funds to ultra-Orthodox schools, says Berl Katznelson Center
By Sam Sokol
Israeli children who will begin school and kindergarten on September 1 pose for a picture in Moshav Yashresh on August 27, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
August 31, 2025, 11:51 pm
For the 1st time, religious 1st-graders in Israel outnumber secular ones by thousands
Education Ministry data also shows 5,000 fewer children are enrolled in secular schools in the upcoming year compared to 2023; experts warn of implications for broader society
By Rossella Tercatin
Magen David Adom medical workers seen at a drive-through site to collect samples for coronavirus testing, alongside the security barrier outside Shuafat Refugee Camp, Jerusalem, April 16, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 22, 2020, 10:21 pm
Test every single Israeli to avoid a second COVID-19 wave, top economist urges
Dan Ben-David of the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research says effort would be hard and costly, but worthwhile to avoid economic devastation of a new outbreak
By Nathan Jeffay and Shoshanna Solomon
Illustrative image of a man at an airport/travel (Chalabala; iStock by Getty Images)
June 5, 2019, 2:54 pm
Losing our best minds: Startup Nation sees brain drain, fall in productivity
For every graduate who returns to Israel, 4.5 emigrate; ‘exceptionally small’ number of people responsible for propelling the economy, report says; also warns of growing inequality
By Shoshanna Solomon
Illustrative: View of the Tel Aviv skyline in a dense sandstorm, September 08, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
May 28, 2017, 4:28 pm
Derelict economy could sink ‘Titanic’ Israel, experts warn
New research paints worrying picture of decades of neglected national priorities leaving the country without the resources to face existential threats
By Raoul Wootliff
PowerBall Workspace, Ness Ziona (Courtesy)
June 5, 2016, 10:53 am
Where are Israel’s good, honest jobs?
Outside high tech, it’s hard for young people to find work that pays a livable wage. Some sell their souls to work in scam industries. How can the country create better employment opportunities?
By Simona Weinglass
People walk by a homeless man sleeping on the street, in the center of Jerusalem, on November 10, 2013. (photo credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90)
December 21, 2014, 4:16 pm
For Israeli politicians, poverty is someone else’s problem
Now that 2 major reports have brought the economy back onto the agenda, will candidates finally address it seriously?
By Haviv Rettig Gur
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