Director, Terrorism and Democracy: Prof. Yuval Shany
Research Assistant: Adv. Ido Rosenzweig, .Adv. Ron Avital
The increased threat of global and local terrorism has led modern, democratic countries to adopt controversial methods to fight terrorism, including invasive techniques of surveillance and supervision, the confiscation and destruction of property, the abrogation of freedom without trial, operations by incognito military units and even "pre-emptive killings" that target terror suspects. But how can the fine line between legitimate security measures and our commitment to democracy and human rights be established? And are the legislative and legal tools that have been made available by democratic institutions sufficient for waging a successful war on terror? If not, how can they be developed and expanded without compromising human rights?
Over the past few years, the Israel Democracy Institute has examined the methods that have been developed by democracies in order to cope with terrorism in the framework of IDI's National Security and Democracy Research Program, headed by Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, and the Terrorism and Democracy Project, coordinated by Prof. Yuval Shany together with Adv. Ron Avital. The team has worked diligently to compile an innovative and comprehensive legal database, which includes all of the measures implemented by the State of Israel in its war on terror (in Hebrew), including important articles of legislation and court rulings. The database is updated on a six month basis.