Constitutional Statesmanship Training

During the academic year the

students participated in classes and workshops focusing on constitutional challenges in Israel, global constitutional crises, and technological era constitutional issues, featuring lectures by Professor Andrea Simoncini. They also attended an international workshop in collaboration with the University of Maryland and the University of Milan, addressing the challenges facing liberal democracies.

As part of these workshops, students engaged with prominent figures from the public and private sectors, including former President of the Supreme Court Justice Dorit Beinisch; former Supreme Court Justices Yitzhak Zamir, Meni Mazuz, and Hanan Melcer; Major General (Ret.) Sharon Afek, Deputy Attorney General for Management and Special Tasks; Dr. Gur Bligh, legal advisor to the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee; Attorney Daphna Holz-Lechner; Professor Menachem Mautner; Attorney Nissim Marom, senior prosecutor and head of the 512 Task Force; journalist Amit Segal; Attorney Avital Sompolinsky, Deputy Attorney General for Public-constitutional Affairs; Dr. Yuval Steinitz; Professor Ehud Shapiro; and Professor Yuli Tamir, former Minister of Education.

The students contributed to the center’s research initiatives, prepared background materials for discussions at the President’s Residence, and organized a symposium on "Majority Rights." They spearheaded and participated in various activities, including developing lesson plans for schools and at-risk youth centers, organizing "The Great Hanukkah Debate: Sufganiyah or Latke," and producing videos on liberal democracy in collaboration with the Film and Television Organization. Additionally, students went on field trips to the Knesset, the Central Elections Committee, and party disqualification hearings, and attended workshops on journalistic writing.

A practical track, "Constitutional Leadership," in which students will engage in hands-on constitutional work, such as constitutional litigation in the Supreme Court, participation in inquiry committees, and the "Constitution for Israel" project. The program also includes practical workshops, exposure to key players in academia, legal practice, and the public sector, experiential study tours, and a week-long international study trip.

The students’ training program included an academic tour of Italy, encompassing visits to Milan, Florence, and Rome. The pinnacle of the program was their participation in the prestigious State of the Union conference.

This immersive, week-long tour centered on attending high-level conferences and engaging in meetings with distinguished figures from the realms of law, governance, academia, and legal practice. Additionally, the students collaborated with peers from various nations. The discussions delved into pressing global constitutional challenges shared by Israel and Italy, such as the implications of technological innovation, the rise of populism, and economic governance.

Among the eminent personalities with whom the students had the privilege to meet were:

• Justice Silvana Sciarra, President of the Constitutional Court of Italy;
• Marta Cartabia, former Minister of Justice and President of the Constitutional Court of Italy;
• George Papaconstantinou, former Minister of Finance of Greece;
• Professor Matthias Möschel, Dean of the Law School at CEU;
• Professor Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Chair of Global Affairs at the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance.

Hila Kanias, a participant in the program, reflected on the experience:

"The tour was an extraordinary lesson in constitutional leadership. The opportunity to engage with key figures in the legal world, immerse ourselves in diverse cultures, and partake in cross-national intellectual exchanges was nothing short of transformative and unparalleled."