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Israel

Israel: Just How Jewish Is 'The Jewish State'?

In late 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu introduced a controversial bill that would officially declare Israel a Jewish state. Many Israelis saw Netanyahu’s proposal as an attack on non-Jews, who make up around 20 percent of the population. But Israel has been calling itself "the Jewish state" since the very beginning--so what did Israel’s founders mean by that, and why it so controversial? To experts debate.

We begin with a look at Israel's government-run system for organ donation, which brings in donors at just a quarter of the rate in the United States. Many doctors worry that the heavy influence of Orthodox Jewish thinking in the country's legal code is hurting the survival rates of those in need. Produced by Dalia Mortada.

Michael Karayanni, Palestinian Israeli and professor of law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Michael Brenner, German Jew and director of the Center for Israel Studies at American University

Israel: In the Studio with David Broza

David Broza launched his career in 1977 and is now one of Israel's best-known musicians and activists. While he doesn't go to synagogue every week, he finds solace in the quiet stillness of prayer, a practice he first discovered as a rebellious teenager. Now nearly 60, he tells us that "the art of contemplation...has stuck with me til today."

Take a listen to all of the songs he performed just for us, live in studio: