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In the Israeli case, judicial empowerment has come primarily through judicial initiative rather than emerging from majoritarian institutions or strategic considerations relating to electoral politics. Justices with deep commitments to political-liberal rights engaged in a decades-long process of entrenching a political-liberal rights regime through jurisprudence. At the heart of this sea change in Israeli politics was a shift in ideas.

Social scientists who engage in qualitative fieldwork typically follow the ethnographic model of the single scholar in the field. We argue that collaboration in on-site participant observation is an underutilized but vital methodological tool, particularly in the case of one common form of communal conflict in the late-modern period: intense, multifocal events. At mass demonstrations, rallies with small groups of opposing forces, and other public events involving multiple actors, sights, sounds, and interactions, collaboration provides multiple perspectives in a given research moment that one researcher cannot, by definition, experience and observe alone. By joining forces, two researchers may exploit variations in their physical vantage points, disciplinary training, range of area knowledge, and personal background (including gender, ethnicity, religion, and class) to produce more accurate and more meaningful studies. We support our claims with evidence from our own impromptu on-site collaboration in the case of a women's prayer session at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in June 2000.

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Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic led to hospitals in the United Kingdom substituting face-to-face (FtF) clinics with virtual clinic (VC) appointments. We evaluated the impact of virtual two-week wait (2-ww) lower gastrointestinal (LGI) consultations on stakeholders at a district general hospital in England. Methods: Patients undergoing index outpatient 2-ww LGI clinic assessment between 01/06/2019-31/10/2019 (FtF group) and 01/06/2020-31/10/2020 (VC group) were identified. Relevant data were obtained using electronic patient records. Compliance with national cancer waiting time targets (WTT) was assessed. Environmental and financial impact analyses were performed. Results: In total, 1531 patients were analysed (median age=70, male=852, 55.6%). Of these, 757 (49.4%) were assessed virtually via telephone; the remainder were seen FtF (n=774, 50.6%). Ninety two (6%, VC=44, FtF=48) patients had malignant pathology and 64 (4.2%) had colorectal cancer (CRC); of these, 46 (71.9%, VC=26, FtF=20) underwent treatment with curative intent. The median waiting times to index appointment, investigation and diagnosis were significantly lower following VC assessment (p<0.001). The cancer detection rates (p=0.749), treatments received (p=0.785) and median time to index treatment for CRC patients (p=0.156) were similar. A significantly higher proportion of patients were seen within two weeks of referral in the VC group (p<0.001). VC appointments saved patients a total of 9288 miles, 0.7 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions and £7482.97. Taxpayers saved £80,242.00 from VCs. No adverse events or complaints were reported in the VC group. Conclusion: Virtual 2-ww LGI clinics were effective, safe and were associated with tangible environmental and financial benefits for stakeholders.