Raphael Cohen-Almagor
[2] Raphael has served in various organisations, including as chairperson of “The Second Generation to the Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance” Organization in Israel; founder and director of the Medical Ethics Think-tank at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute; member of the Israel Press Council,[3] chairperson of library and information studies, and founder and director of Center for Democratic Studies,[4] both at the University of Haifa.
of Communication, visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Presently he is chair in politics at the University of Hull, United Kingdom, and director of the Middle East Study Group.
Since 2000, he has been writing a monthly blog on Israeli politics,[9] human rights concerns, scientific developments, the arts and other issues.
The popular culture of a democratic society is committed to seeking the influence of social cooperation that can be discerned on the basis of mutual respect between free and equal individuals.
[11] We ought to show equal concern for each individual's good, to acknowledge that human beings are not only rational creations but irrational, emotional creatures.
[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Drawing on the various ethical, medical and legal considerations as well as on the experiences of the Netherlands,[20] Belgium,[21] Switzerland and Oregon,[22] he argues that on some occasions not only passive euthanasia may be allowed but also physician-assisted suicide.
Therefore, Cohen-Almagor calls to judge each case on its own merits and refrain from drawing sweeping conclusions that relate to categories of patients.
[21] The underpinning research focuses on the responsibilities of physicians to their patients, and whether physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia should be a part of good doctoring.
Further, the research weighs patients’ autonomy and good doctoring at the end of life and demonstrates the power of law to shape policies as well as its limitations.
Cohen-Almagor showed that there have been a number of cases where “Physicians Playing God” have abused their position and authority to make decisions that are not in the patients’ best interests.
[28] Many legal requirements and restrictions concerning ADs are counterproductive: despite their benevolent intentions, they have created unintended negative consequences, against patients’ wishes.
[18] Extreme caution is required when ADs of patients with dementia are concerned, as they are no longer able to formulate clear, voluntary, well-considered, and sustainable end-of-life requests.
He says that the lessons of the Holocaust for him are to stand against injustice, protect minorities, protest against wanton persecution, and promote the rights of all humans.
[35][36] In a piece co-authored with Will Kymlicka, Cohen-Alamgor contends that if an illiberal minority is seeking to oppress other groups, then intervention is justified in the name of self-defense.
Both Cohen-Almagor and Kymlicka further assert that in the case of immigrants who come to a country knowing its laws, there is no objection to imposing liberal principles on them.
Cohen-Almagor and Kymlicka maintain that there are several things which liberals can do to promote respect for individual rights within non-liberal minority groups.
In late 2006 he called for early elections in Israel after he lost trust in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the tragic architect of the Israel-Hezbollah War.
[45] During 2009–2011 he was engaged in a campaign which called for a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas that would bring Gilad Shalit back home.
Due to his involvement in politics and peace talks, he has gained invaluable insights into leaders’ thought-processing as well as access to many decision-makers, facilitators, mediators and negotiators.
His research analyses the roles of international players in the context of their respective Middle East policies and bilateral relations with Israel and the Palestinians.
[47] Cohen-Almagor provides a detailed analysis of three decades of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), from the start of the Oslo process in 1993 up until present time.
Some societies reject the moral notions of liberty, tolerance, autonomy, equality, and justice that liberal democracies promote.
