Israeli policymakers groan under the burden of an overloaded national agenda that ranks among the most complex in the world. Forged in the crucible of war scarcely sixty years ago, Israel’s institutions of government have adapted slowly to the challenges posed by a growing society of extraordinary diversity, living in a near-constant state of emergency. The Israeli Knesset, for example, despite its tremendous array of responsibilities, remains the smallest and most under-staffed House of Representatives in the world; the State of Israel, forced to withstand the relentless pressure on democratic values produced by a state of siege, still lacks a bill of rights that would safeguard individual liberties; and the Israeli political system, faced with momentous challenges that require a strong capacity for decision, is often plagued by instability and paralysis. Lurching from crisis to crisis, Israel’s leaders have little time, and few resources, to devote to strategic planning and big ideas.

IDI’s role is to bolster the structures and values of Israeli democracy by supplying the long-range thinking absent from the halls of government. The Institute assembles some of the best minds in the country to furnish solutions for a state still in the early phases of nation-building. Current areas of expertise include constitutional law, national security, government, economic governance, corporate law, public opinion, educational theory, Zionist history, media studies, and religion.