"The Armed Forces, Nation, and Democracy," a two-day conference coordinated by IDI Senior Researcher Dr. Joseph David, explored the interface between the Israel Defense Forces, the nation of Israel, and Israeli democracy. This conference, which brought together leading scholars, public figures, and the highest echelons of the IDF's educational leadership, focused on the following themes:
- The Values of the IDF and the Test of Time
- National Values and the IDF
- Sectoralism and the “Army of the People”
- Motivation or Indoctrination? Educational Content in the IDF
- Pre-Military Preparatory Programs: Getting Ready for Service
- Looking Towards the Future: The IDF in 2030
Academicians who participated in the conference included Prof. Gabi Sheffer of the Political Science Department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Prof. Stuart Cohen of the Political Science Department of Bar-Ilan University; Dr. Orna Sasson-Levi of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of Bar-Ilan University; Dr. Motti Shalem, Director of the IDF Educational Leadership Program at the Mandel Leadership Center, Prof. Menachem (Menny) Mautner, Professor of Comparative Civil Law and Jurisprudence at the Tel Aviv University, and IDI's Dr. Arye Carmon, Prof. Yedidia Stern, and Yair Sheleg.
Participants in the two days of discourse included several public figures whose military credentials themselves point to the role that the Israeli army plays in cultivating leadership for Israeli civil society: Major General (ret.) Uzi Dayan, Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of the National Security Council, who today heads the Sderot Conference for Society; Former Minister and Knesset Member Col. (res.) Ran Cohen; and Former Minister and Member of Knesset Brig. General (res.) Effi Eitam. Top IDF educational leaders who participated in the panel discussions included the IDF Chief Education Officer and the commander of the IDF Military Academies.