On Sunday, December 4, 2011, IDI hosted a day-long seminar for high-ranking officers studying at the National Defense College of the Israel Defense Forces. Entitled "Israel and Liberal Democracy – Why and Since When?", this event was planned and convened in conjunction with the leadership of the National Defense College, a military academy that provides IDF commanders with academic background related to issues of national security and state. Participants included high-ranking officers of the IDF, the Israel Police, and the Israeli security services, as well as several senior officers from foreign armies.
Experts who addressed the officers included:
- IDI President Dr. Arye Carmon
- General Gershon Hacohen, Commander of the IDF Military Colleges
- Prof. Yedidia Stern, IDI Vice President of Research and Member of the Law Faculty at Bar-Ilan University
- Prof. Eliezer Schweid, Israel Prize laureate for Jewish Thought and Professor Emeritus at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Dr. Avi Bareli of the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Ben-Gurion University
- Former MK Dr. Tzvia Greenfield, Director of the Mifneh Institute for Democracy and Jewish Identity
- Mr. Sever Plocker, Economic Editor of Yediot Ahronoth
Topics explored at this seminar included the transformation of Israel from a social-democratic welfare state to a neo-capitalist post-modern state, the socio-economic development of Israeli republicanism, Israel's economic situation against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, and the current debate over Israel's Supreme Court.