On October 23-24, 2011, IDI's International Advisory Council (IAC) held its third annual retreat at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California. The event was chaired by the Honorable George P. Shultz, Former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of IDI's International Advisory Council. Other notable participants included IDI's International Chairman Mr. Bernard Marcus, Founder and former CEO of The Home Depot; Lt. General Gabi Ashkenazi, former IDF Chief of Staff; Shlomo Dovrat, Chairman of IDI's board of directors, and other representatives of IDI's leadership. IAC participants included:
- Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, Justice, Canadian Supreme Court
- Prof. Gerhard Casper, President Emeritus, Stanford University
- Dr. Sidney Drell, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
- Justice Dalia Dorner, Justice Emerita, Israeli Supreme Court
- Dr. Martin Indyk, VP and Director, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution
- Dr. Josef Joffe, Publisher-Editor of Die Zeit
- Prof. Robert H. Mnookin, Professor, Harvard Law School
- Prof. Henry Rosovsky,, Former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations
- Justice Meir Shamgar, President Emeritus, Israeli Supreme Court
- Judge Abraham D. Sofaer, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
Issues discussed during the two days of intensive meetings included the current state of Israeli democracy, IDI's role in political reform and lessons learned from the Gaza flotillas. Highlights of the meeting included:
- An update on Israel's economic situation from Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer
- Remarks on the Arab Spring by Mr. André David Azoulay, Advisor to the King of Morocco
- A discussion between IAC Chairman George P. Shultz and Lieut. General Gabi Ashkenazi, Former IDF Chief of Staff, on Israel's security situation in a turbulent Middle East
Together with members of IDI's board and IDI's senior leadership, the representatives of the International Advisory Council also devoted extensive thought and discussion to IDI's institutional strategy and the best means for implementing IDI's vision in the year to come.
A highlight of the retreat was a gala dinner with General Ashkenazi, who spoke eloquently about the security challenges facing Israel in the age of Arab revolution.