A crisis for Zionism?
The recent elections in Israel exposed a new low point in its prolonged crisis of governance and leadership - a crisis rooted in an electoral system which generates constant instability, a fragmented Knesset and ineffective governance. Reforming the electoral system should be a top priority for the next government. The first step is simple: the head of the largest party should be the prime minister without needing a vote of confidence from the Knesset. The symptoms of Israel's crisis are evident. In the past decade, approximately ten different people served as ministers with major portfolios such as finance, infrastructure, transportation or communications. These short tenures compromised the ability to design and implement policy. As General Giora Eiland, former national security adviser, frames it: "designing policy in Israel is like writing poetry while standing on a ball". The decline of Jerusalem
The most significant transfer of power in Israeli history is unfolding. Political institutions and elite are being overshadowed by mayors, philanthropists, business leaders, nonprofits and civil servants. This transformation allows us to become a healthier society of closely networked communities. Olmert's downfall is just the most recent milestone of a process that has been going on for thirty years. During the first twenty five years of its existence, Israeli society and economy was mostly centralized, state-owned and controlled. There was one powerful party, MAPAI, and an all-powerful government that ran the country in a top-down fashion. As late as the early eighties, the government controlled more than eighty percent (80%) of the economy, provided all public services and controlled most media outlets. Closing the gap
There are several differences between Reut and other traditional think tanks. Most think tanks operate on the assumption that the central problem is connected to the collection and processing of information. So they deal with research. We say that the central problem lies with the cognitive, conceptual understanding of the problem. We don't provide answers, we ask questions. People in think tanks are experts with knowledge and experience. Our team is young - the average age is 29 and there isn't one PhD among us. That means that we can ask questions, that we can apply ourselves to think about problems in a fresh way. Founding the Reut Institute, II
For Part I, click here The Reut Institute emerged from an idea to an organization through nearly two years of experimentation. This post offers a version of these years. The idea of establishing an organization like the Reut Institute emerged in 2002 but only crystallized in 2004. Two years of experimentations were inevitable and invaluable to the process. The initial idea had been to establish a professional, non-partisan and non-advocacy policy group that would specialize in real-time systemic strategic analysis. The objective was to address the mismatch between the complexity of the challenges Israel faces on the one hand, and the weakness of our decision-making tools, on the other. As the reason for this weakness is structural and institutional, the remedy has to come from out-of-government until a successful reform of our electoral system takes place. Founding the Reut Institute
The experience of serving in the Bureau of the Prime Minister made me realize how meager the tools are at the disposal of those taking historic decisions. The underlying reason is structural and institutional, and at its root lies our electoral system. The story of the Reut Institute has its roots in my personal and professional experiences starting in the mid 1990's after my military service. In July 1995, after finishing my service, I was committed to devoting myself to a personal and professional experience I considered important and urgent from the public perspective, as well as an experience that I would be passionate about. Israel not reaching its potential
Israel is ranked 38th in the world according to the Economist's Quality of Life Index; and 23rd according to the 2007/2008 UN Human Development Index. For some countries that might be enough but it's not enough for Israel. We face the greatest gap between our potential, based on exposure to technology and education, and our achievements. The quality of our life is at the bottom of the developed world, and we don't have to be there. The idea of Leapfrogging Israel's Quality of Life isn't just a nice thing to do. It's crucial for our survival - otherwise, we just won't be competitive. Where is the Israeli Center?
[This is the fifth of fifteen posts on Jewish philanthropy in Israel]
Jewish philanthropy in Israel requires an overhaul in order to recapture a central role in Israeli society.One of the powerful and persistent trends driving this sidelining is the growing disconnect from the Israeli socioeconomic center. It is a challenge of priorities, as well as communications.
In the past, Diaspora Jewish philanthropy was perceived and framed in the context of economic and social assistance and as a supplement to Israel's national budget. Hence, understandably, it has been focused primarily on immigration absorption and on alleviating poverty and hardship. Diminishing marginal impact of Jewish Philanthropy
[This is the fourth of fifteen posts on Jewish philanthropy in Israel]
The Zionist movement survived and thrived on the philanthropic generosity of world Jewry. However, as Israel grows in economic and political power, the relative importance of philanthropic giving by Diaspora Jewry is diminishing. indepth comprehension of these trends is critical to create the sense of urgency that is essential of the necessary overhaul. The decline of Jerusalem and the rise of others
[This post is the 3rd of a 15 part series on Jewish Philanthropy] Part I: Israel-Diaspora Relations Part II: Why should Israelis care? A powerful and consistent trend that is affecting the role of Jewish philanthropy in Israel is the decline in the will and ability of the Government of Israel to address the needs of its constituency. I call this trend: the decline of Jerusalem. For world Jewry philanthropy in Israel, this trend represents both a threat and an opportunity: while it expands the menu of options for philanthropic interventions it is also overstretching its resources. Why should Israelis care
As I mentioned in the first post of this series, my perspective in writing this series is that of a Jew and an Israeli, in that order. I am also a grantee that has realized a dream and a vision due to the generosity of time, spirit, trust and money by lay leaders, Jewish professional, rabbis, communities and organizations from across the Jewish world. Why should we - Israelis - care? My answer is that we should care as both as Israelis and as Jews for a number of reasons (with no particular order of importance). First, as Israelis we should have the most practical urge to see a billion dollars per annum of philanthropic giving being put to the best possible use in the service of prosperity and security of our country. A billion dollars of do-good money is a lot even in our present economic state. |
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