The Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS) at Reichman University, the convener of the Annual Herzliya Conference Series, aspires to contribute to Israel's national security and resilience. To that end, the Institute conducts integrative and comprehensive policy analysis on national challenges, produces strategic insights and policy recommendations for decision-makers, and informs the public and policy discourse.
The Institute's Policy Agenda Consists of Two Main Pillars:
The first and primary one is identifying opportunities and risks for Israel in both the Mediterranean arena and global setting. The IPS strives to characterize geostrategic and geopolitical trends shaping the Middle East, including the involvement of superpowers and key regional players. Special emphasis is placed on identifying dynamic regional shifts that elevate the threat posed by Iran, alongside the development of new strategic relationships between Israel and the Arab states. In this context, the IPS also discusses the strategic implications of the deadlock in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The second focus area is Israel's national resilience as a foundation for national security. In this area, the IPS seeks to promote an understanding of the risks resulting from the destabilization of liberal democracy and gatekeepers in Israel, alongside demographic processes that are reshaping Israeli society. It also aims to show that domestic weakness negatively impacts on Israel's ability to cope with internal as well as external crises.
Main research topics includes:
- The principal threat posed by Iran and its radical axis
- The Israeli-Palestinian Relationship
- The new era in Israel's relationships with the Arab-Sunni bloc
- Russia as a dominant power in the Middle East: Challenges and opportunities for Israel
- Israel's strategic relationships with the United States
- Societal resilience as a key building-block of Israel's national security
IPS Policy Papers, Briefings, Insights and Recommendations
The outputs are disseminated as written publications such as position papers as well as summaries of insights and recommendations following conferences, to relevant target audiences in printed or digital form on the IPS website and social media platforms. Briefings, overviews and interviews are also shared through the various media outlets. Special emphasis is placed on the IPS's international profile by translating written and videoed publications, as well as using various media and online platforms in English. Op-eds and policy papers are also prepared and distributed through foreign media outlets.
The Herzliya Conference
The Herzliya Conference is Israel's foremost annual global policy gathering, drawing together the most senior Israeli and international participants from government, business and academia to address pressing national, regional and global issues. The 19th Herzliya Conference drew some 300 speakers from Israel and around the world, with a record number of senior U.S. government officials addressing the plenary. The speakers took part in 60 segments ranging from keynote addresses, moderated plenary sessions, one-on-one plenary conversations with leaders, roundtable sessions, and an international simulation. Nearly 2,000 participants from Israel and abroad attended the Conference, which also received wide coverage in the Israeli and international media as well as on various social media platforms – vast coverage that enhances the outreach and impact of the Institute's policy products.
