Israel Democracy Institute

The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI, Hebrew: המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה‎‎), established in 1991, is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Jerusalem, Israel. Its goals are to formulate policies and initiate reforms to strengthen democratic values in Israel.

The Israel Democracy Institute was founded in 1991 by Arye Carmon, the founding president, and Mr. Bernard Marcus. Eytan Avriel of Haaretz says it is funded "from donations, mostly from a wealthy American-Jewish donor, Bernard Marcus, one of the founders of retailer Home Depot.In 2014, former MK Yohanan Plesner was named President of the Institute, replacing Dr. Carmon, who sought to focus on research after 22 years of heading the Institute.

On the seam line between academia and government, IDI is a forum for research, debate and reform of Israeli democratic institutions and is a leading nongovernmental agent of change in the Israeli body politic. Its mission is to strengthen the moral, normative, structural and functional foundations of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people. Recognizing the Arab and other minorities as vital components of Israeli society, IDI aims to foster solidarity while embracing pluralism. Drawing on both Jewish tradition and the universal legacy of humanism, it seeks to generate the ideas, promote the values, and shape the institutions that will ensure Israel's future as a vibrant, participatory democracy.

IDI's primary areas of concern are structural reforms, democratic values, and identity and solidarity. Its projects focus on political reforms, reforms in the executive branch, reforms in the Judiciary, reforms in the media, constitutional principles, national security and democracy, human rights and Judaism, democracy in crisis, religion and state, the Nation State, Arab-Jewish relations, and the integration of the Ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society.

IDI's Guttman Center for Surveys conducts research on public opinion in Israel and publishes the annual Israeli Democracy Index and monthly Peace Index, an ongoing survey of attitudes towards the Israel-Arab conflict which became a joint program of IDI and Tel Aviv University in January 2010. IDI hosts the annual Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society (formerly the Caesarea Forum for Economic Policy), roundtable discussions, and a variety of conferences and public events. IDI is also responsible for the Constitution by Consensus project and has drafted a proposal for the Constitution of the State of Israel.

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