Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

An interesting article questions whether Israel needs think tanks. While I don’t agree with all the conclusions, some of the analysis is on point. It was due to my frustrations with the existing model that led me to design Reut the way it has been designed.

Primarily, the resources and capacities allocated by the Israeli government to thinking long term and to strategy are minimal and marginal in comparison to the US. Hence, almost all significant work is done outside of government in all areas including national security, education, economics or social issues. In fact, its hard to think of even one area – except for the military (but not defense) – where the government is leading the thinking on Israel’s future.

Additionally, the government has a very hard time convening experts from both inside and outside. Much of the high quality convening events are organized by think tanks.

In my view (and as a very general response), one major reason for think tanks not having as much impact in Israel as they do in the US is that the think tank model was shaped in America and suits the American political system. This model does not suit the Israeli political system.

Hence, in the same way that Israeli political system is sui generis, over time, Israeli think tanks will also become sui generis.

Related Posts

The Reut Institute Story (1) – From Experiences to an Idea

The Reut Institute Story (2) – From an Idea to an Organization

The Reut Institute Story (3): What Makes Reut Unique