MKs Lapid; Gantz; Elkin; Lazimi: IDI’s Eli Hurvitz Conference Continues for its Second Day

Press Release | IDI Eli Hurvitz Conference 2025 | May 28

Prior to opening the conference, we took a moment to mark 600 days of war--600 days since the October 7 massacre; 600 days that our hostages have been held; 600 days of our soldiers bearing the burden of our national security. We are hopeful that convening Israel’s top leaders at the Eli Hurvitz Conference will help to chart a better path forward and bring our hostages home.

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Watch our video marking 600 days of war.

Day-two of the Israel Democracy Institute’s Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society opened with remarks from various policymakers at the national and local level, alongside civil society leaders, all working to support Israelis most impacted by the war, such as residents of the border regions and self employed workers. The afternoon session brought together experts to consider how best to educate Israeli children in the era of AI.

Former Prime Minister MK Yair Lapid: "Security means a government that has the army’s back and never blames the IDF for its own failures. The next government will not hide behind its fighters – it will fight for them. It will take care of them both on the front lines and when they return home. For the public to believe in this coalition, it must apply to itself what it demands of the citizens. Get rid of 15 unnecessary government ministries – no less! Get rid of coalition funds and use the money to help Israel’s middle class. The people keeping this country alive – the taxpayers, the reservists – must know that the state will invest  in them: in their children’s education, in lowering their taxes, in reducing their cost of living, and in maximizing their earning potential." He later said, “We do not hate the Haredim, God forbid. We don’t want to fight with them. We extend a hand to anyone who wants to be part of the Israeli story. But we will not allow an entire country to collapse economically and morally in order to preserve a system of privileges. Those who contribute will receive. Those who evade will receive nothing".

MK Benny Gantz, Chair, National Unity Party: “The next government will need to stop looking at short-term survival and focus on ensuring Israel’s existence and prosperity as we approach the centennial year of its founding. The leader of Iran set 2040 as the target date for Israel’s destruction. Sinwar and Nasrallah thought this vision could come true and tried to make it so. And I look at Israel and ask myself – what would a real victory look like? A real victory would not only be a defeat of our enemy, but more importantly, that we ensure our existence; that we become even stronger".

Minister of Labor Yoav Ben-Tzur: “It is no secret that during my tenure at the Ministry of Labor, I waged an unprecedented battle with the Attorney General's Office over the issue of daycare centers…But I never fought on a personal level. I never viewed the legal advisers as enemies, God forbid. It is no secret that my worldview and that of MK Yair Lapid are worlds apart. But I have never thought that he is less patriotic or less Zionist than I am. We disagree on many issues, but on one thing we have clear agreement: we both love this country. Our real enemies—all of ours—are beyond the fence, not inside our home".

MK Zeev Elkin, Minister at the Ministry of Finance and responsible for Northern and Southern Rehabilitation: “Regarding the southern front – we have 12 communities that have not yet returned, and there is still a security impediment to their return. I salute the people who, after all they’ve been through, are willing to return and raise the flag again—and it’s clear that this will be very difficult. I estimate that the final rate of return to the region will be less than 92%, and even that is a relatively high figure. Regarding the north... we’ve laid out a return process through the end of June. We had hoped that by Passover 50% would return; today we’re close to 65%... I don’t believe this national mission can be fulfilled with the mindset that all the wisdom resides in the government corridors in Jerusalem. We need partners in thinking, partners in investment, partners in action".

MK Naama Lazimi (The Democrats), Chair, Caucus for Self-Employed and Freelance Workers: “More than a year and a half after the outbreak of the war, businesses are being totally crushed. There is clearly a disturbing reality regarding the recovery of the entire small business sector in Israel. With every crisis, we begin to act as if there was no crisis before. The fact that Israel ranks near the bottom of the OECD in terms of social support for businesses is not a mistake—it is a policy choice. And there are many steps that can be taken to improve it".

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman: "Contrary to the recurring, baseless claims made from time to time by interested parties, we investigate the Prime Minister and his staff—no one is immune from State Comptroller oversight…We are currently working on two reports: one on the lack of a national security doctrine and its implications, and another on the issue of permits and security arrangements for the Re'im music festival. Serious deficiencies were found. It cannot be that in Israel, the only level of accountability required of public officials, military officers, and professional ranks is criminal liability. There must also be functional responsibility".

Itzik Shmuli, Director General, UJA-Federation of New York, Israel Office: “From the perspective of North American philanthropy, October 7th is a struggle for the entire Jewish home. There has been an unprecedented mobilization to address our emergency needs... When the system collapsed on October 7th, civil society—backed by philanthropy—was the force that mobilized to meet the urgent needs. In June 2024, it was announced that North American philanthropy had already raised $1.5 billion. Since then, we have crossed the $2 billion mark".

Michal Uziyahu, Mayor of Eshkol Regional Council: "The Eshkol region became the epicenter of the Oct. 7th tragedy. Yet, we refuse to be a community defined by disaster. We insist on being a community where, when you visit us in a few years, you will see how we have grown through the hardship".

Eli Hurvitz, CEO, Trump Foundation: “Israel is one of the few countries that has not changed its [educational] curriculum. We can see improving achievements, but also wide gaps…The gap between Hebrew speakers and Arab students is quite large—a factor of 20 between Jews and Arabs. These are very deep gaps. They cannot be glossed over—they must be taken seriously".

Daphna Aviram-Nitzan, Director of IDI’s Center for Governance and Economy and Eli Hurvitz Conference Director: “Artificial intelligence is not really the future, it’s the present. The Israeli economy is highly exposed to the penetration of artificial intelligence—about 33% of workers in Israel are exposed to AI, 30% have the potential to be empowered by it. But nearly a quarter are at risk of being replaced. Israel is lagging behind the world’s leading countries in AI—in implementation, in preparedness, and in development. We consider ourselves a start-up nation, and the world is ahead of us in artificial intelligence".

Shirin Natur-Hafi, Director of the Department of Arab Education, Ministry Of Education: “Arab society is not a monolith. In Jewish society, there is a distinction between Haredi and non-Haredi Jews. The same applies in Arab society. Children from a higher socioeconomic background are able to express themselves in their studies more than children from lower status backgrounds. Students from Arab society have proven that when they are given an opportunity, they can excel".