The Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society 2012: (The 20th Caesarea Forum)
Royal Rimonim Hotel, the Dead Sea The 20th Caesarea Economic Policy Planning Forum was called "The Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society," in memory of Eli Hurvitz, chairman of Teva and former Chairman of the Board of IDI.
On Wednesday and Thursday, June 27–28, 2012, IDI and the College of Management Academic Studies convened The 20th Caesarea Economic Policy Planning Forum at the Royal Rimonim Hotel at the Dead Sea. A joint project of IDI and the College of Management Academic Studies, this year's conference was called "The Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society," in memory of the late Eli Hurvitz, chairman of Teva and former Chairman of the Board of IDI, who was a model of integrity, strategic thinking, long-term planning, honest leadership, and the integration of economics and society. According to conference director Yarom Ariav, the aim of the conference was "to enhance economic and social discourse, and to serve as a vibrant and productive encounter between different views and different sectors of society, which will come together to discuss critical economic issues on Israel's agenda.
Download the main recommendations presented at the forum
Left to Right: Mr. David Brodet, Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, Governor of Bank of Israel, Prof. Stanley Fischer, IDI President Dr. Arye Carmon, and IDI Senior Fellow Prof. Momi Dahan
This year, conference organizers sought to address the Israeli public's growing interest in social and economic questions. For the first time, the organizers solicited input from the public prior to the conference by means of social media campaigns, which facilitated in-depth, constructive dialogue. A selection of views expressed on the website and in the animated discussion on Facebook were then presented to decision makers at the conference itself.
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Distinguished guests at this year's conference included:
- Finance Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz
- Prof. Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel
- Mr. Mar Guðmundsson, Governor of the Bank of Iceland
- Mr. Erkki Liikanen, Governor of the Bank of Finland
- Mr. Harel Locker, Director General, Prime Minister's Office
- MK Yohanan Plesner, Chairman of the Committee to Advance Equality in Sharing the Burden
- MK Roni Bar-On, Former Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
- Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, Chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee, Council for Higher Education in Israel
- Mr. Itzik Shmuli, Chairman of the Union of Israeli Students
- Ms. Stav Shaffir, Leader of the Social Protest
- Pension Savings in Israel—Is There Cause for Concern? Although 17 years have passed since the pension reforms were introduced, Israel’s financial system is still confronting many serious challenges. The first is ensuring economic certainty for pension savers at the time of their retirement. Prof. Eytan Sheshinski presented the recommendations of the working group on this subject.
Find out more - The Finance Minister's Address—Israeli Minister of Finance Dr. Yuval Steinitz shared his thoughts on a variety of economic issues on the government's agenda.
Find out more - Are the Financial Media in Israel Independent? In recent years, the importance attached to financial information has grown in Israel, with a parallel surge in the amount of media attention devoted to economic issues. In light of these changes, we must ask ourselves whether the financial media in Israel are independent. Dr. Roei Davidson presented the findings of the working team on this subject, and a panel of media figures and business personalities led by Emmanuel Rosen shared their experience and insights.
Find out more - International Panel of Bank Governors—The international perspective is important to the continued stability of the Israeli economy. This session, which was held at the foot of Masada, was moderated by the Governor of the Bank of Israel, who engaged the Governors of the Bank of Finland and the Bank of Iceland in a discussion of the European financial crisis as it affects the Israeli economy.
Find out more - The State Budget in Light of the Social Protest—During the social protests that erupted in the summer of 2011, a broad spectrum of groups from the Israeli public called for greater state involvement in the social sphere and improved public services. Prof. Zvi Eckstein presented the conclusions of the working group on this subject, and outlined the challenges facing the state budget in the coming year. This session also included an address by Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, who headed the Trajtenberg Committee, and responses by Itzik Shmuli and Stav Shaffir, two of the leaders of the social protests of 2011.
Find out more - The Governor of the Bank of Israel's Address—Prof. Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel, shared his thoughts on the current state of the Israeli economy.
Find out more - An Equal Burden or the Burden of Equality? The Ultra-Orthodox and the Draft—As the expiration of the Tal Law approaches, this session focused on the repercussions of drafting the ultra-Orthodox into the IDF. At the start of this session, MK Yohanan Plesner, Chair of the Committee to Advance Equality in Sharing the Burden, shared key insights from the Committee's work. This was followed by a presentation of alternatives to the Tal Law and by an address by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A roundtable discussion on this issue, moderated by investigative journalist Dr. Ilana Dayan, ended this session.
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012
8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m.
Registration and Greetings
With the participation of Mr. Dov Litvinoff, Mayor of the Tamar Regional Council
9:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Work Session
Pension Savings in Israel—Is there Cause for Concern?
Presentation of Working Group Recommendations:
Prof. Eytan Sheshinski, Working Group Chair; Department of Economics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Respondents:
- Ms. Esther Dominissini, Former Director General of the National Social Security, Chairperson of Hadassah Medical Organization
- Mr. Aharon Fogel, Chairman of the Board, Migdal Insurance Company
- Ms. Yael Andorn, Venture Partner, Viola Group
- Ms. Meirav Arlosoroff, Senior Business Columnist, TheMarker
- Prof. Oded Sarig, Commissioner of Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings, Ministry of Finance
Discussion
1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
The Finance Minister's Session
Greetings: Prof. Seev Neumann, President of The College of Management Academic Studies
Address by Minister of Finance, Dr. Yuval Steinitz
2:30 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Work Session
Are the Financial Media in Israel Independent?
Presentation of Working Group Recommendations:
Dr. Roei Davidson, Working Group Chair; Department of Communications, University of Haifa
Discussion
Panel Discussion:
Featuring Financial Editors, Leading Journalists and Businessmen
Moderator: Mr. Emmanuel Rosen, Journalist and Media Personality
Panelists:
- MK Roni Bar-On, Former Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
- Mr. Uri Dori, Businessman
- Mr. Hagai Golan, Editor-in-Chief, Globes
- Ms. Galit Hemi, Editor of Calcalist
- Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Vice President of Research, Israel Democracy Institute; Former President of the Israel Press Council
- Ms. Stella Korin Lieber, Journalist; Columnist, Globes
- Ms. Keren Marciano, Economic Affairs Reporter, Channel 2 News
- Mr. Chaim Oron, Former Member of Knesset
- Mr. Sever Plocker, Chief Economic Editor, Yedioth Aharonot
- Mr. Ran Rahav, Chairman, Rahav Communications and Public Relations
- Mr. Guy Rolnik, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheMarker; Deputy Publisher, Haaretz Group
- Mr. Yehuda Sharoni, Member of the Editorial Board and Economic Commentator, Maariv; Television and Radio Columnist
- Mr. Gideon Tadmor, CEO, Avner Oil Exploration; Chair, Delek Drilling
Discussion
6:45 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Masada-Dead Sea Research Institute
Greetings: Mr. Dov Litvinoff, Mayor of the Tamar Regional Council
8:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m.
International Panel of Bank Governors: The European Financial Crisis and the Israeli Economy
With the participation of Minister of Finance, Dr. Yuval Steinitz
Moderator: Prof. Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel
Participants:
- Mr. Erkki Liikanen, Governor of the Bank of Finland
- Mr. Mar Guðmundsson, Governor of the Bank of Iceland
Thursday, June 28, 2012
9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Work Session
The State Budget in Light of the Social Protest
9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Presentation of Working Group Recommendations:
- Prof. Zvi Eckstein, Working Group Chair; Former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Israel, Dean of the School of Economics, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya; Professor, Tel Aviv University
Respondents:
- Mr. Gal Hershkovitz, National Budget Director, Ministry of Finance
- Dr. Karnit Flug, Deputy Governor, Bank of Israel
- Mr. Nehemia Shtrasler, Senior Editor, Economics and Society, Ha'aretz; Commentator, Channel 2
- Prof. Joseph Zeira, Department of Economics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Prof. Omer Moav, Department of Economics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and University of Warwick
- Prof. Eran Yashiv, Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University; Chair, Public Policy Department, Tel Aviv University
- Mr. Harel Locker, Director General, Prime Minister's Office
10:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Nine Months Later—Is This What We Intended?
Address by Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, Chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee, Council for Higher Education in Israel
10:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Responses from Representatives of the Social Protest
- Mr. Itzik Shmuli, Chairman of the Union of Israeli Students
- Ms. Stav Shaffir, Leader of the Social Protest
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Discussion
1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
The Governor of the Bank of Israel's Address
Prof. Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel
2:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Work Session:
An Equal Burden or the Burden of Equality? The Ultra-Orthodox and the Draft: Alternatives to the Tal Law
Key Insights from the Committee to Advance Equality in Sharing The Burden
MK Yohanan Plesner, Committee Chair
Alternatives to Promote Participation in the Burden
Gilad Malach, Content Director of the Committee; School for Public Policy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Discussion
Roundtable Discussion
Moderator: Dr. Ilana Dayan, Television Journalist
Participants:
- Dr. Jacob Weinroth, Attorney at J. Weinroth & Co.
- Dr. Gadi Taub, Federmann School of Public Policy and Government and the Department of Communication, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Professor Momi Dahan, Senior Fellow, The Israel Democracy Institute; Head of the Federmann School of Public Policy and Government, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- General (Res.) Prof. Yishai Beer, Radziner School of Law, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herziliya
- General (Res.) Elazar Stern, Former head of the IDF Personnel Directorate; Chairman of The Foundation for Holocaust Victims in Israel
- Mr. Ofer Shelah, Journalist, Ma'ariv
Israelis disapprove of tax policy, but rich disapprove less, poll says (The Marker, June 26, 2012)
PM expands budget deficit instead of raising taxes (Jerusalem Post, June 26, 2012)
Steinitz: No choice but to raise taxes in 2013 (Jerusalem Post, June 27, 2012)
Mavens fear for future of Israeli financial press (Jerusalem Post, June 27, 2012)
Trajtenberg: No alternative to tax hike (Globes, June 28 2012)
Steinitz warns of 2013 tax hikes despite plans to widen deficit (Haaretz Premium Content)
Fischer warns PM against raising budget deficit (Jerusalem Post, June 28,2012)
Fischer: Bigger deficit means interest rate hikes (Globes, June 28 2012)
Israel's Fischer warns of rate hikes if deficit raised (CNBC, June 28 2012)
Fischer Blasts Netanyahu Deficit Spending Plan (Arutz Sheva, June 29 2012)
Fischer takes aim at Netanyahu fiscal policy (The Marker, June 29 2012)
Trajtenberg doubts deficit can be met (Haaretz, July 2, 2012)
Israel's Economy Debate Discusses Budget Problems (NTD Television)