Israeli President Reuven Rivlin Hosts the Israel Democracy Institute's Forum of Former Ministers

The Israel Democracy Institute's Forum of Former Ministers met on June 27 with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at his home in Jerusalem. During the meeting, the forum presented the president with an overview of their last six months of activities, since the forum was established. They also discussed their goals, the importance of those goals to Israel society, and the issues they are grappling with.

The Israel Democracy Institute's Forum of Former Ministers met on June 27 with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at his home in Jerusalem. During the meeting, the forum presented the president with an overview of their last six months of activities, since the forum was established. They also discussed their goals, the importance of those goals to Israel society, and the issues they are grappling with.

Rivlin told the former ministers, "We are living in a period in which it is not only very important, but essential for there to be a forum of veteran and serious people who, even with all of the disagreements between them, are prepared to sit together and compromise on some issues – or at least put forward variant aspects of a specific bill or issue in a manner that is serious and evaluative. It is important this forum become one that influences the public and that is seen as trustworthy, as IDI is seen in general when it presents the annual Israel Democracy Index statistics – facts that can be used as the basis for discussion."

IDI President Yohanan Plesner thanked the president and said, "In this forum, we have serious, patriotic people who participate for the good of the public and not because they are looking to score a headline the next morning. The forum's importance is magnified in the public realm because it was formed at a time when populist and demagogic discourse dominates. This is a group of evaluative people who overcome their disagreements and succeed in drafting stances and recommended policies on key issues. They present their opinions like statesmen and maintain democracy. We hope to continue the cooperation with the president on concrete issues and seek his advice on different issues that are raised at the forum's table."

The Forum of Former Ministers meets at the Israel Democracy Institute to deal with issues on the public agenda in an effort to make solid recommendations to the government and legislators. The forum deals with matters of special importance in the government and public realms, drawing on their experience as former key decision makers. The goals of the forum are to enable learning from past experience and to put forth policy recommendations. The forum is supported by IDI through administrative aid and by presenting IDI research ahead of forum deliberations. The heads of the forum are former ministers Yoram Aridor, Yossi Beilin and Dan Meridor. IDI Vice President Mordechai Kremnitzer is IDI's forum representative.