Israel joins IIASA

Israel has established the Israel Committee for IIASA—made up of representatives from Israeli universities, government ministries, and the public—to represent the Israeli membership of IIASA.  Together, IIASA, the Israel Committee for IIASA, Israeli researchers, and public planning authorities will develop international research collaborations to find solutions to the complex global challenges that impact Israel, the broader region, and the world. These include projects to support a long-term sustainable energy strategy for Israel, a package of measures to reduce air pollution in the wider region, and scientific support for national socioeconomic strategic planning.

“We are delighted to become IIASA’s newest member country,” said Professor Moti Herskowitz who is Head of the Israel Committee for IIASA, former Vice-President, and Dean for Research and Development at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. “Israel is grappling with multiple challenges— from water and energy security issues to air pollution and demography—that will benefit from the integrated and international perspective that IIASA can provide.” The activities of the Israel committee for IIASA will be coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Technology and by the National Economic Council.

IIASA membership will also help develop the research base for systems analysis in Israel, through young scientists from Israel taking part in the IIASA Young Scientist Summer Program and the IIASA Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.  Systems analysis is one of the few research tools with the breadth and depth to explore complex problems across multiple sectors, countries, and timeframes—typical of many of the challenges facing countries in the Middle East.

IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr Pavel Kabat welcomed Israel as the newest IIASA member country, saying: “The quality of Israeli science and its scientists also brings great value to IIASA research, and will further enhance the excellence of the international research projects conducted by IIASA and its member countries, along with IIASA’s expertise and collaboration in the Middle East.”

IIASA was established in 1972, during the Cold War, at the initiative of the Soviet Union and the USA to promote scientific cooperation between East and West. Today IIASA continues to build bridges through science by bringing together a global network of around 3,500 scholars and over 700 partner institutions to build international consortia to find solutions and consensus on environmental issues that cross international boundaries.

Dr. Shmuel Abramzon, Head of Research at the National Economic Council of Israel, led an assessment of IIASA and its potential value to Israel during 2016.  This included a visit to IIASA in July 2016 by a delegation of experts from Tel Aviv University, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (see photo). “The delegation found that IIASA’s research was both high quality and highly applicable to the national, regional, and global challenges that Israel faces,” Abramzon said. 

Dr. Shmuel Abramzon (Head of Research at the National Economic Council of Israel) led a delegation from Israel to IIASA on 13-14 July 2016 to get to know IIASA. (L-R): Professor Chin-Min Lee (Special Advisor to the IIASA Director General and CEO), Professor Yossi Rosenwaks (Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Head of the Renewable Energy Research Center, Tel Aviv University), Ms. Karen Umansky (Doctoral Student, Tel Aviv University), Ms. Ela Weinstein (Executive Assistant to Deputy Director of Planning and Policy, Ministry of Environmental Protection), Dr. Orit Raphaeli (Post-Doc Fellow, Ministry of Energy) , Dr. Vered Blass (Head of Innovations and Industrial Ecology Lab, Tel Aviv University), Dr. Uri Lerner (Post-Doc Fellow, Ministry of Environmental Protection), Dr. Zohar Barnett-Itzhaki (Post-Doc Fellow, Ministry of Health), Dr. Shmuel Abramzon (Head of Research at the National Economic Council of Israel), Sarah Hadar (Senior Economist, Ministry of Energy), Prof. Dr. Pavel Kabat (IIASA Director General and CEO). © IIASA

Professor Eugene Kandel, former Head of the Israeli National Economic Council and CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, and Ambassador of Israel to Austria, Talya Lador-Fresher, visit IIASA on 2 September 2016 to meet IIASA Director General and CEO Prof. Dr. Pavel Kabat. © IIASA

Last edited: 14 December 2017