Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg begins as head of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University
The appointment signals greater emphasis by the Institute on socio-economic issues, which constitute a central layer of Israel’s national security, along with continued work on traditional core research areas.
May 3, 2021
Prof. Trajtenberg assumed his new post as head of the INSS in May 2021, succeeding Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, who led the Institute with much success over the previous decade. Under Yadlin’s leadership, the INSS achieved world renown and is now ranked as the leading think tank in the Middle East, and twelfth among think tanks worldwide in the areas of defense and national security.
With the growing understanding that domestic national security is a central layer in Israel’s stability and resilience, the INSS Board of Directors, headed by Sir Frank Lowy, has tasked Prof. Trajtenberg with the mission of expanding the scope of research at the INSS so as to include also socio-economic issues, while continuing to strengthen the Institute’s traditional core areas of research. This holistic approach is expected to enhance the Institute’s ability to influence policy in the fields of security, the economy and society, which form the core of resilience of the State of Israel.
Prof. Trajtenberg brings with him a prominent standing and rich experience in academia as well as in senior public positions, which constitute an excellent springboard to lead the Institute in the face of the new challenges. He is Professor Emeritus at the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University, which he joined after completing a doctorate in economics at Harvard University. In the course of his academic activity, Prof. Trajtenberg acquired international renown for his path-breaking research on innovation, R&D, patents, and growth. In 2006 he founded the National Economic Council at the Prime Minister’s Office, served as its first chairman, and was a central member of the Brodet Security Budget Committee, which he initiated following the Second Lebanon War. He was formerly chairman of the Planning & Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education, and head of the Committee for Social and Economic Change, known as “the Trajtenberg Committee,” which was established by the government following the social protests in the summer of 2011. In March 2015 he was elected to the 20th Knesset as a member of the Zionist Camp. For the last three years he has led the “100 Days Project” at the Samuel Neaman Institute at the Technion, which seeks to formulate a socio-economic agenda in important areas such as health, transportation, preschool education, and fiscal policy.
As he begins his tenure as Head of the INSS, Trajtenberg praised his predecessor, noting that “Amos Yadlin's legacy to us is a first-rate research organization with a formidable reputation. I am humbled by the great challenges ahead, but I am certain that together with the INSS’s excellent team, we shall be able to meet them.” Prof. Trajtenberg underscored that expanding the mission of the INSS is an urgent requirement given the changing nature of the challenges facing Israel: “the two areas are highly complementary, and I have no doubt that the INSS will excel in pursuing both,” said Trajtenberg.