The Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron and leaders from both public and private sectors filled out two full days of presentations in Hebrew, sponsored by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI). "Most of the GDP gap will be closed by the end of 2022; at the same time, unemployment will not return to its level before the crisis" predicted Yaron. 

The first day of the conference ended with an online night session with a special panel conducted in English reflecting on Israel's Macroeconomic Challenges in the Post-COVID World.  The panel, chaired by IDI President Yohanan Plesner, featured a conversation between Paul Singer, Founder, President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Elliott Investment Management L.P., conference co-chairs Prof. Karnit Flug (IDI’s Vice-President for Research, William Davidson Senior Fellow for Economic Policy) and Prof. Eugene Kandel (Co-Chair of Start-Up Nation Central Economic Research and Policy Institute). 

Kandel warned, "If everyone is just doing only their part in the short term it's great, in the long run, it's a disaster. We should strive for the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance as we did in 2010. In 2017 we started this conference with two economies, one society with a technological and traditional economy that needs a completely different set of government tools - but this idea has not been internalized by the government. The tech economy breaks all records - but the better it is, the more at risk it is" and added, "we have an issue of excess regulation that stems from structural problems in Israel."

After the opening day focused on the Labor Market and economy, the second day afternoon of the conference focused on education.  Minister of Education Yifat Shasha-Bitton was detained in the Knesset and unable to attend in person. OECD Education Directorate Prof. Andreas Schleicher criticized Israel's education system with its little autonomy for educators to innovate and detour from curriculum demands in the highly systemized structure of the Israeli school systems. Strengthening trust is important he stressed. 

Eli Hurvitz was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Tel Aviv. During the 1948 War of Independence, he joined the Nahal (“Pioneering Fighting Youth”) Brigade together with friends from the Hebrew Scouts youth movement.  Following a short agricultural training program, the group founded Kibbutz Tel Katzir in the Jordan Valley, adjacent to the border with Syria. 

He left the kibbutz in 1953 and moved to Tel Aviv with his new bride Dalia.  Eli Hurvitz began his career as a bottle washer at the Assia pharmaceuticals company. After completing his studies, he rose to the company’s management, initiating the acquisition of the Israeli pharmaceutical companies Zori and Teva, and their merger into a single company. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., of which he became CEO in 1976, became Israel’s largest pharmaceuticals producer, and eventually the largest generic drug company in the world.

Among other prestigious positions, Hurvitz served as chair of the board of trustees of the Weizmann Institute of Science, held six honorary doctorates, and in 2002, was awarded the Israel Prize for Special Contribution to Society and the State in recognition of his life’s work. For six years, he was the chair of the Israel Democracy Institute’s board of directors. Born in 1932, Eli Hurvitz z"l died on November 21, 2011, at the age of 79.

Formerly the Caesarea Economic Policy Planning Forum, Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society, has for twenty-eight years met to discuss issues important to Israeli society. This year, the stated goal was to focus on formulating a long-term vision for the Israeli economy and policy measures to lead the economy from recession to growth.