Herzliya conference
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The Herzliya Conference, hosted by the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya, has become Israel's center stage for the articulation of national policy by its most prominent leaders including the Israeli President, the Prime Minister, the IDF Chief of General Staff, and the leading contenders for high political office. Thus, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon chose to deliver his most important foreign policy speeches, now commonly known as "The Herzliya Addresses," at the Herzliya Conferences. In the third Herzliya Conference he announced his support for the Road map for peace; and at the Fourth Herzliya Conference, he presented for the first time his unilateral disengagement plan. Central issues that were first raised or emphasized in the Conferences have become part of the public discourse in Israel. The Israeli government authorities have adopted numerous Herzliya Conference reports and recommendations as official policy.
The Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS), a part of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC) in Israel, sponsors the Herzliya Conference. The objective of the IPS is to enhance Israel’s national policy and contribute to the upgrading of its strategic decision-making process, through policy-driven research and direct interaction between policy analysts and policy-makers. The IPS deals in: National security, military and strategic affairs, international relations and politics, policy formation, intelligence and governance, the Jewish People and the place of Israel as part of it; economy, technology, science, infrastructure, natural resources and environment, social policy and education.
On January 24, 2006, Ehud Olmert, in his first major policy address since becoming Israel's acting prime minister, said at the Herzliya Conference that he backed the creation of a Palestinian state, and that Israel would have to relinquish parts of the West Bank to maintain its Jewish majority.
