This overview presentation focuses on the impact of the October 7, 2023 War, delves into the current situation and outlines actions crucial both during the ongoing conflict and post-war. It focuses on key social policy issues in Israel in numerous socio-economic areas, including education, welfare, labor markets, healthcare, and macroeconomics.

Professor Avi Weiss is an authority on the Israeli economy and the array of social issues facing Israel today. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1987, and is the President of the Taub Center of Social Policy Studies in Israel, as well as a Professor of Economics at Bar-Ilan University. Professor Weiss’ fields of interest include Applied Microeconomics, and Behavioral and Experimental Economics. He served as Chair of the Economics Department at Bar-Ilan University, and was the editor of The Economic Quarterly, the journal of the Israel Economic Association. He also served as Chief Economist and Deputy Director of the Israel Antitrust Authority, and served on other public committees such as the Anti-Dumping Commision and the Trajtenberg (Trach-ten-berg) Committee, and was a member of the Ministry of the Economy’s Committee on Productivity tasked with uncovering the impediments to increased productivity in the trade and services sectors. In December 2019, The Marker, one of Israel’s leading business papers, included Avi, in his role as President of the Taub Center, in their list of the 100 people most likely to influence Israelis in 2020.

The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel is one of the country’s leading socioeconomic think tanks, based in Jerusalem. Now celebrating its 40th year, the Center provides decision makers and the public with research and analysis on some of the most critical issues facing Israel in the areas of education, health, welfare, labor markets and economic policy in order to impact policy that advances the well-being of all Israelis. The Center recently expanded its focus areas to include demography and early childhood, as well. In order to maintain its independence and trusted reputation across the political spectrum, and by the general public, the Center does not accept any government funding and is supported by individuals, foundations and Federations from Israel and around the world. The Taub Center has been named by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tank Index Report as one of the top 50 think tanks in the Middle East and North Africa.