Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya

The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya
Flickr/George Bernstein

The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) is a private (non-profit) college located in Herzliya, Israel. The languages of instruction in the Interdisciplinary Center are Hebrew and English. It has strong connections with the military and intelligence in Israel. The college hosts the annual Herzliya Conference which has taken place every year since 2001.

History

IDC was founded in 1994 by Professor Uriel Reichman. A welcome message from Reichman which appeared on IDC's website in March 2001 read:

The summer of 1994 marked the opening of a unique academic institution in Israel. A group of professors, assembled in a vacated military camp in Herzliya, founded the first, non-profit, private university in Israel. The founders left tenured positions in leading Israeli and U.S. universities to embark on a challenging venture, intended to change the academic agenda of the country.

It was originally known as the The Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Business Law and Technology.

Schools and research institutes

As of 2007, its student population consists of 3,000 undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students, enrolled at IDC's six schools:

• Radzyner School of Law
• Arison School of Business
• Efi Arazi School of Computer Science
• Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy
• Sammy Ofer School of Communications
• The New School of Psychology

• Raphael Recanati International School (RRIS) - As of 2008, 850 students from 56 countries are studying full-degree programs in English. The Interdisciplinary Center is currently the only Israeli institute in which one can complete a B.A. and an M.A. studied solely in English.

IDC's research institutes include the:

• Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS), which organizes the "Herzliya Conference" every year
• International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT)
• Caesarea Edmond Benjamin de Rothschild Center for Capital Markets and Risk Management
• Global Research in International Affairs Center (GLORIA)
• Center for European Studies
• Project for the Research of Islamist Movements

Notable faculty

Prof. Uzi Arad (Former Director of Intelligence at the Mossad; Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu) | Prof. Aharon Barak (Former President of the Israeli Supreme Court) | Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami(Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Security)| Dr. Isaac Berzin (Founder of GreenFuel Technologies Corporation, named to Time 100 Most Influential List) | Dr. Keren Eyal (Researcher on Sex & Socialization subjects, currently lecturing Propaganda lessons) | Dr. Boaz Ganor (Executive Director of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism [ICT]) | Dr. Oded Oran (Former Ambassador to both Jordan and the European Union) | Amb. Avi Primor (Former ambassador to Germany, Belgium and the European Union) | Prof. Amnon Rubinstein (Former Minister of Communications, Education) | Prof. Shimon Schocken | Prof. Gadi Taubenfeled

Funding

IDC is entirely privately funded. It has an operational budget (which pays for teaching and administration etc) supported by tuition fees and a development budget which pays for buildings and facilities. The tuition fees are significantly higher than Israel’s public universities. According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, IDC charges $9,000 annually for tuition, compared with $2,000 at most public universities. The development budget, according to that 2009 article, is around $12-million.

Israeli Funds

According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education 70 per cent of IDC's development budget comes from Israelis.

Funds for the Raphael Recanati International School were provided by the Recanati family, who control the IDB Holding Corporation, one of the largest business enterprises operating in the private sector of the Israeli economy. The school is named after Raphael Recanati a Greek born Israeli shipping magnate who is described by IDC's protional material as having been 'an enthusiastic Zionist'. According to that account he founded the shipping corporation OSG-Overseas Shipping Group after being 'asked by David Ben-Gurion to set up a shipping company to serve the new state.'

The Radzyner School of Law was named after Harry Radzyner, who according to IDC promotional material was 'one of the first to answer Professor Reichman's call to set up IDC Herzliya.' A donation from Radzyner funded the renovation of an abandoned army base which 'was the first step towards opening the first school year at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.'

Foreign Funds

IDC has set up a network of foreign fundraising groups. The most important of these is the American organisation American Friends of the IDC. According to accounts filed with the IRS, the American Friends of the IDC received a total of $28,999,497 between 1998 and 2006 in 'gifts, grants and contributions'. The size of these donations increased substantially during that period, from $989,333 in 1999 to $10,296,706 in 2006. US Foundations known to have donated to American Friends of the IDC include the Chais Family Foundation, The Klarman Family Foundation, the Russell Berrie Foundation, the Somekh Family Foundation and The Zilkha Foundation.

The are also smaller 'Friends' groups located in the UK, Germany and Hong Kong. The UK Friends of IDC was set up in 2002 by the solicitor and businessman Gordon Hausmann. It is a registered charity but as of July 2009 had filed no information with the Charity Commission.

External links

• Interdisciplinary Center