policy promotion

In recent years, we have been able to establish fruitful working relationships with many national institutions, including the President's House and senior officials from government ministries such as the Prime Minister's Office, the Economy, Foreign Affairs, Education, Health and Welfare, as well as with academic institutions, national companies and other national institutions. Among them:

Collaborations

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Official trip to Ethiopia In 2018, together with the President's House, we initiated and led an official trip to Ethiopia, which included a ground-breaking conference that brought together representatives from the public, private, and civil sectors in Israel, as well as local partners and Diaspora Jews involved in development initiatives in Ethiopia. The conference served as a platform for sharing knowledge and collaborations.

The president's house

A delegation to Rwanda, jointly led by the InterACT Global delegation - a study delegation to Rwanda, a joint initiative of the President's House together with the OLAM organization and in cooperation with Sid-Israel, the Gesher Leadership Institute and the Shalom Corps organization.

An annual event together with the President's House, where conclusions from The Israeli Global Impact 2030 report were presented, and tokens of appreciation were awarded to Israeli activity to promote global impact.

A professional panel in SID-Israel's Yearly event

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Initiating and actively participating in discussions in the Knesset, for example:

Knesset

Discussion on Israeli policy towards the war in Ukraine.

For details on the discussion on the Knesset website, click here.

A discussion on examining the political dimensions of humanitarian aid in disaster events, one year after the earthquake in Nepal.

For details on the discussion on the Knesset website, click here

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The Prime Minister's Office Sid-Israel works closely with the Prime Minister's Office in a variety of activities related to the inter-ministerial committee to improve Israel's involvement in the developing world.

The Ministry of Economy Sid-Israel served as the sole supplier of a variety of services to the Ministry of Economy, including the creation of a first-of-its-kind database of organizations, companies and individual experts operating in developing countries; transfer of trainings and courses; support for delegations arriving in Israel; Production of materials and more.

The Ministry of Education Sid-Israel worked with the Ministry of Education to develop, approve and launch a first-of-its-kind educational program on global citizenship for high school students and citizenship teachers (in Hebrew, English and Arabic).

Government offices

A cross-sector strategic thinking process

The purpose of the process is to formulate policy recommendations for deepening Israeli action in the emerging markets while providing a response to the challenges and difficulties currently encountered by private companies and civil organizations operating in the developing world. The strategic process led to the historic government decision (Government Resolution 4021 "Promoting Israeli activity in the field of international development) and the establishment of an inter-ministerial team led by the Prime Minister's CEO, which is engaged in promoting Israeli involvement in these markets, through a long-term government strategy. The process was managed by a steering team on behalf of SID-Israel, together with Dr. Jennifer Shekbator from Reichman University.

Government Resolution 4021 "Promoting Israeli activity in the field of international development

The Israeli
Global Impact 2030

Foreign Office

MASHAV (the Center for International Cooperation) is a wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that serves as Israel's national aid agency and is in charge of formulating, leading, and implementing the foreign aid policy for developing countries. MASHAV's vision is defined as leading efforts to empower individuals and communities in developing countries to achieve sustainable development by sharing Israeli tools and expertise. This vision is directly linked to the global agenda.

During the 65 years of activity of MASHAV, about 300,000 interns from 140 countries received training in Israel and abroad. About 85% of MASHAV's activity is focused on capacity building, based on the "train the trainer" principle. These are courses and trainings in Israel, as well as short and long-term trainings and consulting activities abroad. The remaining 15% is directed to humanitarian aid to countries facing natural disasters such as fires, earthquakes, and floods.

To read more about MASHAV click here

Policy documents

In July 2024, after several months of data collecting work, we published together with the Mitavim Institute a policy paper written by Dr. Einav Levy, head of the Israeli School for Humanitarian Aid and head of the stress, trauma, and resilience track at Tel Hai College.

The document discusses the importance of creating an Israeli strategy for planning the humanitarian response in Gaza, as a distinct Israeli interest, both for maintaining Israel's security and for creating international legitimacy and maintaining a moral compass. The document presents the principles of humanitarian aid broadly and in the context of the current crisis in Gaza, reviews the activities of the State of Israel and the other factors operating in the field, and recommends a policy management mechanism and an operational performance mechanism in the humanitarian field. The proposed mechanisms will work in cooperation with various parties in order to allow Israel to strengthen its security, while providing an answer to the humanitarian needs and minimizing harm to an uninvolved civilian population, and will enable a long-term response that will lead to the restoration of the Gaza Strip, independent economic development, and regional stability.

To download the document in Hebrew

To download the document in English

Humanitarian strategy in Israel's war with Hamas

The Central Bureau of Statistics presents detailed data on Israel's official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries for 2021. The publication also includes a series for the years 2005-2021 and international comparisons. The data are calculated according to the definitions and guidelines of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD organization and are presented divided into bilateral aid (aid transferred directly from country to country) and multilateral aid (aid transferred through international organizations) in different sections. The data and explanations in the publication make it possible to learn about the history of foreign aid in the world (from the formation of the idea of development aid at the international level to the determination of the international goals for aid) and in Israel, about the fields of aid that the State of Israel provides and the variety of institutions and public bodies that take part in official development aid activities.

To read the report on the website of the Central Bureau of Statistics, click here

Israel's official development aid report 2022

Israel's official development aid data

Following Government Resolution 4021, an inter-ministerial committee was established with the task of coordinating the government's activities in the field of international development, setting governmental priorities in this area, and formulating a strategy on the subject. The interim report presented the following topics that the committee discussed:

Tools to encourage the Israeli private sector to integrate into international development
Tools to encourage Israeli innovation for the unique needs of the developing world
A financing tool for increasing the market potential of the Israeli private sector
Tools for strengthening Israeli aid and connecting it with the private sector and the third sector.

To read the committee's interim recommendations, click here

A strategy for promoting Israeli activity in the field of international development.

To read the national report on the implementation of the UN's sustainable goals (2019), click here

A strategy report for the promotion of Israeli activity in the field of international development.

National Report on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (2019)

After two years of hard work regarding the issue of granting 46A approval to international aid and development organizations, real success was achieved, when the Ministry of Finance rallied with us to promote the issue.

The current procedure allows organizations that operate outside of Israel to receive Article 46A conditional on several criteria:

The request for a 46A permit will be based on a project with humanitarian aspects (not necessarily an emergency) defined in time (up to 3 years) and with a defined budget.
The activity will not be carried out in a country that is defined as an enemy country.
The activity will not harm Israel's distinct interests (for example, it will blatantly contradict government decisions).
Based on these points, the material that arrives at the Tax Authority will be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and MASHAV in order to receive their recommendation.

In this context, a few clarifications:

Although the submission of the application is based on one project, the acceptance of section 46a will be given to the entire organization.
The general intention of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to approve the requests that are submitted to them, without examining content or professional elements.
The process of approving the procedure can last up to a year, in light of the fact that any approval of section 46a is conditional (according to law) on the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset.
International aid and development organizations will receive the approval on the basis of specific projects and areas. The renewal of the approval will require the submission of a new application according to the same criteria.

For more information on the Tax Authority website, click here

Section 46A - Eligibility for tax-exempt donations

Volunteers insurance

Until 2022, the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) did not cover volunteers in Israeli organizations operating outside of Israel (except in the case of certain organizations specified by law). The lack of insurance coverage forced Israeli aid and development organizations to allocate significant budgets for insurance policies for their volunteers, to cover the costs of immediate and long-term medical treatment in case of accidents. However, since private health insurance does not cover cases of loss of work capacity, volunteers were left without support in this matter.

In 2022, due to the war in Ukraine and the many Israeli volunteers who came to assist on the ground, we, along with other partners, succeeded in bringing about a positive change by creating the possibility of coverage by the National Insurance Institute for volunteers abroad through an order issued by the Minister of Welfare.

To read more on the National Insurance website , click here

Sid-Israel's achievements in removing barriers for civil society organizations

Sid-Israel works to streamline bureaucratic processes and maintain a constructive dialogue with government bodies to promote an enabling environment for non-governmental organizations. By identifying, addressing, and providing solutions to legal and bureaucratic obstacles, we can facilitate the vital contribution of NGOs.