Molad: The Center for the Renewal of Democracy

NGO Monitor

July 17, 2012

Website: molad.org. As of July 16, 2012, there is no content on the website.
Established in January 2012. Registered in Israel as a Company for the Benefit of the Public.
“Molad is an Israeli think tank devoted to the development and promotion of a progressive vision for the state of Israel.” The New Israel Fund (NIF) describes Molad as a “think-do tank.”
Mission: “Molad aims at becoming a hub for progressive thinking in Israel, drawing the most creative and innovative intellectual and social forces in the country, facilitating exchange of ideas and amplifying their impact on Israeli society and politics. Molad’s principle undertaking of is to counter a long-lasting attenuation of political reason in Israel by proposing a unified vision of the State of Israel as a progressive democracy in the Middle East.”
Officials: Avraham Burg is a founder and chair of Molad. Head of Molad is Avner Inbar, co-founder of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement. Research director is Assaf Sharon, a leader of Breaking the Silence, Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement, and Ta’ayush. Director of Policy is Mikhael Manekin, former Breaking the Silence official.
Funders: According to an article in Ha’aretz, Molad is “funded by left-liberal foundations and groups from the U.S. associated with the Democratic party.”
Molad is listed as a grantee of NIF’s Social Justice Fund (Ford-Israel Fund) in 2011. In correspondence, NIF would not reveal how much it had granted Molad in that year.
Molad is also listed as a partner by the EU-funded Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation. As of July 16, 2012, Anna Lindh Foundation had not responded to NGO Monitor inquiries about funding for Molad.
According to the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Skoll Global Threats Foundations also funds Molad. In contrast to transparency norms, following inquiries regarding Molad to Anna Lindh Foundation and NIF, this information, as well as references to NIF funding, was removed from the Anna Lindh Foundation website.
Projects: “Current projects include research on ‘Israel’s international standing’, ‘Transforming political ideologies’, and ‘the crisis of the middle class’.” (This information was also removed from the Anna Lindh website at some point during the period of July 1-16, 2012.)