Friends of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress (Friends of ICSEP) is an American nonprofit organization that supports the work of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress (ICSEP), an independent, nonpartisan pro-market think tank based in Israel. ¹

Activities

The Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress was founded in 1983 to support and facilitate free-market economic reforms in Israel. ICSEP claims that the survival of Israel is threatened by chronic economic problems, which include government bureaucracy and unaccountability, labor unions, inflation, high rates of unemployment, poverty, and underfunded defense. ²

The Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress supports democratic capitalism and intends to educate the Israeli public about the theories of economists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. To this end, ICSEP hosts seminars and requests that attendees submit evaluations of the presented information for ICSEP to analyze. ³

The Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress claims that its effectiveness can be measured by Israeli policymakers’ willingness to reduce government interference in the economy as well as the high level of participants at its conferences and seminars, including U.S. Supreme Court justices, Israeli government ministers, and former Israeli President Chaim Herzog. ICSEP further claims that its work has influenced economic reforms including market deregulation, banking and tax reforms, increased privatization, the limiting of government interference in certain sectors, the release of large areas of government-owned land, and the reduction of inflation. ⁴

Funding

Friends of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While Friends of ICSEP does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from Donors Capital Fund ($50,000 in 2013), ⁵ Certell Inc. ($43,733 in 2015), ⁶ and the Thomas W. Smith Foundation ($20,000 in 2017). ⁷

U.S. Board of Governors

Kenneth Abramowitz is the president of the board of Friends of Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress, a co-founder and managing general partner at NGN Capital and the founder of SaveTheWest.com. Abramowitz sits on the boards of the Israel Independence Fund, the American Friends of Likud, ⁸ the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism, and the American Center for Democracy. Abramowitz is also the chair of Citizens for National Security. ⁹

The late Daniel Doron was the founder of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress and a recipient of the Heritage Foundation’s Steven M. Sass Economic Freedom Award. ¹⁰

The late Richard Fox was the chair of the boards of Friends of ICSEP, Temple University, the Jewish Policy Center, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. Fox was the Pennsylvania state chair of the 1980 Reagan/Bush presidential campaign and a co-founder of the   Republican Jewish Coalition. ¹¹

The late Irving Kristol was the emeritus chair of the board of Friends of ICSEP. Kristol was a leader of the U.S. neoconservative movement and was a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ¹²

Roy Marden formerly sat on the board of the Heartland Institute. ¹³ Other members of the board include James Kahn and Susan Doron. ¹⁴

1. “Organization.” The Israel Center for Social & Economic Progress, 2022. Accessed December 22, 2022. http://icsep.org.il/organization/.
2. Friends of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
3.  Friends of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part III, Line 1.
4. “Support.” The Israel Center for Social & Economic Progress, 2022. Accessed December 22, 2022. http://icsep.org.il/support/.
5. Donors Capital Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2013, Schedule I, Part II.
6. Certell Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2015, Schedule I, Part II.
7. Thomas W. Smith Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV, Line 3.
8. “Our Founder.” Save the West, 2022. Accessed December 26, 2022. https://savethewest.com/about/our-founder/.
9. “Leadership Team.” Citizens For National Security, 2022. Accessed December 26, 2022. https://cfns.us/leadership-team/.
10. “In Memoriam: Daniel Doron, Israel’s Champion of Free Market Ideas.” The Daily Signal, March 7, 2022. Accessed December 26, 2022. https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/03/07/in-memoriam-daniel-doron-israels-champion-of-free-market-ideas/.
11. “Richard James Fox, 92, prominent real estate developer, entrepreneur and philanthropist.” Temple University, February 10, 2020. Accessed December 26, 2022. https://news.temple.edu/news/2020-02-10/richard-james-fox-92-prominent-real-estate-developer-entrepreneur-and-philanthropist.
12. Duignan, Brian. “Irving Kristol.” Britannica. Accessed December 26, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Irving-Kristol
13. ^[1] “Board of Directors.” Heartland Institute. Archived from the original February 8, 2005. Accessed December 26, 2022. http://web.archive.org/web/20050208154424/http://heartland.org/FAQArticle.cfm?faqId=3
14. Friends of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.