The announcement was made Monday by INSS board of directors chairman Sir Frank Lowry.
Upon assuming his new position, Tratjtenberg will be tasked with establishing a new Social and Economic Research Program, which will compliment the National Security Program.
And for this, Trajtenberg is particularly well-suited, boasting a distinguished record and years of experience in public policy and academia. A Harvard PhD graduate, Trajtenberg is also famous internationally as an expert in innovation, research and development and economic planning.
In his long career, he has founded and served as the first chair of Israel's National Economic Council in the Prime Minister's Office and chaired the Council for Higher Education's Planning and Budgeting Committee. Following the mass protests in 2011 over social issues, Trajtenberg chaired the Commission for Economic and Social Change.
In his new position, Trajtenberg will work to further advance the INSS's impact on broader issues in the field of Israeli security.
“Manual Trajtenberg is well suited to lead the Institute toward a more holistic approach to national security that includes serious study of social and economic issues and to continue the excellent research carried out by the Institute’s existing team of researchers," Lowry said in a statement.
"Today’s global pandemic has clearly demonstrated that genuine security hinges not only on military might, but also on the resilience and cohesiveness of Israeli society. On behalf of the INSS' board, I would like to express my profound gratitude to Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin for his extraordinary leadership of the Institute for the past 10 years."
Trajtenberg said that: "I am humbled by the great challenges ahead, but I am certain that together with the INSS’s excellent team, we shall be able to meet them."