IPCRI, founded in Jerusalem in 1988, is the only joint Israeli-Palestinian

public policy think-tank in the world. It is devoted to developing practical

IPCRI, with its active information activities and joint Israeli-Palestinian forums, is unique in that it is the only Israeli-Palestinian joint public policy think-tank and "do-tank" in the region. From the start it was based on what was then, and still is, a unique premise: IPCRI should be a truly joint Israeli-Palestinian organization with its governance and management built on co-leadership. Consequently it was set up with a Board having two co-chairmen and a management with two Co-CEOs. In spite of the obvious complications inherent in this system it has been maintained throughout IPCRI’s existence.

In December 1987, after 20 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian territories erupted in a mass popular revolt for freedom and for internal societal and political reforms. The intifada emerged from the most dispossessed part of Palestinian society - the refugee camps. The intifada was directed externally against the Israeli occupation, but also internally against the political and societal stagnation that existed within Palestinian society itself.

At that time Gershon Baskin interpreted the intifada in a very different way than was the standard consensual Israeli understanding. Many Israelis were pretty convinced that the State of Israel had devised the ideal occupation. They even termed it 'the benevolent occupation'. They were convinced that the relative calm for 20 years after the 1967 war meant that the local Arab population - as they called the Palestinians, were basically content - certainly better off then Arabs in other Arab countries. The intensity of the intifada shocked them. Gershon Baskin says "I remember an Israeli school teacher saying to me 'how could they do this to us?'.

I viewed the intifada as the Palestinians standing up for themselves, speaking in their own voice and not waiting for others to solve their problems. I believed that the intifada was essentially the beginning of a new Palestinian political movement that would have to lead to a peace process."

In March 1988, in the fourth month of the intifada, Gershon published advertisements in the 3 main Palestinian daily newspapers. The ads read:

The ad was published on a Friday morning, by Saturday night, Gershon had received 42 phone calls. He arranged to meet anyone who was interested and during the course of the following week, he met with 23 Palestinians. During those meetings the idea for the establishment of IPCRI - the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information was born. Read interview with Gershon on JustVision