Dr. Col. (Res.) Shuki Amrani
Research Fellow, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Reichman University; Head of Bar-Ilan Real Estate Center, Bar-Ilan University; Former Director-General, Ministry of Interior; Former Chairman, National Planning and Building Council; Colonel (Res.), IDF
Dr. Col. (Res.) Shuki Amrani, a Colonel (Res.), serves as the Head of the Bar-Ilan Real Estate Center at Bar-Ilan University. He is a member of the Committee for Appointing Directors in Corporations and Government Companies, the owner of “Tovanot,” a company specializing in local government and urban planning, and a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University.
Previously, Dr. Amrani held senior roles in public service, including Director-General of the Ministry of Interior; Chairman of the National Planning and Building Council; Chairman of the National Planning Committee for National Infrastructure Projects; Commissioner of the Central District at the Ministry of Interior; Chairman of the District Planning and Building Committee; and Chairman of the Committee for Defense Facilities.
Dr. Amrani led public committees that spearheaded reforms in public service. Among other roles, he chaired an inter-ministerial team on economic development in minority sector local authorities (by government decision), the committee for establishing a local government academy, the committee on municipal bonds issuance in local government, the committee for urban center development and rehabilitation, the committee on changing financial reporting methods in local government, and the committee on local councils within regional councils. For his public service efforts, he received the “Medal of Courage” for advancing proper governance and public transparency.
Dr. Amrani holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Bar-Ilan University, an M.A. in International Relations (with honors) from Bar-Ilan University, and an additional M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Haifa. His doctoral dissertation, supervised by Prof. Stuart Cohen and Prof. Warren Young, explores civil-military relations, focusing on how Druze military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) influences their integration into Israel’s public service. His M.A. thesis, supervised by Prof. Daniel Elazar and Dr. Hamda Aghid, addresses a federalist resolution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dr. Amrani’s primary areas of expertise include local government, urban planning, public administration, civil-military relations, public oversight, and the Druze community in Israel. He lectures on these and related topics in various forums and has been a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University for nearly three decades, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Political Science.
After 24 years of service in the IDF, he retired with the rank of Colonel and continued serving for an additional 23 years in the IDF reserves. In the reserves, he led an audit team for emergency readiness in the Defense Ministry’s Audit Unit. During this time, he chaired a General Staff committee to improve oversight and implement personnel policies in the IDF’s Manpower Directorate and served as the director of a professional training course for Directors General of local authorities in emergency management, under the Ministry of Defense.
Dr. Amrani has published articles on society, public policy, local government, ethics, and public oversight. He is also the author of two books: Ethics and Oversight in the Israeli Public Service, published by the Israeli Internal Auditors Association, and The Druze: Between Community, Nation, and State, published by the Chaikin Chair for Geostrategy at the University of Haifa.
Dr. Amrani volunteers as Chairman of the “Tzalah” Association, which strengthens resilience among Israeli youth, and serves as a member of the Public Council of Yad Vashem.
