Founded in 1959 by the Van Leer family from the Netherlands, the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute is based on the vision of Israel as both a homeland for the Jewish people and a democratic society predicated on justice, fairness and equality for all its residents. For this reason it was nominated the Head of the Israeli Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation. The Institute's work is designed to enhance ethnic and cultural understanding, ameliorate social tensions, empower civil society players and promote democratic values through Mediterranean and Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.

To date, the Israeli network consists of 52 organizations and 3 individual members. Most of these institutions work in the areas of education, youth, arts, democracy, human rights, gender issues, media and research.