The Operations Research Society of Israel (ORSIS) is a non-profit organization, established in 1966 with the goal of promoting and enhancing the research and practice of Operations Research in Israel. It operates to strengthen the contacts among people engaged in Operations Research by initiating activities such as conferences, workshops on special topics and workshops for graduate students. ORSIS has about 150 members, most of them from academia. Other members come from the high-tech industry, as well as from the public sector in Israel. About a third of its members are graduate students. Some members reside abroad but hold close ties with ORSIS.
ORSIS holds an annual conference at various locations in Israel. Most of its members attend this conference, at which original research papers are presented, and knowledge in Operations Research is exchanged and disseminated. ORSIS is a member of the IFORS (International Federation of Operational Research Societies) and EURO (The Association of European Operational Research Societies) organizations. Occasionally ORSIS is involved in organizing international conferences, either including all topics of Operations Research or focusing on special topics of the field. Graduate students may obtain support from ORSIS to participate in overseas professional activities.
Several awards have been established by ORSIS over the years, intended to promote, encourage and recognize excellence in Operations Research. These include the life achievement award, designed to recognize ORSIS members who made significant and continuous contributions for many years in the area of Operations Research; The ORSIS Award on the name of Uriel (Uri) Rothblum for an excellent work in Operations Research; and the Abraham Mehrez Prize for Excellent Work of a Graduate Student in Operations Research.