About Us

The Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies is a non-partisan and independent institute, affiliated with the Political Studies department at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. The Center was founded in 1991 by Thomas O. Hecht, a Canadian Jewish community leader, and is named in memory of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, whose efforts in pursuing peace lay the cornerstone for future conflict resolution in the Middle East.

The BESA Center provides policy-oriented research on matters of strategy, security and peace in the Middle East. Its publications and policy recommendations are directed at a number of audiences, including senior Israeli decision-makers, in military and civilian life, the Defense and Foreign Affairs establishments in Israel, the diplomatic corps, the press, the academic community, the broader public and leaders of the Jewish communities around the world. The BESA Center also sponsors conferences, workshops, lectures, symposia and briefings for international and local audiences, bringing together leading experts from the field and the academia, from Israel and abroad. BESA has developed cooperative relations with leading strategic research institutes throughout the world, from Ankara to Washington and from London to Seoul.

The BESA Center's research team consists of some of Israel's best and brightest academic and military minds, widely acknowledged experts, in Israel and abroad. BESA is associated with some of the leading experts in international affairs, who comprise its academic advisory board.

Since its founding, BESA has published over 60 publications in English and Hebrew.

Research Fields:

• Israeli Strategic Thinking
• Deterrence and Regional Security
• Strategic Options in the Peace Process
• Domestic and Foreign Policy of the Palestinian Authority
• Israeli Public Opinion on National Security
• US-Israel Relations
• Terrorism and Low-Intensity Violence
• Israeli-Turkish Strategic Ties
• Security in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Middle East Water Resources
• Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
• Middle East Arms Control
• Military Industries
• Israel Defense Forces of the Future
• Asian-Israeli Relations

Advisory Boards: