Key Facts
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About
The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) is an Israeli think tank affiliated with Bar-Ilan University, founded in 1993 by Dr. Thomas O. Hecht, a Canadian-Jewish leader. It is dedicated to the memory of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who signed the historic Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979. The center operates as an independent, non-partisan institute within the university's Political Science Department and Social Sciences Faculty, conducting policy-relevant research on Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, with a specialization in Israeli national security and Middle East geopolitics. Its mission focuses on promoting peace and security in the Middle East through advanced studies on national security, foreign policy, and regional stability, with a particular emphasis on Israel's interests. The center is described as right-leaning in some analyses, though it positions itself as non-partisan.
BESA's research covers a wide range of topics, including military doctrine, strategic analysis, antisemitism, post-Soviet geopolitics, and reactions to international policies, such as those involving Iran, Armenia, and the Baltic states. It publishes extensively in Hebrew and English, with over 75 publications since its inception, and its researchers are frequently consulted by defense agencies worldwide, from Turkey to the United States and India. The center is supported by the NATO Mediterranean Dialogue and maintains a team of senior research fellows, many with expertise in security consulting, organizational concepts, and the ethical dimensions of warfare. Its work influences policy discussions on Israeli national security and broader Middle East dynamics.
Located on the Bar-Ilan University campus, BESA fosters collaborations with international partners and contributes to academic and policy discourse through programs like the Perspective on Security in the Contemporary Region (PSCR), which addresses diverse security challenges. The think tank's output includes analyses of U.S. national security strategies, Jewish immigration issues in Eastern Europe, and regional conflicts, underscoring its role in mapping networks of influence in global strategic studies.