The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), is an independent academic body aspiring to contribute to promoting peace and security in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, through policy-oriented researches on national security in the Middle East, that is located near the Political Science department within Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...

. The center was founded by Thomas Hecht, a Jewish-Canadian Leader, and was dedicated to Menachem Begin

Menachem Begin

' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...

 and Anwar Sadat who signed the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, the first peace agreement ever signed between Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and any other Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 country.

The BESA Center

The center's publications and policy recommendations are targeted to number of audiences, including top Israeli decision makers, military men and citizens, within the foreign and security communities, the diplomatic circles, the academic community, the media, the broad Israeli public, and Jewish leaders around the world.

BESA center also organizes conferences, workshops, lectures, symposiums and briefings for the international and local communities, and gathers various field and academic experts, from Israel and around the world. BESA center has developed collaboration relations with some leading research centers around the world, from Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

 to Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

. BESA holds various world experts on international relations, that are members in its international academic advising committee. Since it was founded, the center has published over 60 publications in Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 and in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

.

Areas of Study

1. Israeli strategic thought process
2. The Regional deterrence and security
3. Strategic alternatives within the Peace Process
4. Interior and foreign policy of the Palestinian Authority
   Palestinian National Authority
   The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
   
   
5. Israeli Public opinion on national security
6. Israel–United States relations
7. Lower intensity of Terror and violence
8. Israeli–Turkish strategic relations
9. Security in the East to the Mediterranean Sea
   Mediterranean Sea
   The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
   
    region
10. Water sources in the Middle East
11. WMD Proliferation
12. Arms Control in the Middle East
13. Military Industries
14. IDF
    Israel Defense Forces
    The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
    
    in the future
15. Israel- Asia relations

Publications

BESA Center distributes two main series of publications:

• Mideast Security and Policy Studies
• Colloquia on National security

External links

• The BESA Homepage