Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies

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The Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies is a non-partisan independent academic research institute, affiliated with the Political Studies department at Bar-Ilan University, Israel.

[edit] History

Named for joint winners of the Nobel peace prize, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, whose efforts in pursuing peace lay the cornerstone for future conflict resolution in the Middle East, the Center was founded in 1991 by Thomas O. Hecht, a Canadian Jewish community leader.

[edit] Activities

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.

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