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Israeli Gas Exports to Syria:
The Dilemma of Formalizing Direct Gas Cooperation
By By Dr. Elai Rettig
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This paper is part of an ongoing collaborative project between
the BESA Center and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation

The Implications of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and Its Consequences for Israel
By Col. (res.) Shay Shabtai and Prof. Eitan Shamir
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THE GAZA TERROR OFFENSIVE: The Iranian and Lebanese Chapter
6 May – 14 June 2026
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Venture Capital in the Age of Wars:
Geopolitical Competition
and the Transformation of Innovation
By Prof. Leonid Sorkin
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The Challenge of Formulating Israel’s
First Official National Security Strategy
By Col. (res.) Shimon Arad, Ph.D.
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Mediation, Adaptation, and Survival:
in the West Asia Crisis
By Dr. Lauren Dagan Amos
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India-South Korea Relations in a Fragmented Strategic Order
By Dr. Alon Levkowitz and Dr. Lauren Dagan Amos
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Your Impact at BESA: Strategic Research That Reaches Decision-Makers
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Iran’s Strait of Hormuz Strategy: Leverage, Limits, and Regional Implications
By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
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The Other Iranian Energy Crisis: How Israeli Gas Disruptions Will Reshape East Mediterranean Energy Infrastructure
by Dr. Elai Rettig
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The Israel–Iran War:
Israel’s New Strategic Opening
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Debunking the Genocide Allegations:
A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War
(2023-2025)
by Prof. Danny Orbach, Dr. Jonathan Boxman, Dr. Yagil Henkin, and Jonathan Braverman

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War With Iran: Israel’s Legal Obligation to Prevent Iranian Nuclear Weapons
by Prof. Louis René Beres
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Israel at War
BESA Researchers in the Media
Israel at war

The Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Program (PSCRP)/תוכנית לחקר סכסוכים מדיניים במרחב הפוסט-סובייטי is a research initiative in the fields of politics, society and international relation of the USSR-successor states

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From September 12th to 14th, the BESA Center welcomed a delegation from the RUSI Military Sciences research group and an esteemed expert from Exeter University for a strategic dialogue focused on various facets of modern warfare.
On September 10th, The BESA Center conducted a conference in collaboration with the Association of Civil-Military Studies in Israel.
On July 2 Besa hosted the Israel's First "Hybrid Warfare" Conference at Bar Ilan University.
The conference marked the initiation of an innovative international research initiative, funded with 380,000 euros by the EU, aiming to address the complex challenges posed by the era of hybrid warfare comprehensively.
On July 5 Besa researchers participated in a strategic dialogue on mutual collaboration with colleagues from Turkey, Bahrain, UAE, SaudiArabia, Georgia and Qatar in Baku Azarbijan. Hosted by the AIR center in Baku.




The Shift in Technological Innovation from the Defense Sector to the Civilian Sector by Nir Reuven
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,205, July 4, 2023
On the 30 of March Dr. Shamir met with a team of NESA researchers led by Col. David Lamm

Featured Articles

Private: In Memoriam: Aby Har-Even

BESA Center | June 7, 2021
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Aby Har-Even, a BESA Center Fellow and former director of the Israel Space Agency. Aby was seriously wounded on May 11 when Arab rioters set fire to the Efendi Hotel in Acre, where he was staying. He succumbed to his wounds at Rambam Medical Center on June 6, at the age of 84.
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The Europeanized USA

Dr. Alex Joffe | April 7, 2021
America is undergoing a rapid transformation founded in a moral panic over race that masks the exercise of class-based power in which technology companies and left-wing politics have united to wield unprecedented control. The outcome will likely be a union of Europeanized states where freedoms are severely curtailed and social cohesion is minimized in favor of dependency.
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The New Blood Libel of “Medical Apartheid”

Edwin Black | April 14, 2021
A vicious lie has been making the rounds lately. It is a timeworn smear against the Jewish people in a modern guise. The ancient blood libel—“Jews are poisoners”—stoked antisemitic violence through the ages, from the Black Death to tainted wells. This time, it has taken the form of a claim that Israel is denying COVID-19 vaccinations to its non-Jewish citizens and to the residents of the not-yet-sovereign Palestinian Authority. This is as much a lie as all its predecessors.
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The Rise and Rise of Turkish Drone Technology

Burak Bekdil | April 11, 2021
Everything’s coming up roses for Turkey’s thriving drone industry, but a cash-strapped economy and technological challenges may slow further progress.
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Mansour Abbas and the Lebanonization of Israel

Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar | April 5, 2021
The Islamic Movement in Israel is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the ideological hothouse that spawned such organizations as Hamas, al-Qaeda, ISIS, and various other Sunni jihadist groups that reject Israel’s right to exist. Giving the Islamic Movement a kosher stamp of approval sets Israel on the same destructive path trod by Lebanon ever since Hezbollah became part of that country.
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Between Historical Memory and Strategic Interests: Israel, Turkey, and the Armenian Question

For many years, the Armenian question has constituted one of the most sensitive issues in Israeli–Turkish relations. Although it was never at the core of the bilateral relationship, it repeatedly resurfaced whenever the question of recognizing the Armenian Genocide was raised, confronting Israel with a complex dilemma: how to balance its commitment to historical memory and the struggle against genocide denial with the strategic importance of its relations with Turkey. Over the years, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has

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July 28, 2026 No Comments
IDF spokesperson
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THE GAZA TERROR OFFENSIVE: The Iranian and Lebanese Chapter
15 June – 15 July 2026

Two issues have dominated the period since the last update: the escalation in skirmishes between the United States military and that of Iran on the one hand, and the declarations that an agreement has been reached between the United States and Iran on the other. However, the contours of the supposed agreement are unclear. Immediately after the two sides declared that they had come to terms, they offered completely contradictory descriptions of what was contained in the agreement. The reality

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July 20, 2026 No Comments
Events

Webinar :The Impact of the War with Iran on the Eastern Mediterranean 22.7.2026

We are pleased to invite you to attend our upcoming webinar titled “The Impact of the War with Iran on the Eastern Mediterranean,” organised jointly by Strategy International (SI) and the Begin- Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
This webinar brings together leading experts from Strategy International and the BESA Center to examine how the conflict is affecting energy security, regional alliances, and the geopolitical balance among key regional and international actors.
The webinar will take place on Wednesday,

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July 16, 2026 No Comments
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The First Post-Heroic American War: The “Boots on the Ground” Syndrome

The most recent—though highly unlikely to be the last—war between the US and Iran was fought by an American president whose irresolution allowed a critically weakened Iran to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The fear of “boots on the ground”, unjustified though it was by the reality of the conflict, has emboldened America’s most committed and resolute enemy to double down on its catastrophic national and international policies.

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July 9, 2026 No Comments
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Greece, Israel, and India: The Emerging Maritime Security Architecture of the IMEC

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a seminal connectivity initiative linking India, the Middle East, and Europe. For it to succeed, its infrastructure, routes, ports, and chokepoints must be effectively protected. This applies across the maritime space stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Eastern Mediterranean. Attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, persistent tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, and the growing vulnerability of undersea infrastructure have highlighted the security challenges facing contemporary trade networks. In the

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July 8, 2026 No Comments
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The Implications of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and Its Consequences for Israel

The scope of the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran is very narrow. The MoU creates an interim state of deescalation between the United States and Iran within a rough, non-binding framework for future negotiations toward a permanent settlement. Despite its limitations, the MoU will serve as the primary strategic driver shaping the Middle East and beyond for at least the next six months. A net assessment of the MoU’s implications reveals that while the

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July 5, 2026 No Comments
Geo Energy Program

Israeli Gas Exports to Syria:
The Dilemma of Formalizing Direct Gas Cooperation

Israeli gas exports to Syria are already a reality, but they are conducted indirectly, through swap deals and resale arrangements with Jordan and Egypt rather than through a formal Israel-Syria contract. This creates a strategic dilemma for both sides. On the one hand, a direct Israel-Syria gas contract could provide clearer accountability, stronger safeguards against disruptions, and a basis for future energy cooperation that may include Lebanon as well. On the other hand, direct gas trade could be politically premature

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July 2, 2026 No Comments
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Creating Israel’s National Security Strategy: The Nuclear Dimension

Any new Israeli government is now legally required to prepare a codified national security strategy within 150 days of its official formation. Though nuclear doctrine and strategy will likely be limited to the highest security-level classifications, nothing could have greater existential impact for Israel. Moreover, at a time when the principal threats to Israel are coming from a still pre-nuclear Iran and certain sub-state proxies, the National Security Council will have to consider wider and more explicit applications of nuclear

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June 29, 2026 No Comments
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From Karagöz and Hacivat to Israel: Erdoğan’s Political Theater

Israel has played a notable role in the political discourse of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since October 7, 2023. Israel has served not merely as a target of criticism within Turkish foreign policy but also as a central instrument in shaping Turkey’s domestic politics and regional vision. By portraying Israel as a threat to regional and global stability, Erdoğan seeks to position Turkey as the defender of the Palestinians and the leader of the Muslim world. The reasons behind his anti-Israel

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June 21, 2026 No Comments
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Venture Capital in the Age of Wars: Geopolitical Competition and the Transformation of Innovation

The emergence of an “Age of Wars” is fundamentally reshaping venture capital. Technologies associated with security, resilience, strategic autonomy, and military effectiveness are increasingly replacing consumer-oriented innovation as the primary destinations for investment. As a result, venture capital is becoming progressively intertwined with national security, state policy, and geopolitical competition.

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June 15, 2026 No Comments
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The Challenge of Formulating Israel’s First Official National Security Strategy

A recent law requires, for the first time, that any new Israeli government prepare a national security strategy within 150 days of its formation. As general elections are to be held no later than October 2026, Israel may soon approve its first official national security strategy. While this represents an opportunity to impose coherence on the country’s misaligned strategic orientation and security doctrine, it comes at a time of strategic and institutional drift following the multi-front wars that ensued in

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June 10, 2026 No Comments

BESA Center publications and research are made possible thanks to the generosity of Saul Koschitzky and family

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