The Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), is an Israeli think tank that seeks to advance a "realist, conservative, Zionist agenda in the search for security and peace for Israel." The center's mission is to contribute to promoting peace and security in the Middle East, through policy-oriented researches on national security in the Middle East. It is located near the Political Science department within Bar-Ilan University. The center was founded by Thomas Hecht, a Canadian Jewish leader, and was dedicated to Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, who signed the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, the first peace agreement ever signed between Israel and an Arab country.