Ideas govern the world, or plunge it into chaos. Who crafts, exports, imports, and sculpts public policy ideas? The following are key Israeli think-tanks focused on international security and national defense.

The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies was founded in 1993 by Dr. Thomas O. Hecht, a Canadian Jewish community leader, as a non-partisan and independent institute affiliated with the political science department at Bar-Ilan University. It was named in memory of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat (BEgin-SAdat), whose groundbreaking Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty laid the cornerstone for conflict resolution in the Middle East. 

Commanders for Israel’s Security is a movement of over 550 retired IDF colonels and generals as well as Mossad, Shin Bet (Internal Security), Police, NSC and Diplomatic corps equivalents. CIS has chosen to reserve membership to retired officials of the top four ranks, for it is only at the highest echelons of the security establishment and foreign service that one is exposed to – and gains experience in addressing – the strategic dimensions of Israel’s national security challenges.

The David Institute for Security Policy was established in 2025 at the initiative of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum, a group of over 55,000 reserve officers and operatives from all branches of the Israeli security forces dedicated to guiding the narrative of Israel’s national security needs and ensuring that Israel’s security in the homeland of the Jewish people is never taken for granted.

The Israel Center for Grand Strategy recruits and engages experts from Israel’s political arena, security services and academia to formulate a long-term grand strategy for Israel. In addition to its articles and studies, it releases a podcast and a video each week.

The Institute for National Security Studies was launched in early 1978, in reaction to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Since 2006, it has been an external institute of Tel Aviv University, and its chairman has been Frank Lowy, the founder of the Lowy Institute. It is now Israel’s largest think-tank. In addition to events, podcasts, videos, and the full spectrum of written publications, it regularly publishes dashboards, interactive maps, and databases.

The Alma Research and Education Center hosts thousands of visitors globally, who want to learn more about Israel’s security challenges on the northern borders and the unique human mosaic in the Galilee, home to nearly 1.5 million people from different cultures and religions. Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, its founder and president, has briefed hundreds of groups and forums, ranging from US Senators, Congressmen/women, and politicians to senior journalists and visiting VIP groups in Israel and overseas. She is also a member of Forum Devora, promoting the equal representation of women in key decision-making positions in the fields of national security and foreign policy.

The Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs is dedicated to enhancing Israel’s security through strategic alliances and partnerships with Middle Eastern countries, regional stakeholders, and the United States-led Western alliance. Its Strategic Influence Media Center leverages Middle Eastern analysts and commentators, thereby influencing Middle Eastern political leaderships and publics using non-Israeli experts to convey messages closely aligned with Israel.

The Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies was established in 2017 with the aim of expressing a realistic worldview, and promoting policies that will keep Israel strong and lead to stable political arrangements. It maintains extensive international relations with parallel research institutes in the world, and with the strategic community in the world. Among its notable research programs: “Iran and the Former Soviet States” – dedicated to the systematic monitoring and analysis of Iran’s foreign policy toward the post-Soviet space, with particular focus on the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies developed and promotes a pro-peace, multi-regional, internationalist, modern, and inclusive approach to Israel’s foreign policy. Mitvim generates new progressive foreign policy knowledge and puts it into use by engaging with local and international political, diplomatic, and civil society actors. It publishes the annual Israeli Foreign Policy Index.

The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism is one of the leading academic institutes for counter-terrorism in the world, facilitating international cooperation in the global struggle against terrorism. ICT administers the largest public domain research database on the Internet encompassing global terrorist attacks, terrorist organizations and activists in addition to statistical reports. It is a non-profit organization located at Reichman University which relies exclusively on private donations and revenue from events, projects and programs.

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center was established in 2001 as part of the Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center, the government institution for commemorating the legacy of the Israeli intelligence community. Its library has an extensive collection of books, scanned articles, videos, newspaper excerpts, presentations, posters, maps and documents seized during Israel’s wars, in Hebrew, English and Arabic.

The Dado Center is a General Staff HQ whose mission is to develop the IDF’s operational art and systemic thinking in order to assimilate them within the IDF, and to assist various IDF bodies – especially major commands – in implementing them. It is named after Lt. Gen. David ‘Dado’ Elazar. Born in 1925 in Yugoslavia, Elazar is best remembered for his leadership during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which the IDF fought simultaneously on two fronts against Syria and Egypt.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)