A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations, but some are semi-autonomous agencies within government, and some are associated with particular political parties, businesses or the military. Think tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four continents, producing data and research on questions of defence, security and global affairs, publishing publications and online analysis, and convening major security summits. The Guardian newspaper has described the IISS as ‘one of the world’s leading security think tanks.’
Meir Shalev was an Israeli writer and newspaper columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth. Shalev's books have been translated into 26 languages.
The Israeli Military Intelligence, often abbreviated to Aman, is the central, overarching military intelligence body of the Israel Defense Forces. Aman was created in 1950, when the Intelligence Department was spun off from the IDF's General Staff. The Intelligence Department was composed largely of former members of the Haganah Intelligence Service. Aman is an independent service, and not part of the ground forces, Navy or the Air Force.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East.
Aharon Yariv was a Russian-born Israeli politician and general. During his military career, he was the first chief of the IDF Command and Staff College (PUM), Chief of Staff of the Central Military District, commander of the Golani Brigade, and from 1964 to 1972 Head of the Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN), playing a significant role in the preparation of the Six-Day War. After completing his military service, he was an adviser to the Prime Minister on combating terror, then a member of the Knesset from the Maarah bloc, Minister of Transport and Minister of Information of Israel. During this period, he became one of the co-authors of the Yariva-Shem-Tova formula, which lists the conditions for Israel's negotiations with the Palestinians. Leaving public office in 1975, two years later he created the Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, which he headed until his death.
Uzi Arad is an Israeli strategist and a well-known figure in foreign policy, security and strategic circles in Israel and abroad. He is a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv. Between 2009 and 2011 Arad served as the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, and the head of the Israeli National Security Council.
Aluf Amos Yadlin is a former general in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel Defense Forces military attaché to Washington, D.C., and head of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman).
Isaac Ben-Israel is an Israeli military scientist, general, politician and state official. From 2005 to 2022, he served as the chairman of the Israeli Space Agency and the National Council for Research and Development, under the auspices of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space of Israel. He finished his service in the IDF ranked General, serving as head of the military Administration for the Development of Weapons and the Technological Industry. Between 2010 and 2012 he served as chief Cybernetics adviser to PM Netanyahu, during which period he founded the National Cyber Bureau in the PM office and launched the National Cyber Initiative. Ben-Israel is now head of the Security Studies program in Tel Aviv University, where he also heads the annual international Cyber Security conference. Between 2007 and 2009 he served as a member of the Knesset for Kadima. Ben-Israel is one of Israel's top experts on Space, Cyber and technological related security. He holds a PhD in Philosophy and a BSc in Physics and Mathematics from Tel Aviv University. In 2020, he declared that Covid-19 would play itself out within seventy days, regardless of intervention levels.
The Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies is an Israeli think tank affiliated with Bar-Ilan University and supported by the NATO Mediterranean Initiative, conducting policy-relevant research on Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, particularly as they relate to the national security and foreign policy of Israel and regional peace and stability. 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 at the Social Sciences Faculty of 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.
Yoram Schweitzer is an Israeli intelligence official who is a senior research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and is director of the institute's Research Program: Terrorism and Low-Intensity Conflict.
Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash is an Israeli general. He was the head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) from 2002 to 2006.
Yom Tov Samia is a retired Israeli general. He was head of the Israel Defense Forces' Southern Command from January 2001 to December 2003. He retired from military service as a major general.
Gilead Sher is an Israeli attorney who served as Chief of Staff and Policy Coordinator to Israel's former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak. In that capacity he acted as one of Israel's senior peace negotiator in 1999–2001, at the Camp David summit in 2000 and the Taba talks in 2001, as well as in extensive rounds of covert negotiations with the Palestinians.
Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg is an Israeli economist who was the chair of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education in Israel. He was appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in August 2011 to lead a committee for negotiations with the Israeli protesters and for recommending economic measures to overcome the crisis. He is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
The Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy is a conservative Israeli think tank, founded and headed by prominent right-wing figures. It was established in 2005 by Israel Harel and Attorney Joel Golovensky, and is based in Jerusalem. Its chairman during the years 2013-2019 was Yoaz Hendel. As of 2023, it is headed by Meir Ben-Shabbat, and was renamed as Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy. Senior staff in the Misgav Institute have significant overlap with that of the Kohelet Policy Forum, including Kohelet chairman Moshe Koppel.
Uri Bar-Joseph is professor emeritus in the Department for International Relations of The School for Political Science at Haifa University. He specializes in national security, intelligence studies, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Gabriel "Gabi" Siboni is a colonel in the Israel Defense Forces Reserve service, and a senior research fellow and the director of the Military and Strategic Affairs and Cyber Security programs at the Institute for National Security Studies. Additionally, he serves as editor of the tri-yearly published, Military and Strategic Affairs academic journal at INSS. Siboni is a senior expert on national security, military strategy and operations, military technology, cyber warfare, and force buildup. Siboni is an Associate Professor, working specifically in the management of Cyber Security and a part-time lecturer at the Francisco de Vitoria University in Madrid
Avi Issacharoff is an Israeli journalist, known for his focus on Palestinian affairs. He is a Middle East commentator for The Times of Israel and its sister news outlet Walla!, and the Palestinian and Arab Affairs Correspondent for Haaretz. Issacharoff is known as one of the creators of the TV-series Fauda.
Eviatar Matania was the founder and Head of the Israel National Cyber Bureau and starting February 2015 also the founder and first Director General of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, that consists of both the National Cyber Bureau and the National Cyber Security Authority, a tenure he concluded in January 2018. Currently, Matania is a professor at the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University, where he also serves as the head of the MA Security Studies Program, and holds an adjunct professorship at Oxford University’s School of Government. Matania also holds consultancy roles in the fields of cyber, technological policies and strategies, and national security, and is the joint-head of the Smart Systems Initiative.
