  The Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF) is under construction
in the Soreq Nuclear Research Center at Yavne, Israel. When completed at the
beginning of the next decade, SARAF will be a user facility for basic and
applied nuclear physics, based on a 40 MeV, 5 mA CW proton/deuteron
superconducting linear accelerator. Phase I of SARAF (SARAF-I, 4 MeV, 2 mA CW
protons, 5 MeV 1 mA CW deuterons) is already in operation, generating
scientific results in several fields of interest. The main ongoing program at
SARAF-I is the production of 30 keV neutrons and measurement of Maxwellian
Averaged Cross Sections (MACS), important for the astrophysical s-process. The
world leading Maxwellian epithermal neutron yield at SARAF-I ($5\times 10^{10}$
epithermal neutrons/sec), generated by a novel Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT),
enables improved precision of known MACSs, and new measurements of
low-abundance and radioactive isotopes. Research plans for SARAF-II span
several disciplines: Precision studies of beyond-Standard-Model effects by
trapping light exotic radioisotopes, such as $^6$He, $^8$Li and
$^{18,19,23}$Ne, in unprecedented amounts (including meaningful studies already
at SARAF-I); extended nuclear astrophysics research with higher energy
neutrons, including generation and studies of exotic neutron-rich isotopes
relevant to the rapid (r-) process; nuclear structure of exotic isotopes; high
energy neutron cross sections for basic nuclear physics and material science
research, including neutron induced radiation damage; neutron based imaging and
therapy; and novel radiopharmaceuticals development and production. In this
paper we present a technical overview of SARAF-I and II, including a
description of the accelerator and its irradiation targets; a survey of
existing research programs at SARAF-I; and the research potential at the
completed facility (SARAF-II).
