The Middle East Forum is a publicly supported, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, working to define and promote American interests in the Middle East and protect Western values from Middle Eastern threats. Your support helps further our mission of educating Americans about the Middle East and influencing U.S. policy towards that region. |
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Dear Reader: As MEF’s new director of development, I invite you to get more involved in 2017. Whether you are a subscriber or a supporter, there are several opportunities to engage with us this year. The Forum has increased its operational capacity and doubled down on our ability to reach influential Americans with an interest in the Middle East and Islamism, namely those involved in politics, media, academia, law enforcement and religious organizations. A free webinar series will bring MEF to homes, offices and institutions of higher learning across the globe via live-streaming interviews and discussions on everything from immigration to Iran. Donor lunches and Middle East briefings will once again be held across the country and planning for our Spring Speaker Series is already underway. We offer complementary events for donors of all levels. If you’re interested in learning about the benefits associated with different types of participation, send an email to [email protected]. The Forum also gives private briefings for current and prospective donors. Click here if you are able to host a parlor meeting for friends and family who may be interested in our work. Finally, you can expect to see more from the initiatives begun last year, including MEF TV and the Young Adult Division. As the news media continues to cloud fact with fiction, this generation and the next will give increasing attention to think tanks and policy shops. Your increased support can help propel the Forum onward and upward. Will you join us? Sincerely, Matthew Bennett | |
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Director of Development Middle East Forum |
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| The Real Obama Legacy by A.J. Cashetta In his final press conference and last days in office, former President Barack Obama was busy promoting his legacy. Among all the claims he made, none was more fraudulent than "almost every country on earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago." If he really believes that, he's the only one. Eight years of timidity, retreat and empty talk have in fact made the nation weaker and less respected. Of all Obama's terrible foreign policy decisions, the following ten are the worst... Click here to read more. |
| How American Charities Fund Terrorism by Sam Westrop Under the Obama administration, the federal government appeared to ease up on prosecutions of American Islamist charities linked to terror. This was a marked change from the years after 9/11, when scores of charities were shut down after prosecutors found links to terrorist groups across the globe. In 2008, the Holy Land Foundation was tried on charges of financing terrorism. Federal prosecutors listed a number of prominent U.S. Muslim organizations as "unindicted co-conspirators." Click here to read more. |
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| Debate: Terror Attacks in Turkey with Daniel Pipes On January 1, Middle East Forum President Daniel Pipes appeared on Iran's state-owned Press TV alongside Lebanese political commentator Marwa Osman, host of the political show "The Middle East Stream" on Al-Etejah English Channel, to discuss the recent terror attacks in Turkey. During the debate, Ms. Osman went off-topic and claimed the U.S. was committing war crimes against seven Arab countries without the consent of Congress, and that Israel is responsible for the war in Syria. Daniel Pipes debunked her lies. Click here to read more. |
| Jerusalem is the Center of Gravity by Efraim Inbar There is no Zionism without Jerusalem, and David Ben-Gurion accordingly gave the city first priority during the 1948 War of Independence. The Palestinians understand this, which is one of the central reasons why they insist on claiming Jerusalem: They hope to water down Jewish attachment to the land of Israel ... Battles are won by taking over the center of gravity; Jerusalem is the center of gravity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in both a symbolic and a strategic sense. This insight must be internalized by Israeli society. Click here to read more. |
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MEF's Legal project funded a major victory in Canada when a Quebec Superior Court found feminist author Djemila Benhabib not guilty of defamation for telling a radio host that the Muslim School of Montreal gives its students "an indoctrination worthy of military camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan." The school sued Ms. Benhabib for C$95,000. "From now on freedom of expression will be better off in our democratic society," said Ms. Benhabib. "In helping me, the Middle East Forum's Legal Project has played such an important part in that." MEF's Islamist Watch report on "useful infidels" was seen by more than 100,000 people in just a few weeks. The 20-page report profiles 15 prominent non-Muslims who facilitate or directly aid Islamists, and confronts them with their own words. It drew ire from several of those who were profiled, while MEF supporters, via Facebook and email, called on MEF to research this topic further. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the leading candidate to head the Democratic Party, withdrew, under pressure from the Middle East Forum and it's allies, from an Islamist convention in Chicago. Ellison was scheduled to speak at the Muslim American Society (MAS) - Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) annual convention alongside a variety of extremist speakers - until MEF and other allied organizations circulated research on several dozen speakers due to share a platform with him. |
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Development Associate - Rosybell Maria |
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Rosybell Maria is the Development Associate for the Middle East Forum. She holds a B.S. in international relations and diplomacy and a B.A. in modern languages with concentrations in French and Arabic from Seton Hall University. Prior to joining the MEF, she interned at several non-profit organizations and spent time working abroad in Italy for the Milano World Expo 2015. At the Forum, Ms. Maria manages database operations and is responsible for day-to-day development related administrative tasks. In her work, she generates reports to analyze data, creates thank-you letters and tax forms, and researches new and prospective sources of funding. |
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Ms. Maria is passionate about empowering her community by encouraging a culture of giving. As part of her desire to help shape the next generation of young leaders, she will be heading MEF's newly formed Young Adult Division. Through social media engagement, professional networking events and fundraising campaigns, she hopes to diversify and increase the number of young adults involved with the Forum. In her spare time, she mentors international exchange students as a volunteer with Youth For Understanding. Her favorite thing about working at Forum? “The chance to interact with individuals who have positively influenced the discussion on US-Arab relations.” |
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Thursday, February 9 Lunch in Chicago with Daniel Pipes Mr. Pipes will offer a tour d'horizon, touching on emerging Trump administration policies, followed by recent regional developments (in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Egypt), and conclude with an assessment of the role of Middle East immigration in forthcoming European elections. Contact: [email protected] |
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Monday, February 27 NJ Town Hall: Israel, America and the United Nations Middle East Forum director Gregg Roman will join an expert panel to discuss what we can expect to see from US-Israel relations and the future of the United Nations. This event, hosted by the Jewish Federation of Atlantic & Cape May Counties, NJ, is free and open to the public. Contact: [email protected] |
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