| Dear MEF Participant:
I thank those who have already donated to the Middle East Forum in 2023 – and invite those who have not yet done so to send a tax-deductible contribution, most easily by clicking here. More than $174 million in foreign funding went to top think-tanks over a recent four-year period, according to the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative. The Brookings Institute has tied itself to Qatar; the Atlantic Council to Turkey; the Aspen Institute to the UAE; and so on. The Middle East Forum, a think-and-action-tank, is tied only to you, as our motto implies: Promoting American Interests. We have never taken funding from any foreign government, nor from any agent of a foreign government. And we never will. We rely on donations from individuals, families and foundations. This allows us to criticize, expose, and advise based on an honest, un-skewed evaluation. In that spirit, I reach out to you, our readers and webinar participants, twice a year to crowd-source MEF’s funding, and do so now, mid-year. I also offer a review of our recent accomplishments.
MEF Policy Shop Israel Victory – We released “Disarmament of Gaza,” a major policy paper challenging Israel’s passive “mow the lawn” Gaza policy, and presenting a path toward Israel Victory, with military, economic and cultural initiatives. We commissioned Brigadier General (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser to write the paper; he is former head of the Israel Defense Force’s Research Division and former director-general of Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry. The paper is the talk of Israel, with Amos Harel, the dean of Israeli military commentators, reviewing the plan in Haaretz. Islamism – A UK government-commissioned report, accepted by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, adopted much of the Forum’s recommendations to overhaul Britain’s counter-Islamism program, including the need to focus on non-violent Islamist ideology. “Non-violent Islamist narratives and networks [lead] to terrorism.” MEF Investigations Unit Montreal/Tehran – McGill University publicly confirmed it has pulled the plug on its partnership with genocidal, antisemitic Tehran University in response to Forum fellow Ben Weinthal’s 13-month investigation, which culminated in a National Post exposé on McGill’s deep ties with the Tehran regime. Washington, D.C./Gaza – Clifford Smith, the Forum’s Washington Project director, laid out the Jihadist ties of World Vision, one of the world’s largest Christian aid organizations, in the Forum’s Middle East Quarterly. World Vision has been undermining Israel for 40 years, most recently with the conviction of Muhammad Halabi, its one-time Gaza manager, for diverting funds to Hamas. National Review prominently featured the Quarterly piece; and members of Sen. Charles Grassley’s (R-IA) staff are further investigating the matter. Boston/Nation of Islam – Dexter Van Zile, managing editor of the Forum’s Focus on Western Islamism, exposed True-See Allah, director of community engagement for the Suffolk County District Attorney, as a devoted follower and defender of Nation of Islam leader, and extreme anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan. Fox News subsequently picked up on the story, crediting the Forum, and the DA’s office has now placed Allah on administrative leave. Los Angeles/Pakistan – Benjamin Baird, the Forum’s MEF Action director revealed the infiltration of the Los Angeles Police Department by, incredibly, a network of Pakistani regime loyalists. The network includes affluent Pakistani-Americans who serve as official community advisors, police chaplains, donors, and even campaign surrogates to local police leaders. Maryland/Tehran – Mr. Baird uncovered a $115,000 grant from the Maryland General Assembly to fund the Potomac-area Islamic Education Center, despite the property belonging to a highly controversial charity suspected of operating under the ownership and direction of Iranian authorities. UK/Gaza – Sam Westrop, the Forum’s Islamist Watch director, exposed multiple British charities which are supporting a Hamas-run organization in the Gaza Strip, managed by two terrorists personally responsible for the stabbing and bombing of Israeli civilians. U.S. – Mr. Westrop uncovered almost $2 million in federal taxpayer funding of domestic Islamist organizations in 2022 (which is actually less than during the Trump years). MEF Action Washington, D.C./Turkey – We organized a 2,000+ letter campaign urging members of Congress to continue blocking the sale of advanced F-16s to the Islamist Erdoğan regime, while our government affairs team blitzed members in person. The sale is now stalled, with key members informally vetoing the sale. Our multi-ethnic, bipartisan counter-Erdoğan Coalition was recently blamed by Erdoğan-apologist James Jeffrey (a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey) for “hampering” Washington’s “ability to understand the Turkish viewpoint.” The regime’s media mouthpiece has also blasted the Forum. Sweden/Canada/Tehran – We helped establish an international committee of Iranian activists to free Soheila Hejab, a Kurdish-Iranian activist and lawyer who was imprisoned and tortured by the Tehran regime. We appealed to lawmakers around the world to speak out on her behalf and champion her freedom, including Swedish MP Nima Gholam Ali Pour and Canadian MP Marc Dalton. Hejab was subsequently released from prison.
We remain committed to our core intellectual functions, publishing almost 300 analyses and producing 50 webinars (sign-up here) so far this year, on topics ranging from the Saudi-Iran deal and the roots of the Middle East conflict, to Neflix’s “Queen Cleopatra” and Muslim migrants flooding the U.S. southern border.
The quantity and quality of this output has made MEForum.org among the top sites “training” artificial intelligence, according to the Washington Post. Our mission continues, now in its 30th year. On behalf of our board, staff and writing fellows, I appreciate your consideration of this request for support. Yours sincerely,
Daniel Pipes
President
PAYMENT OPTIONS
Please address all questions about contributions to Gregg Roman, Roman@MEForum.org or 215-546-5406 ext. 104. (1) Online via Credit Card or PayPal: Supporting the Forum is most easily done at our website by clicking here. (The website is secure and encrypted; your personal information cannot be read as it travels through the Internet.)
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(4) Planned Giving: A gift in perpetuity enhances the Forum’s capabilities while allowing you to transfer more wealth to your heirs at a lower cost. Each of the following 4 methods serves a different purpose and fits a specific investment plan: Charitable Bequest – to remove assets from a taxable estate and make a larger contribution than may be possible during one’s lifetime. Life Insurance – to gain a charitable income tax deduction for the cash surrender value and premiums of a life insurance policy. Retirement Plan – to reduce the size of a taxable estate, avoid income taxation on those funds, avoid income and estate taxes, and increase the amounts passing to heirs. Charitable Trust – to see philanthropy in action, making transfers to heirs at a lower tax cost and designating beneficiaries to receive payments for life or a term of years. Three types of Charitable Trusts: Charitable Remainder Trust, Charitable Lead Trust, Retained Life Estate. For more information on MEF's Legacy Society, please contact Gregg Roman, MEF's director, at 215-546-5406 ext. 104 or Roman@MEForum.org.
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTION INFORMATION
Benefits: We offer a wide range of benefits and gifts to donors, such as invitations to events (Click here for details.)
International Donations: International donations to the Middle East Forum in a non-U.S. currency are most easily done via PayPal, which draws on one’s credit card, debit card, or bank account. If you do not have PayPal, please contact Gregg Roman at 215-546-5406 ext. 104 or Roman@MEForum.org.
Nonprofit Status: The Middle East Forum is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, meaning donations are tax deductible within the United States.
United Way: Donations through United Way's Donor Choice Program, MEF’s Agency Code is 52445.
Combined Federal Campaign: The Forum is now included in the Combined Federal Campaign, available to Federal workers. Please see https://www.opm.gov/combined-federal-campaign/ for more details.
Political and Economic Analyses: Middle East Forum staff members are available on contract to do political and economic analyses.
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