TO: Middle East Forum Board of Governors, Volunteers, and Supporters
FROM: Gregg Roman, Director

RE: MEF Will Not be Cancelled, A Call to Action

A tsunami of extremism is sweeping the Western world, threatening the most fundamental premises of our way of life. Did you know that nearly 40 percent of liberals want to change the nameUnited States to one “that better reflects the contributions of Native Americans & our diversity as a people”? And that “scientific, linear thinking” is now considered racist?

Further, Middle Eastern extremists are actively supporting that tsunami.

• Al-Qaeda offers its version of Islam as the cure for America’s racial strife;
• The Iranian regime congratulates Americans who shout “Death to America”;
• Turkey’s Erdoğan takes up and warps the cause of George Floyd; and
• Palestinian TV tells its viewers to “pray to Allah that these flames will burn the sons of Zion, America.”

This support helps explain why the Middle East Forum has been targeted for de-platforming and cancellation. Three internet providers in the UK as well as the British Library restricted or blocked Daniel Pipes’ website; Outbrain, the web advertising platform, suddenly dropped MEF as a client; Google search results and Facebook feeds have selectively made our writings disappear.

But we are here to stay; proud, defiant, and politically incorrect when necessary. The Middle East Forum is on your side in the ideological war now raging, fighting to preserve a way of life where facts, reason and decency matter.

Indeed, we are busier than ever:

• MEF’s campaign on Capitol Hill had a key role in Al Jazeera being forced to register as a foreign agent;
• A case in India’s Supreme Court involves research by MEF;
• MEF has taken the mayor of Tel Aviv to Israel’s Supreme Court to fight against censorship of our Israel Victory message;
• The entire board of directors of Islamic Relief, the world’s largest Islamist charity, resigned after international media investigated their antisemitism based on MEF research; and
• We have spurred federal investigations of Middle East Studies programs, working with the White House, Department of Education, and Congress to hold to account: (i) the Duke/University of North Carolina consortium for Middle East Studies; (ii) Georgetown University; (iii) the University of Arizona; (iv) the University of California at Berkeley; and (v) Yale University .

We published 362 articles in the first half of 2020 on topics ranging from Islamists appropriating the Black Lives Matter movement and Rep. Ilhan Omar’s radical supporters, to Israel’s new alliance with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and Ankara's destabilizing the Middle East. Our work appeared in mass publications (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal), D.C.-focused publications (The Hill, The Washington Examiner), and specialist publications (Defense News, Foreign Policy).

Our webinar audience has quadrupled since we began the thrice-weekly series in March. Recent topics have focused on internal crises in Islamic societies; the pervasiveness of radical Islam being preached at American mosques; jihadists infiltrating Western societies while posing as refugees; and why the left has turned on Israel. Each 20-minute session is led by a subject matter expert from the Forum’s staff or writing fellows roster, or experts such as Alberto Fernandez (former U.S. State Department official), and Hussain Haqqani (Pakistan’s former ambassador to the U.S.). To sign up for notices of future events, click here. For past ones, go to YouTube or Soundcloud .

Also, we have responded to the pandemic and economic fluctuations by cutting our payroll by 20 percent, slashing our Education Fund donations, and are now looking to relocate to a smaller office.

Given this exemplary record, I thank you, despite the upheavals, for your consideration to contribute to the Middle East Forum in 2020.

I invite you to send a tax-deductible contribution, most easily by clicking here (for more options, please see the end of this email). We depend on your enlightened self-interest more than ever.

I look forward to thanking you for your support.

Yours sincerely,

Gregg Roman
Director
Middle East Forum
www.meforum.org
P: 215-546-5406 ext. 104

_ _ _ _ _

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.)
 
(2) Personal Check via the Postal Service: Please make a check payable to “Middle East Forum” and mail it to:
 

Middle East Forum
1650 Market Street, Suite 3600
Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA

 
(3) Stock Donations: Donations of stock may be wired to:

 
Vanguard Marketing Corporation
Account Name: The Middle East Forum
Account Number: 59334817
DTC Number: 0062

 
Donations of stock may be sent by U.S. mail (with a letter of instruction) and sent to:

 
Vanguard
P.O. Box 1110
Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110

 
If you donate stock, please email us at donations@MEForum.org or call 215-546-5406 x104 to inform us of the gift so that we may thank you.

 
(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:

1. Charitable Bequest– to remove assets from a taxable estate and make a larger contribution than may be possible during one’s lifetime.
2. Life Insurance– to gain a charitable income tax deduction for the cash surrender value and premiums of a life insurance policy.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Privacy Policy: The Middle East Forum is committed to protecting the privacy of each donor's personal information. The Middle East Forum securely maintains records of each donor's giving history solely for our internal use and record keeping. The Middle East Forum will only report the donor's personal information to the appropriate government agencies as required by law. The Middle East Forum will not intentionally give, rent, sell or share any of the donor's personal information with a third party except as required by law. The Middle East Forum supports the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Donor Bill of Rights.