I write to request your year-end support for the Middle East Forum at a moment when our research and advocacy are helping shape policy decisions across the globe.
Asked if he plans to pressure Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, President-elect Trump replied, “Yeah. Sure. … I want him to end it, but you have to have a victory.”
No U.S. president has ever spoken before about an Israel victory. Perhaps he was influenced by a meeting with Netanyahu to which the latter brought a cap blazoned with TOTAL VICTORY.
Netanyahu has spoken about Israel Victory over 70 times since Oct. 7, a testimonial to the effectiveness of the Middle East Forum’s Israel Victory Project. Through policy papers, briefings, and direct engagement with Israeli leaders, this initiative has reshaped the discourse around achieving lasting peace through demonstrable Israeli strength rather than endless concessions.
My book,Israel Victory: How Zionists Win Acceptance and Palestinians Get Liberated, has influenced Israeli policy since its publication in June, prompting a review of decades of failed policy toward the Palestinians. As Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, notes, the book serves as a “catalyst for renewed conversations about the conflict.”
This represents one small part of what the Middle East Forum does. As a think-and-action tank, MEF fights in many ways on many fronts on behalf of American interests and for Western values. Some recent accomplishments:
Islamist Watch Director Sam Westrop’s investigations revealed that USAID directed hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to Hamas-linked charities in Gaza, triggering Senate Finance Committee inquiries and stricter vetting protocols.
He exposed Tim Walz’s connection to a pro-Hitler Muslim cleric and uncovered fundraising links between U.S. organizations and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups, garnering coverage across major media outlets.
He uncovered contracts between Hamas-aligned U.S. charities and senior Hamas politburo members, exposing how one charity received government funds despite breaking U.S. law. These incriminating stories were picked up by many major news outlets includingFox News,the New York Post,Washington Examiner, Jerusalem Post, and theDaily Caller.
MEF Action Director Benjamin Baird engaged 10,600 active participants in 25 campaigns through 2024. He and his team secured the removal of a radical antisemite from Maryland’s Hate Crimes Commission.
They worked with Fidelity Charitable to remove American Muslims for Palestine and Rahma Worldwide from their databases after exposing their terror connections.
He collaborated with Swedish Parliament members to secure action on banning surveillance technology sales to Iran.
The Israel Victory Project’s Alex Selsky orchestrated Iranian opposition leader Vahid Beheshti’s historic address to Israel’s Knesset in January 2024.
Focus on Western Islamism revealed how the Iranian regime orchestrated supposedly grassroots anti-Israel protests in Texas.
European Correspondent Benjamin Weinthal exposed PayPal’s termination of services to Berlin’s Al-Mustafa Institute, controlled by Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Director of Research Jonathan Spyer led MEF Staff and Fellows in producing over 700 articles in leading outlets like the Wall Street Journal, The Spectator, and Fox News.
His editorial oversight of the Middle East Quarterly maintained rigorous academic standards while expanding MEF’s policy influence.
Spyer and Winfield Myers also launched the Junior Fellows Program to create a pipeline for future Middle East policy experts.
We delivered a comprehensivepolicy blueprintto the Trump campaign outlining strategies to counter Islamism, strengthen U.S.-Israel relations, and bolster American alliances in the Middle East. It has reached every Congressional office and the presidential transition team.
As always, our opponents’ back-handed compliments speak to our efficacy: Palestinian propagandists recently denounced me as a “shadow master” and Turkish ones accused MEF of building a “deep state” around President Trump. You know we must be doing something right.
As the Middle East Forum enters our fourth decade, we ask for your support. If you have already donated, please accept my sincere thanks. If not, I hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift to support our work, most easily by clickinghere.
Thank you in advance.
Daniel Pipes President Middle East Forum
The Middle East Forum, an activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. Pursuing its goals via intellectual and operational means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government.
