Accomplishments

Middle East Forum’s Impact Highlights

Throughout 2023 and into 2024, the Middle East Forum continued to lead the fight against Middle Eastern threats. By combining rigorous investigative research, influential policy work, expert media engagement, and effective coalition-building, the Middle East Forum drives change with demonstrable impact across its four divisions.

Action Impact:

  • MEF Action’s #DivestFromQatar campaign resulted in more than 26,000 emails and tweets targeting top American investors. This action campaign was intended to persuade the CEOs of a dozen private equity firms and hedge funds to stop receiving investments from the Qatar Investment Authority.
  • Started a new legal initiative bringing RICO and Anti-Klan Act charges against Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for their alleged coordinated harassment and intimidation of Jewish and Israeli students.
  • Spearheaded 6 grassroots campaign grassroots campaigns in 2024 so far, with 6 more to launch before the end of the year.

Publishing Impact:

  • Successfully launched the Middle East Forum Observer, broadening our rapid reaction analysis and coverage.
  • Published more than 1,000 articles in 2023 and the first half of 2024 across our publishing platforms and hosted more than 150 podcasts and webinars.

Investigations Impact:

  • Uncovered USAID’s ties to Islamist organizations in Southeast Asia, leading several U.S. senators to condemn the agency.
  • Revealed the plans by Young Democrat Socialists for America to launch a national strike in support of Palestine
  • Exposed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) violated its own neutrality mandate more than 250 times since the Hamas attacks of October 2023.
  • Grew Middle East Forum’s database of Islamist individuals, funders, and organizations to encompass over 4,000,000 data points.

Statecraft Impact:

  • Played a pivotal role shaping discourse after the October 7 attacks, providing strategic guidance to Israeli authorities and successfully promoting the Middle East Forum plan for Israel victory.
  • Held nearly 200 Congressional meetings and shaped 17 Congressional letters, bills, and resolutions in the last year.


More from MEF
Turkish fishing trawlers on the Bosporus.
Middle East Forum Observer
Is Turkey Following China’s Overfishing Model?
Aquaculture Is a Huge Industry in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, and Turkey Seeks to Seize Unfair Advantage
April 17, 2025
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Steve Witkoff, U.S. envoy to the Middle East, speaks with the news media in February 2025.
Middle East Forum Observer
In Sharp Reversal, Trump’s Envoy Rejects Tehran’s Right to Uranium Enrichment
In Talks, the Trump Administration Is Pushing for Broader Inspections and the Inclusion of Iran’s Missile Program
April 16, 2025
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Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, is one of several Kurds in high-profile, regional diplomatic roles.
Middle East Forum Observer
The Political Hijacking of Kurdish Representation to Conceal Anti-Israel Agendas
Turkey, Iran and Iraq Have Co-opted Kurds Into Diplomatic Roles to Prevent the Emergence of an Independent Kurdistan
April 16, 2025
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Loqman Radpey
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Middle East Forum Observer
Securing the Future: Why the 3+1 Strategic Alliance Must Be Permanent
For the United States, Formalizing the Alliance with Greece, Cyprus and Israel Represents a Strategic Imperative
April 15, 2025
 · 
Gregg Roman
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and United States National Security Adviser Michael Waltz speak to the press outside the White House; Feb. 4, 2025.
Middle East Forum Online
Iran Wants to Drag Out Talks, Trump Wants a Deal Now. Neither Is Good for Israel
Tehran Now Enriches Uranium to 60 Percent, a Step Away from Weapons-Grade, and Operates Far More Advanced and Numerous Centrifuges than It Did in 2015
April 15, 2025
 · 
Lazar Berman
Iran prides itself on its strategic patience, intends to buy time, while avoiding any major and irreversible concessions. Whether President Donald Trump’s administration will prove willing to accommodate Iran’s demands is another matter entirely.
Middle East Forum Online
Iran Is Playing for Time in the U.S. Nuclear Talks
Contrary to Some Commentary of Recent Months, the Iranian Regional Project Has Not Been Destroyed, or Even Conclusively Defeated
April 15, 2025
 · 
Jonathan Spyer
Hakan Fidan (R), Turkey’s former intelligence chief and current foreign minister, with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2024.
Middle East Forum Observer
Like Assad, Al-Sharaa Puts Family First in Syria
The Interim President Is Consolidating Control by Placing Family Members in Key Positions at the Nexus of Power and Wealth
April 15, 2025
 · 
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The Hamas-inspired wave of anti-Israel protests that erupted across American campuses and cities represented a deeply troubling manifestation of antisemitism and support for terrorism.
Middle East Forum Online
Economic Costs of Anti-Israel Protests and the Civil RICO Option
A Middle East Forum Report
April 14, 2025
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Gregg Roman
Winfield Myers
Middle East Forum Online
Erdoğan Keeps Pulling Fast Ones on Trump to Harm American Business
As Trump Bets on Erdoğan as a Strategic Partner, the Turkish President Exploits the Relationship to Undercut American Allies, Hijack U.S. Business Interests, and Enrich His Inner Circle
April 14, 2025
 · 
Michael Rubin
Syrian army personnel seek to establish security in March 2025.
Middle East Forum Observer
Is the U.S. Repeating Its Somalia Mistakes in Syria?
Somalia and Syria Are Complex Patchworks of Clans and Tribes and Interests
April 14, 2025
 · 
Michael Rubin