Washington Institute For Near East Policy

TO ADVANCE A BALANCED AND REALISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF AMERICAN INTERESTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

PROGRAM ON ARAB POLITICS: THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE'S PROGRAM ON ARAB POLITICS FOCUSES ON POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND SECURITY-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ARAB WORLD, A GEOGRAPHIC AREA STRETCHING FROM NORTH AFRICA TO IRAQ, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE GULF STATES (WHICH ARE INCLUDED IN THE INSTITUTE'S PROGRAM ON GULF AND ENERGY).IN 2022, THE PROGRAM FOCUSED ON POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR THE US RELATED TO CROSS BORDER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO SYRIA; IRANIAN-BACKED MILITIAS AND POLITICAL PARTIES' INFLUENCE IN IRAQ, THE FUTURE OF FEDERALISM IN IRAQ, AND THE DISPOSITION OF IRAQI KURDISTAN; HEZBOLLAH'S GROWING CONTROL OVER LEBANON, BEIRUT'S EFFORTS TO EXPLOIT OFFSHORE GAS RESOURCES, AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN THAT STATE; THE ONGOING POLITICAL DEADLOCK IN WAR TORN LIBYA; FOOD INSECURITY AND DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN TUNISIA; COMPLICATED BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH ALGERIA; HEIGHTENED POTENTIAL FOR A WAR BETWEEN MOROCCO AND ALGERIA IN WESTERN SAHARA; THE POOR STATE OF US-SAUDI RELATIONS, AND; EGYPTIAN VIOLATIONS OF THE CAMP DAVID PEACE TREATY WITH ISRAEL IN THE SINAI PENINSULA. DAVID SCHENKER DIRECTED THE PROGRAM WITH THE SUPPORT OF 5 FULL-TIME SENIOR FELLOWS, CROSS-COLLABORATION WITH FELLOWS FROM OTHER PROGRAMS, VISITING FELLOWS, AND NON-RESIDENT ASSOCIATES. ALL TOLD, IN 2022, SOME TWO DOZEN INSTITUTE SCHOLARS, ASSOCIATES, AND CONSULTANTS CONTRIBUTED TO THE WORK OF THE ARAB POLITICS PROGRAM. PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS APPEARED FREQUENTLY ON TELEVISION AND RADIO. THE INSTITUTE PUBLISHED MORE THAN 100 ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS BY PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS ON ITS WEBSITE AND MANY OF THE ARTICLES APPEARED IN OTHER ONLINE PUBLICATION SITES AND NEWS OUTLETS. IN ADDITION TO THE WRITINGS, PROGRAM SCHOLARS ENGAGED VIA ZOOM AND IN PERSON WITH US GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIALS AND CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS. THE PROGRAM HELD FREQUENT EVENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WEEKLY VIRTUAL SESSIONS CONVENED ON IRAQ, AND CONVENED 21 ROUNDTABLES ON A BROAD RANGE OF TOPICS ATTENDED BY EXECUTIVE BRANCH PERSONNEL, NGO STAKEHOLDERS, AND THE WASHINGTON POLICYMAKING COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION, THE INSTITUTE ALSO HOSTED SEVEN VIRTUAL POLICY FORUM PANELS.

THE KORET PROJECT ON ARAB-ISRAEL RELATIONS: THE KORET PROJECT ON ARAB-ISRAEL RELATIONS FOCUSES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ISRAEL AND ARAB COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, INCLUDING THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT. PROGRAM DIRECTOR, DAVID MAKOVSKY WORKS WITH AMBASSADOR DENNIS ROSS, DAVID POLLOCK, AND GHAITH AL-OMARI AND IN CROSS-COLLABORATION WITH FELLOWS FROM OTHER PROGRAMS, VISITING FELLOWS, AND NON-RESIDENT ASSOCIATES. THIS YEAR, THE INSTITUTE HOSTED FORMER HEAD OF THE MOSSAD INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE ZOHAR PALTI AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE IDF, MAJ. GEN. EYAL ZAMIR AS INTERNATIONAL MILITARY FELLOWS, AS WELL AS FORMER PRIME MINISTER NAFTALI BENNETT. PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS APPEARED FREQUENTLY ON TELEVISION AND RADIO. THE INSTITUTE PUBLISHED MORE THAN 40 ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS BY PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS ON ITS WEBSITE AND MANY OF THE ARTICLES ALSO APPEARED ON OTHER ONLINE PUBLICATION SITES AND NEWS OUTLETS. THE PROGRAM HELD 2 IN-PERSON STRATEGIC DIALOGUES, 7 ONLINE POLICY FORUMS, AND 8 IN-HOUSE ROUNDTABLES. THE PROGRAM ALSO PRODUCED A PODCAST SERIES AND MAINTAINS AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE TRACKING JEWISH SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK.

JEANETTE AND ELI REINHARD PROGRAM ON COUNTERTERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE: THE JEANETTE AND ELI REINHARD PROGRAM ON COUNTERTERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE (CTI) FOCUSES ON PROVIDING POLICY-RELEVANT ANALYSIS OF KEY TERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE ISSUES AND TRENDS, ESPECIALLY AS THEY RELATE TO U.S. POLICY TOWARD THE MIDDLE EAST. THE RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION PLAN OF CTI IS FOCUSED ON FIVE KEY ISSUE AREAS: (1) GLOBAL JIHADIST MOVEMENT TERRORISM (AL QAEDA, ISLAMIC STATE); (2) TERRORISM IN THE ARAB-ISRAELI ARENA (HAMAS, PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD, JEWISH EXTREMISTS); (3) IRANIAN SPONSORSHIP OF TERRORISM (HEZBOLLAH, IRAN'S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD AND QODS FORCE); (4) COMBATING THE FINANCING OF TRANSNATIONAL THREATS (TERROR FINANCE, PROLIFERATION FINANCE, IRAN SANCTIONS, JCPOA); (5) COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM (COUNTER-RADICALIZATION). OVER THE COURSE OF 2022, THE CTI TEAM PRODUCED A REGULAR FLOW OF TIMELY WRITTEN ANALYSES, MAINTAINED REGULAR CONTACT WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, ENGAGED WITH THE MEDIA, BRIEFED U.S. AND FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, HOSTED BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EVENTS, AND TRAVELED ABROAD TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND ATTEND CONFERENCES.THE CTI PROGRAM IS LED BY DR. MATTHEW LEVITT, THE FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE PROGRAM WHO CAME TO THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FROM THE FBI, WHERE HE HAD SERVED AS A COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST AND PLAYED LEADING ROLES IN THE INVESTIGATIONS OF THE MILLENNIAL BOMB PLOT AND SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS. THE PROGRAM ALSO INCLUDES FELLOWS AARON ZELIN AND KATHERINE BAUER (PARTIAL YEAR) AND WORKS IN CROSS-COLLABORATION WITH FELLOWS FROM OTHER PROGRAMS, VISITING FELLOWS, AND NON-RESIDENT ASSOCIATES. THE PROGRAM ALSO HIRED NEW CTI FELLOW, DEVORAH MARGOLIN, WHO PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND AS A SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. IN TOTAL FOR 2022, 4 INSTITUTE SCHOLARS AND 23 ASSOCIATES AND CONSULTANTS CONTRIBUTED TO THE WORK OF THE CTI PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS APPEARED FREQUENTLY ON TELEVISION AND RADIO. THE INSTITUTE PUBLISHED MORE THAN 24 ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS BY PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS ON ITS WEBSITE AND MANY OF THE ARTICLES APPEARED IN OTHER ONLINE PUBLICATION SITES AND NEWS OUTLETS. ADDITIONALLY, MATTHEW LEVITT PUBLISHED SEASON 1 (8 EPISODES) OF THE INSTITUTE PODCAST, "BREAKING HEZBOLLAH'S GOLDEN RULE." THE PROGRAM HELD 4 POLICY FORUMS, 5 PRIVATE ROUNDTABLES, 32 COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM ROUNDTABLES, AND 17 COMBATING FINANCING OF TERRORISM ROUNDTABLES. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROGRAM LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE FORTHCOMING ISLAMIC STATE INTERACTIVE MAP AND THE IRANIAN EXTERNAL OPERATIONS MAP.