The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Formation	1985
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Executive Director	Robert Satloff
Revenue (2016)	$14,112,627
Expenses (2016)	$13,033,921
Website	washingtoninstitute.org

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP or TWI, also known simply as The Washington Institute) is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C.,^[3]^[4] focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East.

WINEP was established in 1985 with the support of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the funding of many AIPAC donors, in order to provide higher quality research than AIPAC's publications.^[5] John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt described WINEP as "part of the core" of the Israel lobby in the United States.^[6]

^ "Mission & History". washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
^ ^a ^b "The Washington Institute for Near East Policy" (PDF). Foundation Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
^ "Pro-Israeli Group Offers Maps for Palestinian State". The New York Times. 2011-01-22. Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-02-25. It speaks to the paralysis in the Middle East peace process that the most noteworthy development of the past week came when a mild-mannered analyst at a pro-Israel think tank unfurled three color-coded maps. The analyst, David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
^ Keskin, Tugrul (2018). Middle East Studies after September 11: Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia. Studies in Critical Social Sciences. Brill. p. 9. ISBN 978-90-04-35990-1. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-13. written by Martin Kramer in 2003 and published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israeli think tank
Breger, Marshall (2002). Mittleman, Alan; Licht, Robert; Sarna, Jonathan D (eds.). Jews and the American Public Square: Debating Religion and Republic. G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-7425-2124-7. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-13. founded in 1985 as a pro-Israel but not specifically Jewish think tank.
"Israel Captures 2 Palestinians Suspected in Deadly Ax Attack". The New York Times. 2022-05-08. Archived from the original on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2022-08-12. Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based analyst for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank.
Weiss, T.G.; Crahan, M.E.; Goering, J.; Goering, J.M.; Robinson, M. (2004). Wars on Terrorism and Iraq: Human Rights, Unilateralism, and U.S. Foreign Policy. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-70062-7. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-12. as the then newly founded Washington Institute for Near East Policy. This organization, a pro-Israel think tank, was itself a spin-off of AIPAC
Marrar, K. (2008). The Arab Lobby and US Foreign Policy: The Two-State Solution. Routledge Research in American Politics and Governance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-135-97071-0. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-12. Dennis Ross, from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israel think tank closely aligned with AIPAC
Lockman, Zachary (2005). "Critique from the Right: The Neo-conservative Assault on Middle East Studies". CR: The New Centennial Review. 5 (1). Michigan State University Press: 81–82. doi:10.1353/ncr.2005.0034. ISSN 1539-6630. JSTOR 41949468. S2CID 145071422. By contrast, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy ( WINEP), founded in 1985, quickly achieved a much higher profile and much greater influence. Describing itself as "a public educational foundation dedicated to scholarly research and informed debate on U.S. interests in the Middle East,"9 WINEP emerged as the leading pro-Israel think tank in Washington. Its founding director, Martin Indyk, had previously worked at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), founded in 1959 and by the 1970s by far the most well-funded, visible, and effective pro-Israel lobbying organization. Indyk and his colleagues at WINEP worked hard to strengthen Israel's standing in Washington as the key U.S. ally in the Middle East and to ensure that U.S. policy in the region coincided with the policies and strategies of the Israeli government
"The Israeli Lobby". Journal of Palestine Studies. 35 (3). University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies: 92. 2006-04-01. doi:10.1525/jps.2006.35.3.83. During the Clinton administration, Middle Eastern policy was largely shaped by officials with close ties to Israel or to prominent pro-Israel organizations; among them, Martin Indyk, the former deputy director of research at AIPAC and co-founder of the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP)
Mearsheimer, John J.; Walt, Stephen M. (2009). "The Blind Man and the Elephant in the Room: Robert Lieberman and the Israel Lobby". Perspectives on Politics. 7 (2). [American Political Science Association, Cambridge University Press]: 262. doi:10.1017/S1537592709090781. JSTOR 40406929. S2CID 7758818. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13. Similarly, when Martin Indyk - formerly deputy director of research at AIPAC and co-founder of the pro-Israel Washington Institute of Near East Policy - is appointed one of Bill Clinton's key Middle East advisors, it strains credulity to exclude him from the "loose coalition" that "actively works" to promote the "special relationship."
Rynhold, Jonathan (2010). "Is the Pro-Israel Lobby a Block on Reaching a Comprehensive Peace Settlement in the Middle East?". Israel Studies Forum. 25 (1). Berghahn Books: 31. ISSN 1557-2455. JSTOR 41805052. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13. For example, Martin Indyk who had worked for AIPAC and was the head of Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank with close connections to Israel, played an important role in formulating US policy toward the Middle East in the 1990s
^ Thomas G. Mitchell (8 May 2013). Israel/Palestine and the Politics of a Two-State Solution. McFarland. pp. 164–. ISBN 978-0-7864-7597-1. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2020. In 1985 AIPAC's deputy director of Foreign Policy Research, Martin Indyk, a former Australian intelligence official, set up the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as a think tank designed to provide policy output that would influence the executive branch and the media. Indyk created WINEP with AIPAC's blessing and with funding from many AIPAC donors. It was designed to provide more academic-quality and independent research than AIPAC put out. WINEP concentrates on the internal affairs of Middle Eastern countries except for Israel and on the foreign and defense policies of these countries. It also provides Israel-friendly prescriptions for the peace process. WINEP has become a serious player in Washington and a supplier of foreign policy officials for both parties.
^ John J Mearsheimer; Stephen M Walt (26 June 2008). The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 175–176. ISBN 978-0-14-192066-5. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2020. Although WINEP plays down its links to Israel and claims that it provides a 'balanced and realistic' perspective on Middle East issues, this is not the case. In fact, WINEP is funded and run by individuals who are deeply committed to advancing Israel's agenda … Many of its personnel are genuine scholars or experienced former officials, but they are hardly neutral observers on most Middle East issues and there is little diversity of views within WINEP's ranks... This situation highlights that the lobby is not a centralized, hierarchical organization with a defined membership... It has a core consisting of organizations whose declared purpose is to encourage the U.S. government and the American public to provide material aid to Israel and to support its government's policies, as well as influential individuals for whom these goals are also a top priority... a lobbyist for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), or the leadership of organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and Christians United for Israel are part of the core.

[washingtoninstitute-1] "Mission & History". washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.

[Ratings-2] "The Washington Institute for Near East Policy" (PDF). Foundation Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.

[nytimes1-3] "Pro-Israeli Group Offers Maps for Palestinian State". The New York Times. 2011-01-22. Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-02-25. It speaks to the paralysis in the Middle East peace process that the most noteworthy development of the past week came when a mild-mannered analyst at a pro-Israel think tank unfurled three color-coded maps. The analyst, David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy

[proisrael-4] Keskin, Tugrul (2018). Middle East Studies after September 11: Neo-Orientalism, American Hegemony and Academia. Studies in Critical Social Sciences. Brill. p. 9. ISBN 978-90-04-35990-1. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-13. written by Martin Kramer in 2003 and published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israeli think tank
Breger, Marshall (2002). Mittleman, Alan; Licht, Robert; Sarna, Jonathan D (eds.). Jews and the American Public Square: Debating Religion and Republic. G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-7425-2124-7. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-13. founded in 1985 as a pro-Israel but not specifically Jewish think tank.
"Israel Captures 2 Palestinians Suspected in Deadly Ax Attack". The New York Times. 2022-05-08. Archived from the original on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2022-08-12. Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based analyst for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank.
Weiss, T.G.; Crahan, M.E.; Goering, J.; Goering, J.M.; Robinson, M. (2004). Wars on Terrorism and Iraq: Human Rights, Unilateralism, and U.S. Foreign Policy. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-70062-7. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-12. as the then newly founded Washington Institute for Near East Policy. This organization, a pro-Israel think tank, was itself a spin-off of AIPAC
Marrar, K. (2008). The Arab Lobby and US Foreign Policy: The Two-State Solution. Routledge Research in American Politics and Governance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-135-97071-0. Archived from the original on 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2022-08-12. Dennis Ross, from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israel think tank closely aligned with AIPAC
Lockman, Zachary (2005). "Critique from the Right: The Neo-conservative Assault on Middle East Studies". CR: The New Centennial Review. 5 (1). Michigan State University Press: 81–82. doi:10.1353/ncr.2005.0034. ISSN 1539-6630. JSTOR 41949468. S2CID 145071422. By contrast, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy ( WINEP), founded in 1985, quickly achieved a much higher profile and much greater influence. Describing itself as "a public educational foundation dedicated to scholarly research and informed debate on U.S. interests in the Middle East,"9 WINEP emerged as the leading pro-Israel think tank in Washington. Its founding director, Martin Indyk, had previously worked at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), founded in 1959 and by the 1970s by far the most well-funded, visible, and effective pro-Israel lobbying organization. Indyk and his colleagues at WINEP worked hard to strengthen Israel's standing in Washington as the key U.S. ally in the Middle East and to ensure that U.S. policy in the region coincided with the policies and strategies of the Israeli government
"The Israeli Lobby". Journal of Palestine Studies. 35 (3). University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies: 92. 2006-04-01. doi:10.1525/jps.2006.35.3.83. During the Clinton administration, Middle Eastern policy was largely shaped by officials with close ties to Israel or to prominent pro-Israel organizations; among them, Martin Indyk, the former deputy director of research at AIPAC and co-founder of the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP)
Mearsheimer, John J.; Walt, Stephen M. (2009). "The Blind Man and the Elephant in the Room: Robert Lieberman and the Israel Lobby". Perspectives on Politics. 7 (2). [American Political Science Association, Cambridge University Press]: 262. doi:10.1017/S1537592709090781. JSTOR 40406929. S2CID 7758818. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13. Similarly, when Martin Indyk - formerly deputy director of research at AIPAC and co-founder of the pro-Israel Washington Institute of Near East Policy - is appointed one of Bill Clinton's key Middle East advisors, it strains credulity to exclude him from the "loose coalition" that "actively works" to promote the "special relationship."
Rynhold, Jonathan (2010). "Is the Pro-Israel Lobby a Block on Reaching a Comprehensive Peace Settlement in the Middle East?". Israel Studies Forum. 25 (1). Berghahn Books: 31. ISSN 1557-2455. JSTOR 41805052. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13. For example, Martin Indyk who had worked for AIPAC and was the head of Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank with close connections to Israel, played an important role in formulating US policy toward the Middle East in the 1990s

[Mitchell2013-5] Thomas G. Mitchell (8 May 2013). Israel/Palestine and the Politics of a Two-State Solution. McFarland. pp. 164–. ISBN 978-0-7864-7597-1. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2020. In 1985 AIPAC's deputy director of Foreign Policy Research, Martin Indyk, a former Australian intelligence official, set up the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as a think tank designed to provide policy output that would influence the executive branch and the media. Indyk created WINEP with AIPAC's blessing and with funding from many AIPAC donors. It was designed to provide more academic-quality and independent research than AIPAC put out. WINEP concentrates on the internal affairs of Middle Eastern countries except for Israel and on the foreign and defense policies of these countries. It also provides Israel-friendly prescriptions for the peace process. WINEP has become a serious player in Washington and a supplier of foreign policy officials for both parties.

[MearsheimerWalt2008-6] John J Mearsheimer; Stephen M Walt (26 June 2008). The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 175–176. ISBN 978-0-14-192066-5. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2020. Although WINEP plays down its links to Israel and claims that it provides a 'balanced and realistic' perspective on Middle East issues, this is not the case. In fact, WINEP is funded and run by individuals who are deeply committed to advancing Israel's agenda … Many of its personnel are genuine scholars or experienced former officials, but they are hardly neutral observers on most Middle East issues and there is little diversity of views within WINEP's ranks... This situation highlights that the lobby is not a centralized, hierarchical organization with a defined membership... It has a core consisting of organizations whose declared purpose is to encourage the U.S. government and the American public to provide material aid to Israel and to support its government's policies, as well as influential individuals for whom these goals are also a top priority... a lobbyist for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), or the leadership of organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and Christians United for Israel are part of the core.

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Formation	1985; 39 years ago (1985)^[1]
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Executive Director	Robert Satloff
Revenue (2016)	$14,112,627^[2]
Expenses (2016)	$13,033,921^[2]
Website	washingtoninstitute.org