Endowment for Middle East Truth

Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) is a Washington, DC-based registered 501(c)3 organization with an unabashedly pro-American and pro-Israel stance. EMET, which means truth in Hebrew, challenges the rampant falsehoods and misrepresentations that abound in US Middle East policy circles.

History

EMET was founded in 2005, and has worked since then with Senators and Members of Congress to provide policy makers with fact-based information and analysis not bound by popularity or political correctness.

The organization holds seminars on topics related to the Middle East and the Arab–Israeli Conflict In 2008, these seminars were sponsored by the Adelson Family Foundation under the title "Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Policy Seminar Series".

At their annual "Rays of Light in the Darkness Dinner," the organization awards "Speaker of Truth Awards" to U.S. Representatives and Senators, Middle East policy experts and "those from the Arab and Muslim world who speak out against radical Islam."

Among EMET's honorees are:

• Sen.Sam Brownback
• Rep. Doug Lamborn
• Rep. Brad Sherman
• Mosab Hassan Yousef
• Amil Imani
• Sen. Joseph Lieberman
• Sen. Jon Kyl
• Dr. Walid Phares
• Dr. Tawfik Hamid
• James Woolsey
• Wafa Sultan
• Farid Ghadry
• Zeyno Baran
• Cal Thomas

EMET conducted a short campaign to prevent Mosab Hassan Yousef, a former Israeli spy and author of Son of Hamas from being deported from the United States. Mosab publicly thanked the organization following his immigration hearing saying,"I am especially grateful to Sarah Stern, president of the Endowment for Middle Eastern Truth. Today’s blessings would not have happened without her and this amazing organization." In response to the decision, the organization released a statement, saying that it was,"enormously grateful to all those who played a part in standing with Mosab during this time, and helping the Department of Homeland Security come to understand what a grave error deporting Mosab would have been."

EMET was the first organization to confront the failure of the Department of Justice to investigate, indict and extradite Palestinian terrorists who have slain or injured American citizens, despite federal laws which demand such efforts. According to The Jerusalem Post, EMET was responsible for initiating a bipartisan congressional letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on the subject of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice for Victims Justice for Overseas Terrorism, accusing the office of failing to serve American citizens in Israel who were victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks. The letter was sponsored by Democratic Congressman Howard Berman and Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, and 52 co-sponsors, who joined in demanding the Attorney General pursue indictments against Palestinian terrorists released by Israel in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. In response to the letter, EMET President Stern was reported as saying, “The failure of the Department of Justice, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, to meet its obligations to pursue justice for terror victims is deeply troubling, and we’re hopefully that this letter, and future congressional oversight on this issue will provide the impetus necessary for the Justice Department to do the right thing.”

U.S. Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty over the Golan Heights

EMET was the only organization on Capitol Hill that consistently fought for the United States to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. In 2019, EMET spearheaded the campaign to gain U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.  EMET met with congressional offices and senior figures in the Trump Administration, hosted a seminar on Capitol Hill, and inspired a Congressional letter from Rep. Doug Lamborn to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the issue. EMET has also written numerous articles on the topic, and has been interviewed on the subject, including by i24 News.  On March 21, 2019, President Trump tweeted what EMET has been stating on Capitol Hill: "After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s (s)overeignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!"

U.S. Withdrawal from the Iran Deal

With the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), the Iranian regime only became more aggressive in the Middle East and against the United States. Iran has dramatically increased its money and troops sent to Syria to help the dictator Assad steady his regime.  Iran has sent more funding and arms - the latter a violation of the UN resolution incorporating the Iran deal - to build up its Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and most especially, Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has repeatedly threatened the U.S. and its neighbors, especially Israel and Saudi Arabia.  Iran has conducted multiple ballistic missile tests and refused to allow any inspections of its military sites, exceeded the limits on advanced centrifuge research and development, and produced excessive heavy water multiple times for profit, all violations of the Iran deal.  In response to the Iran deal, EMET went to the Hill to educate offices about Iranian misbehavior and violations of the deal, meeting with over one hundred separate offices.  Starting in 2017, EMET also met with new members of the Trump administration to discuss this subject.  In May of 2018, President Trump finally removed the U.S. from the Iran deal, and announced that the U.S. was re-imposing sanctions.

U.S. Indictment and Demand for the Extradition of Palestinian Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi

Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, when the Palestinian Authority (PA) agreed to fight terrorism, 71 innocent Americans, plus two unborn children, have been murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Israel or the disputed territories.  Since 2005, there has been an office within the DOJ – the Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (OVT) – to pressure the DOJ to prosecute such terrorists.  EMET’s Sarah Stern was instrumental in the initial creation of the OVT.  EMET has worked with a bipartisan group of House members, and Senators, to produce numerous letters to the DOJ, demanding prosecutions of these terrorists, and also assisted in finding co-sponsors for these letters.  On November 4, 2015, a Senate Subcommittee led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) held an oversight hearing, primarily focusing on Iranian funded Palestinian terrorism and civil lawsuits.  In 2016, EMET prompted another hearing by Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), the Subcommittee Chairman for the National Security Subcommittee of Oversight and Government Reform, focusing on criminal prosecutions and the OVT.  In March of 2017, EMET staff briefed a National Security Council Staffer of the Trump administration regarding the problem.  Specifically, EMET discussed Palestinian terrorist Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi.  Tamimi planned and implemented the suicide bombing attack at the Sbarro Pizzeria in Jerusalem on Aug. 9, 2001, that killed 15 people, and injured 122 others.  Among the American victims of this terrorist act: Judith Greenbaum, a pregnant woman, and Malka Roth, a fifteen-year-old child, both of whom were killed, and four Americans, including Joanne Nachenberg, who were injured.  In late 2011, Tamimi was released from prison by Israel as part of the trade of over one thousand Palestinian terrorists for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was being held by Hamas.  She was given monetary rewards by both the PA and Hamas.  She then moved to Jordan, where she hosted her own television show for Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds TV station. In numerous recordings, Tamimi has voiced her pleasure regarding the number of Jewish children killed by her terrorism, many of which may be found on YouTube.  On March 14, 2017, soon after EMET’s briefing of the Trump administration regarding Tamimi, the DOJ’s criminal complaint was unsealed, charging Tamimi with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against U.S. nationals outside the U.S., resulting in death.  The Administration also made a warrant for Tamimi’s arrest and an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and arrest warrant. As of April 2020, Jordan has refused to extradite Tamimi.

Passage of the Taylor Force Act

EMET was heavily involved in the successful fight to pass the Taylor Force Act. The bill is named for late U.S. Army officer Taylor Force, an American citizen who served tours of duty in Iraq and in Afghanistan unscathed, only to be stabbed to death in Israel in 2016 by a Palestinian terrorist.  Although Force’s murderer was killed, the PA gave a monetary reward to the killer’s family. While in prison, these terrorists and/or their families are paid salaries and receive benefits as rewards for their service.  In the House, EMET worked closely with sponsor U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) to find over a hundred co-sponsors for the bill.  In the Senate, EMET spearheaded a letter signed by 13 pro-Israel organizations, representing 4.1 million Americans, to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urging him to bring the Taylor Force Act to the floor for a vote.  EMET also held a Capitol Hill Seminar, in coordination with Shurat HaDin, featuring Stuart Force, the father of Taylor Force, and Israeli activist attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner.  The Taylor Force bill passed in March of 2018, and was signed into law by President Donald Trump.  Stuart Force, the father of Taylor Force, has praised EMET for its hard work and assistance in passing the legislation.

Removal of Turkey from the F-35 Jet Program

Due to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s gradual shift away from Western values and its NATO allies including United States, EMET strongly emphasizes that Israel must maintain a qualitative strategic edge over its regional neighbors, especially those that threaten the only democracy in the Middle East.  Erdogan has threatened Israel, U.S. troops in Syria, U.S. allies, the Kurdish-led SDF, NATO ally Greece, and EU member Cyprus. EMET staff has worked tirelessly on the Hill, with both Democrats and Republicans and both House and Senate, to halt the sale of 116 F-35 jets to Turkey.  EMET also published a multitude of columns on the issue, and organized a panel discussion on the Hill as well as two seminars on the dangers of Turkey under the authoritarian rule of President Erdogan.  During the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, both Houses of Congress included language to prohibit Turkey from taking possession of the fighter jets unless the Defense Department and the State Department both vouched for Turkey.  EMET remains active on the Hill to educate lawmakers and congressional staff.  

U.S. Combatting Anti-Semitism on Campus & BDS

In December 2016, the Senate passed the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, introduced by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Bob Casey (D-PA) by unanimous consent.  The Act would provide the Education Department the necessary statutory tools at their disposal to investigate anti-Semitic incidents.  The Act would codify the definition of anti-Semitism as the one adopted by the U.S. State Department, which is the same definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remember Alliance, and includes examples of the ways in which anti-Semitism manifests itself in with regards to Israel, including demonizing Israel, delegitimizing Israel, and applying double standards to Israel.  The Act also directs the ED to use this definition of anti-Semitism when determining if incidents of harassment or discrimination that are potentially in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act were motivated by anti-Semitism.   Unfortunately, the Act was held up in the House by then Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte, who erroneously interpreted it as an assault on free speech.  EMET has met with offices in both the House and Senate, expressing the critical need for this legislation to be reintroduced this Congress to protect our Jewish students who are on the front lines of anti-Semitism.  In March 2019, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) reintroduced the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act.  President Trump signed an executive order in December of 2019 to include discrimination against Jews as a violation of law in certain cases, with an eye toward fighting anti-Semitism on college campuses. The order interprets Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- which "prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance" -- as protecting from anti-Semitism. The Department of Education can withhold federal funding from any college or educational program that violates Title VI, according to the Civil Rights Act.

U.S. Defunding of UNRWA

UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, was established in 1949 for approximately 700,000 refugees, and is the only UN refugee agency for a specific refugee group.  The United States was long the biggest single donor to UNRWA, donating more than $350 million to the agency in 2017.  Since its inception, EMET has diligently educated offices about how UNRWA has contributed to the spread of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda. EMET has worked with congressional offices to help them with bills that target anti-Semitic curricula in UNRWA schools.  In August of 2018, the Trump administration ceased its funding of UNRWA, with the U.S. State Department, describing the body as "irredeemably flawed."

Withhold U.S. Aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces

In the 2019 Lebanese elections, Hezbollah filled two ministerial portfolios in the Lebanese government, including the Ministry of Health, one of the largest budgeted ministries in the country. There has also been evidence of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) closely cooperating with Hezbollah. EMET opposes U.S funding of the LAF until such time as Hezbollah is purged from its ranks.

Rights of U.S. Victims of Terrorism around the World

EMET educates Congress on the U.S. victims if terrorism and urges American legislatures to take action against those terrorists and their organizations who seek to harm Americans around the world. EMET has been on the forefront of this campaign and will continue to fight for the rights of American victims of terrorism and violence around the world.

Publications

Saudi Arabia: The Global Islamic Terrorist Network: America and the West's Fatal Embrace was published by Palgrave Macmillan on November 8, 2011. In promoting the book, Stern appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network accusing the United States of an addiction to foreign oil, and Saudi Arabia of fomenting antisemitism and anti-Americanism through the funding of mosques in the United States.

Board

Past and present Advisory Board members include Sarah Stern, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Yoram Ettinger, Lenny Ben-David, Daniel Pipes, Meyrav Wurmser, David Wurmser, Frank Gaffney, James Woolsey, Caroline Glick and Larry Greenfield.