Key Facts
Key Information
About
The Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics is a program housed within The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (TWI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to promoting realistic U.S. policies securing American interests in the Middle East. Named after philanthropists Linda and Tony Rubin, longtime TWI supporters committed to pro-Israel causes including Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the program focuses on Arab governance and politics, with an emphasis on social, political, and economic developments in the Arab world, particularly the Levant region including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and others. It assembles TWI scholars, external experts, and visiting fellows to investigate understudied issues vital to U.S. policymakers, such as relations between Islamist parties and governments, political effects of food subsidy programs, local election outcomes, and Western engagement with Islamist groups and rogue regimes. The program produces policy analyses, op-eds, and reports on topics like Hezbollah-Israel tensions, Syrian governance, Gaza crises, Sudanese and Iraqi elections, and broader regional trends. Key personnel include David Schenker, Taube Senior Fellow and director; Andrew J. Tabler, Martin J. Gross Senior Fellow specializing in Syria, the Levant, and U.S. Middle East policy; Ghaith al-Omari; and Hanin Ghaddar, Friedmann Senior Fellow focusing on Shia politics in the Levant. Previously, Schenker directed the related Beth and David Geduld Program on Arab Politics at TWI from 2006 to 2019. The program operates from TWI's offices at 1111 19th Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036, with contact telephone 202-452-0650 and fax 202-223-5364.