Steve J. Rosen (born 1943) is an American foreign policy expert and prominent pro-Israel advocate. Raised in Chicago, Illinois, he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1965, a master's degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 1967, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago in 1971. He began his career as a political scientist at the RAND Corporation from 1972 to 1982, conducting research on international security and Middle East policy. From 1982 to 2005, Rosen served as the director of foreign policy research and a senior lobbyist for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), where he co-led efforts on Middle East issues, particularly regarding Iran, and played a key role in shaping U.S. policy toward Israel through high-level advocacy, briefings, lobbying, and congressional outreach on topics including arms sales and counterterrorism.

In 1985, Rosen co-founded and is credited with conceiving the idea for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), serving as its research director until 2005 and establishing it as a leading centrist think tank on Middle East policy and American interests in the region. He also founded the Middle East Forum in 1990, a conservative think tank focused on Middle East policy, and has served as its director of research since 2010.

Rosen became a central figure in a major 2004–2005 espionage scandal when, along with former AIPAC colleague Keith Weissman, he was indicted under the Espionage Act in 2005 on charges of conspiring to communicate classified national defense information to unauthorized persons, allegedly on behalf of Israel. The charges stemmed from their receipt of sensitive Pentagon documents from analyst Larry Franklin. This high-profile case highlighted tensions in U.S.-Israel relations and raised concerns regarding lobbying and intelligence sharing. After prolonged legal battles, including a landmark court ruling on the Espionage Act’s application to lobbyists, the charges against Rosen were dropped in 2009. Rosen denied any wrongdoing and resumed his advocacy work, continuing to focus on U.S.-Israel relations and countering Islamist influences.

He is currently a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. Throughout his career, Rosen has been a key figure in neoconservative and pro-Israel networks, forging ties with policymakers, academics, and donors. He has authored numerous articles and books, including The Limits of Power: The Political Economy of Nuclear Weapons (1978), and remains a vocal critic of U.S. policies perceived as detrimental to Israel’s security. His career has been marked by expertise in foreign policy but has also attracted criticism over alleged undue influence in pro-Israel advocacy, including undisclosed ties to AIPAC.