Gatestone Institute is a think tank and international policy council that aims to educate the public about human rights and democracy worldwide. Gatestone Institute promotes a free-market economy, individual liberty, a strong military, and energy independence. ¹

Activities

Gatestone Institute does not support the Biden administration’s proposed nuclear deal with Iran. Gatestone Institute claims that Iran is a “sponsor of terrorism” that has spent decades trying to take over the Middle East and that lifting sanctions against Iran will empower the ruling mullahs and militia groups. It further claims that the Biden Administration’s new deal is much weaker than the Obama administration’s 2015 deal with Iran, as it will lift restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program after only two years and would not require Iran to disclose its past nuclear activities. ²

Gatestone Institute author Raymond Ibrahim reports monthly on the persecution of Christians around the world and claims that this persecution is rapidly growing and systematic. In March 2022, Ibrahim reported on alleged abuses inflicted on Christians by Muslims in Iraq, Uganda, Egypt, Germany, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria. Ibrahim claims that in some of these cases there was public support for the murderer(s), that there was the use of killing methods similar to those used by ISIS, and that religious hostility often played a role. ³

Gatestone Institute advocates for free speech and claims that a 2021 memorandum from Attorney General Merrick Garland may infringe upon First Amendment rights. The memo suggested that the Department of Justice could investigate individuals who threaten or intimidate public officials. Gatestone Institute claims that this memo was aimed at right-of-center activist activities like parents protesting the teaching critical race theory and mask mandates, with little concern for protests by left-wing groups like Black Lives Matter. ⁴

Funding

Gatestone Institute is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While Gatestone Institute does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Middle East Forum ($1.1 million in 2013),  ⁵ the Mercer Family Foundation ($200,000 in 2017), ⁶ and Donors Trust ($110,000 in 2019). ⁷

People

Nina Rosenwald is the founder and president of Gatestone Institute. Rosenwald sits on the boards of Human Rights in China, the Middle East Forum, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and the Institute for National Security Studies. Rosenwald is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the board of regents of the Center for Security Policy, and a former member of the national board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. ⁸

Soeren Kern is a distinguished senior fellow at Gatestone Institute and the senior analyst for transatlantic relations at the Madrid-based foreign policy think tank, the Strategic Studies Group. ⁹

Board of Directors

Douglas Murray is a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and the founder of the Centre for Social Cohesion. ¹⁰

Jack Fowler is the director of the Center for Civil Society at American Philanthropic and a contributing editor at National Review. Fowler formerly sat on the boards of the Human Life Foundation and the Frontier Center. ¹¹

Other members of the board include Naomi Perlman, Khaled Abu Toameh, and Joel Zbar. ¹²

1. “About.” Gatestone Institute, 2022. Accessed May 9, 2022. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/about/.
2. Rafizadeh, Majid. “Why Is the Biden Administration Determined to Help Terrorist Iran Get a Bomb?” Gatestone Institute, April 23, 2022. Accessed May 9, 2022. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18452/help-terrorist-iran-bomb.
3. Ibrahim, Raymond. “’This Is Not the Country We Were Enjoying Before’: The Persecution of Christians, March 2022.” Gatestone Institute, April 24, 2022. Accessed May 9, 2022. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18464/persecution-of-christians-march
4. Dershowitz, Alan M. “Garland Memo on Parent Protests May Chill Free Speech.” Gatestone Institute, October 12, 2021. Accessed May 9, 2022. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17857/garland-memo-parent-protests.
5. Middle East Forum, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2013, Schedule I, Part II.
6. Mercer Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV, Line 3a.
7.  Donors Trust, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
8. “Nina Rosenwald.” Gatestone Institute, 2022. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/biography/Nina+Rosenwald.
9. “Soeren Kern.” Gatestone Institute, 2022. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/biography/Soeren+Kern.
10. “Douglas Murray.” National Review. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.nationalreview.com/author/douglas-murray/.
11. “Jack Fowler.” American Philanthropic. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.americanphilanthropic.com/jack-fowler/.
12. Gatestone Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.