Philos Project

Philos Project promotes positive Christian engagement in the region by training policy professionals and advocating in the spirit of what the organization calls the “Hebraic Tradition,” wants Christians to be embraced as equal members of society in the Near East, and supports a variation of the “two-state solution” to Israeli-Palestinian conflicts in Israel. ^{2 3}

The Charles Malik Institute is an initiative of the Philos Project. ^{4 5}

History and Leadership

Philos Project was founded in 2014 and granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service in 2015. ^{6 7}

Robert Nicholson is the president and founder of Philos Project. Nichols is also a co-founder of Passages Israel and an advisory board member of In Defense of Christians. ⁸

Philos Project is headquartered in New York City and has regional chapters in Washington, D.C. ^{9 10} and Atlanta, Georgia. ¹¹

Activities and Funding

Philos Project works to train Christian leaders in the Near East and promote Christian engagement in the region, ¹ so that policymakers can understand and better engage with Middle East-related policy issues. ² Philos Project seeks to promote positive Christian engagement in the Middle East by training young policy professionals, building community, and advocating in the spirit of what it calls the “Hebraic Tradition.” ³

The Philos Project wants Christians to be embraced as equal members of society in the Near East. ² The organization also believes Near East Christians deserve unique protections to preserve their language, culture, and traditions. Philos Project CEO Robert Nicholson has recognized Christian communities as integral to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and identified Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan as other areas that are a particular interest to the organization. ³

Philos Project believes Israel is a legitimate expression of Jewish nationhood and seeks to build lasting friendships with Muslims who also seek pluralism in the region. Philos Project supports a variation of the two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflicts that includes Jewish security and self-determination and Palestinian security and self-determination in the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. ²

In June 2022, Philos Action League joined with Pathways for Peace, Combat Antisemitism Movement, and the Anti-Defamation League to protest the Presbyterian Church USA for calling Israeli laws, policies, and practices “apartheid” against Palestinians. Philos Project also wrote a letter to PCUSA on the topic that was signed by the Israel Center for Jewish Christian Relations, Pastors Wives of America, Passages, the National Hispanic Pastors Alliance (NAHPA), Faith Wins, Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, and other groups. ^{12 13}

Charles Malik Institute is an initiative of the Philos Project. ^{14 5} Philos Project is also partnered with Passages Israel and the Center for Hebraic Thought at King’s College in New York City. ¹⁵

Projects

Philos Project operates the Philos Action League, a membership organization of Christians who commit to attend protests and other events with Jews to oppose antisemitism. ¹⁶ The organization also operates Philos Black, which aims to identify and build the next generation of African-American Christian leaders; ¹⁷ Abraham’s Missing Child Initiative, which finds ways to strengthen native Christian communities in the Near East; ¹⁸ the Pathfinder Leadership Program, a four-month-long Philos Leadership Institute apprentice program; and the Philos Fellowship Program. ¹⁹

Grantmaking

The Philos Project also distributes grants to groups and organizations with similar Middle East and Near East interests. In 2019, Philos distributed $144,000 to King’s College to educate students in Hebraic thought and $100,000 to the Institute on Religion and Democracy. ²⁰

In 2018, Philos Project distributed grants of $252,000 to the Institute on Religion and Democracy and $74,089 to Passages America Israel. ²¹ Philos Project distributed $3,726,000 to Passages America Israel Inc; $250,000 to the Institute on Religion and Democracy; $200,000 to the Foundation Stone Institute; $100,000 to Latino Coalition for Israel; $100,000 to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; and $12,542 to Iraqi Christian Relief Council in 2017. ²²

In 2016, Philos Project distributed $1,761,0000 to the Museum of the Bible; $250,000 to the Institute on Religion and Democracy; $200,000 to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; and $25,000 to In Defense of Christians. ²³

Funding

Philos Project receives funding from grants and individual donations. ²⁴

In 2020, Philos Project reported revenue of $9,406,815 and expenses of $4,345,243. ²⁵ In 2019, Philos Project reported revenue of $5,646,933 and expenses of $5,958,625. ²⁰

In 2020, the Philos Project received $3,511,000 from the National Philanthropic Trust; $115,000 from The Snider Foundation; and $100,000 from the Helen Diller Family Foundation. ²⁶ In 2019, the Philos Project received $20,000 from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. ²⁷

Philos Project received $26,000 from the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles; ²⁸ $26,000 from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston in 2018; ²⁹ and $5,150 from the Fuller Foundation in 2018. ³⁰

Philos Project also received $150,000 from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston in 2017 ³¹ and $100,000 grants from The Helen Diller Family Foundation in 2015 ³² and 2016. ³³