About the Saban Center
In May 2002, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy was launched with a special address by His Majesty King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to a select audience of policymakers in Washington, D.C. With the addition of the Saban Center, the Brookings Institution has rapidly become one of the most dynamic centers for research and analysis of U.S. policy in the Middle East. It was founded with the help of prominent Los Angeles businessman Haim Saban, who made a generous initial grant and pledged additional funds to endow the Center.
"As someone who has an abiding interest in promoting Arab-Israeli peace and preserving American interests in the Middle East, I am delighted to have an opportunity to help expand the work of the Brookings Institution in these areas," Mr. Saban said. "The Brookings Institution's credibility and reputation for rigorous, policy-relevant scholarship makes it the ideal institution to house this vital work."
Under the leadership of director Tamara Cofman Wittes, the Saban Center fosters research and discussion on some of the most crucial problems facing the United States today. The Saban Center draws on a diverse staff with expertise in such issues as regime change and nation building in Iraq, Palestinian-Israeli peace, and U.S. Relations with the Islamic World. As an integral part of the Foreign Policy Studies program, the Center provides a forum for all Brookings scholars engaged in Middle East-related research.
Saban Center Experts and Staff
Director: Tamara Cofman Wittes
Director of Research: Daniel L. Byman
Senior Fellows: Michael Doran, Martin Indyk, Suzanne Maloney, Kenneth Pollack, Bruce Riedel
Fellow: Natan Sachs
Fellow and Director, Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World: Stephen R. Grand
Fellow and Director, Brookings Doha Center: Salman Shaikh
Fellow and Deputy Director, Brookings Doha Center: Ibrahim Sharqieh
Fellow and Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center: Shadi Hamid
Fellows: Khaled Elgindy, Natan Sachs
Nonresident Senior Fellow: Shibley Telhami
Deputy Director, Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World: Durriya Badani
Assistant Director of Publications:
Research Analyst: Irena Sargsyan
Senior Research Assistant: Zack Gold
Research Assistants: Lauren Mellinger, Jomana Qaddour
Center Manager: Christal Shrader
Programs Manager: Marshall Lilly
Budget Coordinator: Rangano Makamure
Development Officer: Sadie Jonath
Project Coordinator, Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World: Julie Song
Affiliated Scholars:
Michael E. O'Hanlon, Research Director and Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Sidney Stein, Jr. Chair
Former Visiting Fellows:
M.J. Akbar, founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Asian Age, India
Khalil Al-anani, Deputy Editor of Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya Journal, published in Cairo, Egypt
M. Syafi’i Anwar, Executive Director of the International Center for Islam and Pluralism, Indonesia
Amatzia Baram, professor of history, University of Haifa, Israel
Nahum Barnea, senior political columnist, Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel
Avi Dicter, former head of Shin Bet, Israel
Sameer Jarrah, chairman, Arab World Center for Democracy Development & Human Rights, Jordan
Peter Khalil, former Director of National Security Policy for the Coalition Provisional Authority, Iraq and Asst. Director of Iraq Policy in the Iraq Task Force at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Yosef Kupperwasser, former Head, Research Department, Israeli Defense Force's Directorate of Military Intelligence
Abdel Monem Said Aly, director, al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Egypt
Sever Plocker, journalist and chief economics editor, Yedioth Aharonoth, Israel
Itamar Rabinovich, Ettinger Chair of Contemporary Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University
Hadi Semati, professor of law and political science, University of Tehran, Iran
Khalil Shikaki, director, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, West Bank
Robin Wright, diplomatic correspondent, The Washington Post
Shlomo Yanai, president and CEO, Makhteshim-Agan Industries; former head of military planning, Israel Defense Forces
Former Visiting Fellows, Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World:
Najmeh Bozorgmehr, journalist, Financial Times, Iran
Ezzat I.M. Ibrahim, journalist, Al-Ahram newspaper, Egypt
Muqtedar Khan, assistant professor and director of international studies, Adrian College
Ömer Taspinar, Brookings research fellow and co-director, Brookings Project on Turkey