The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank and registered lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C., United States.
FDD publishes research on foreign policy and security issues, focusing on subjects such as nuclear-non proliferation, cyber threats, sanctions, illicit finance, and policy surrounding North Korea, Iran, Russia, the war in Afghanistan, and other areas of study.
History and mission
FDD was founded shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001. In the initial documents filed for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, FDD's stated mission was to "provide education to enhance Israel's image in North America and the public's understanding of issues affecting Israeli-Arab relations". Later documents described its mission as "to conduct research and provide education on international terrorism and related issues".
On its website, FDD describes itself as "a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy" that "conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries and enemies of the United States and other free nations."
FDD has been identified as part of the Israel lobby in the United States by several scholarly sources. Sima Vaknin-Gil, director general of Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs, had stated that the FDD works in conjunction with the Israeli government including the ministry. Later documents described the mission as "to conduct research and provide education on international terrorism and related issues".
On 15 November 2019, FDD officially registered as a lobby under Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
Funding
According to former U.S. ambassador Dennis Jett, FDD "offers hardly any information on where its money comes from and where it goes".
2001–2004
In 2011, news website ThinkProgress published FDD's Form 990 documents that revealed the source of FDD's funds between 2001 and 2004. Top donors included: Roland Arnall: $1,802,000 Edgar M. and Charles Bronfman: $1,050,000 Michael Steinhardt: $850,000 Abramson Family Foundation (of Leonard Abramson): $822,523 Bernard Marcus: $600,000 Lewis Ranieri: $350,000 Other notable donors: Haim Saban Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi Douglas J. Feith
2008–2011
FDD's Schedule A documents filed by the end of the 2011 tax year, indicates that the organization from 2008 to 2011 was funded more than $20,000,000, and the top three donors were: Bernard Marcus: $10,745,000 Paul Singer: $3,600,000 Sheldon Adelson: $1,510,059
2017
In 2018, AP reported that the United Arab Emirates has wired $2,500,000 to the FDD through Elliott Broidy and George Nader, to host a conference amidst Qatar diplomatic crisis about the country's role as a state-sponsor of terrorism. FDD stated that it does not accept money from foreign governments, adding that "[a]s is our funding policy, we asked if his funding was connected to any foreign governments or if he had business contracts in the Gulf. He assured us that he did not".
Adam Hanieh states that the FDD high-profile conference of 23 May 2017 was in line with UAE's policy at the time, which officially alleged that Qatar finances Islamist groups, adding that emails leaked shortly after show that UAE's Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba had a "cosy relationship" with the FDD, and had reviewed the remarks made by Robert Gates at the convention. Qatar appeared to be in compliance with the terms of the agreement for countering terrorism and not supporting extremists from its territory according to the report published by The Washington Post in February 2021. According to documents obtained by Al Arabiya published on July 10, 2017, Qatar had agreed to stop providing support to the Muslim Brotherhood, expelled non-citizen Brothers from Qatar, and would not shelter any persons from GCC countries to avoid undermining relations with the Gulf.
Others
Additionally, it is known that as of 2016, FDD has received donations from the following institutions:
