Robert B. Satloff is an American historian on Arab and Islamic politics, U.S.-Israel relations, and the Middle East. Since January 1993, he has been the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). Satloff is also a member of the board of editors of the

Middle East Quarterly The Middle East Forum (MEF) is an American conservative 501(c)(3) think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who now serves as its chairman. Gregg Roman serves as director of the forum. MEF became an independent non-profit organization in 19 ...

, a publication of the Middle East Forum.

Early life

Satloff is from Providence, Rhode Island. He holds a BA from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, a MA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and a PhD from St. Antony's College, Oxford.

Writing career

Satloff has authored or edited nine books. His writing has appeared in newspapers such as the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. In 2006, Satloff wrote ''Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands'', which asserted that some

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

rescued potential victims of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

as well as those who collaborated in those programs. He claimed that no Arab had been honored saving Jews during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and explored reasons why. Norman Stillman described the book as a "well-balanced assessment" of the experience of

Moroccan Jews Moroccan Jews (; ; ) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman Empire, Roman times. Jews began immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. They were much later met by a second wave o ...

during World War II. It was also reviewed by the Jewish Book Council. In 2010, American broadcaster PBS released "Among the Righteous," a documentary based on Satloff's book. Satloff has also provided commentary for news programs and talk shows, as well as

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. Satloff hosts a program on an Arab satellite channel: he is the creator and host of ''Dakhil Washington'' (Inside Washington), a weekly news and interview program on

al-Hurra Al-hurra or al hurra () was an Arabic title historically often given to, or used to refer to, women who exercised power or had a position of power or high status. In a harem, the title al-hurra was often used to refer to a legal wife of aristocr ...

, the U.S. government-sponsored Arabic

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

channel.

Personal life

Satloff lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife, Jennie Litvack, an economist and horn player, and three sons, Benjamin, William and David. He is Jewish.

Reception

Satloff has been described as "a longtime expert on Arab and Islamic politics". In 2023, the '' Washingtonian'' magazine named him one of the 500 most influential people in Washington, D.C.

Publications

Books

* ''Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands'' (PublicAffairs, 2006). *''The Battle of Ideas in the War on Terror: Essays on U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East'' (The Washington Institute, 2004). * ''U.S. Policy toward Islamism'' (Council on Foreign Relations, 2000) * ''From Abdullah to Hussein: Jordan in Transition'' (Oxford University Press, 1994) * ''Troubles on the East Bank: Challenges to the Domestic Stability of Jordan'' (Praeger, 1986)

Articles and interviews

Interviews with historian Robert Satloff

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

from WHYY-FM, December 14, 2006.
Hip, Hip, Al Hurra! Explaining America to the Arabs — with no help from the State Department.
by Robert Satloff ( Weekly Standard) November 6, 2006, Volume 012, Issue 08
''Voices on Antisemitism'' Interview with Robert Satloff
from th
United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumA 'Righteous' Honor for an Arab Who Saved Jews
NPR ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...

'', April 19, 2007

References

External links

Official web page at Washington Institute
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Satloff, Robert Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American historians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford American male non-fiction writers American Zionists Duke University alumni Harvard University alumni Islam and Judaism Jewish American historians Jewish American non-fiction writers The Washington Institute for Near East Policy