Institute for Middle East Understanding is a 501 pro-Palestinian non-profit organisation, not aligned to any political or government organisation. It was founded by Americans and describes its mission as entailing working "with journalists to increase the public's understanding about the socio-economic, political and cultural aspects of Palestine, Palestinians and Palestinian Americans." The Institute for Middle East Understanding is an independent non-profit organization that provides journalists with quick access to information about Palestine and the Palestinians, as well as expert sources, both in the United States and in the Middle East. Both through its website and its staff, the IMEU works with journalists to increase the public's understanding about the socio-economic, political and cultural aspects of Palestine, Palestinians and Palestinian Americans. The IMEU assists journalists who are working on stories about Palestine or the Palestinians by:
Providing access to the latest news stories, expert analysis, photographs and other visuals
Maintaining an updated panel of credible experts and analysts who can comment publicly on the news, life and culture of Palestinians and Palestinian Americans.
Putting journalists in contact with Palestinian women and men from all walks of life - including artists, poets, businesspeople, medical professionals, policymakers and more - who are willing to be interviewed.
Compiling an extensive library of images, maps, studies, reports and polls relating to Palestine and the Palestinians
Providing a comprehensive set of answers to the most commonly asked questions about Palestine and the Palestinians
Supplying links to websites and other online materials that offer journalists a wide range of information on the Palestinian experience. The IMEU provides these links as a service to journalists but it does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions of the various sources.
The IMEU was founded in 2005 by a group of concerned Americans who want to foster an increased understanding among Americans about Palestine and the Palestinians. The IMEU is an independent organization and is not affiliated with any government or political party. It is funded through individual donations and foundations. In 2006 it received a grant from the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development which was used to undertake the first compilation of profiles of prominent Palestinian-Americans in the fields of the arts, literature, academia, business and community service, which were then disseminated to news media and on the Internet As an example, the IMEU sent a letter to news outlets in November 2007 that provided the names and profiles of Palestinian-Americans who could be contacted to discuss the upcoming Annapolis conference. The names included, Samar Assad, Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development, Diana Buttu, a Ramallah-based attorney and former advisor to Palestinian negotiators, Omar Dajani, a San Francisco-based law professor and former legal advisor to United NationsSpecial EnvoyTerje Roed-Larson and Nadia Hijab, a Senior Fellow at the Washington, DC-based Institute for Palestine Studies. One of the organization's co-founders is Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, who is also a member of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination CommitteeSeattle chapter. As Secretary and Treasurer of the IMEU, she and the organization were featured in the Non-Profit Spotlight of the e-magazine The Mideast Connect. The IMEU also publishes 'Letters from Palestine', which are cited as a good resource for first-hand testimonies from Palestinians about their daily lives by Deborah Pike in the Borderlands journal.
