After making waves with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation is stepping into the Middle East peace making business.
On Thursday, the influential conservative think tank shared with Axios that it is acquiring the Abraham Accords Peace Institute, an organization Jared Kushner established after negotiating the historic 2020 peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Under Kushner’s guidance, AAPI has worked to solidify and expand the peace agreements. The institute promotes trade, tourism, and investment between Israel and its Arab partners while documenting the economic benefits of normalization. It connects government officials and business leaders across the region to identify collaborative opportunities, serving as both a think tank and facilitation hub.
Robert Greenway, who helped craft the original accords while at the National Security Council, will chair the merger. Meanwhile, AAPI’s outgoing CEO Aryeh Lightstone is heading to the White House to work with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, signaling the administration’s commitment to building on the accords.
“With the Trump administration’s focus on expanding the Abraham Accords, the mission of the institute will move to its proper home — the administration,” Lightstone tells Axios.
Victoria Coates, a Heritage Foundation vice president, expressed enthusiasm about working with Kushner’s team on “new opportunities to support peace initiatives in the Middle East.”
With the full weight of both the Heritage Foundation and the Trump administration now behind them, AAPI projections suggest the Abraham Accords could eventually generate up to $1 trillion in economic activity across the Middle East as more Arab countries join to recognize diplomatic relations with Israel.
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