Gerald M. Steinberg
Gerald M. Steinberg is an Israeli-born political scientist, academic, and founder and president of the research organization NGO Monitor. He is an emeritus professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University, and a frequent commentator on Middle East affairs, the politics of human rights, and the role of NGOs in international relations.[1]
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Early life and education
Steinberg was born in London, United Kingdom, and later moved to the United States. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in physics at the University of California, San Diego. He completed his doctorate in government at Cornell University in 1981 and subsequently joined the faculty at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.[2]
Academic and professional career
Steinberg taught political science at Bar-Ilan University, where he founded the Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation. His research has included Middle East diplomacy and security, international law, and the influence of advocacy groups and international organizations.[3]
He has served as a consultant to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli National Security Council, and as a legislative adviser to members of the Knesset.[4]
NGO Monitor
In 2001, Steinberg founded **NGO Monitor**, an organization based in Jerusalem that provides research, analysis, and reporting on the activities of non-governmental organizations engaged in public policy debates regarding Israel and the Middle East. The organization describes its mission as promoting accountability and informed discussion of NGOs that claim to advance human rights and humanitarian agendas.[5]
NGO Monitor is widely cited in conservative media as an authoritative source analysing what it characterizes as the politicization of human-rights discourse by certain NGOs. For example, in coverage of human rights group responses to allegations of genocide and other criticisms of Israel, NGO Monitor’s president criticized a Human Rights Watch report as “genocide inversion” and “hate propaganda targeting Israel.”[6]
Steinberg’s own commentary also appears regularly in mainstream media. In a 2025 Jerusalem Post opinion piece, he discussed what he described as longstanding international campaigns against Israel that misuse human-rights terminology to delegitimize the Jewish state.[7]
Views and commentary
Steinberg is a frequent commentator on issues such as boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns and international human rights reporting. His writings and interviews argue that many international NGOs and media organisations display political bias against Israel and fail to adequately contextualize actions by Islamist militant groups. In a 2025 interview, he characterized various NGOs’ influence as biased against Israel and said human-rights rhetoric is often misused. [8]
Steinberg’s analyses have been published in outlets including *The Jerusalem Post*, where he has commented frequently on human rights, NGOs, and international reporting. [9]
Selected publications
- Steinberg, Gerald M. (2019). Menachem Begin and the Israel-Egypt Peace Process: Between Ideology and Political Realism. Indiana University Press.
- Various opinion columns and analyses on NGOs and international law.
References
- ↑ Documenting the enablers of Hamas war crimes: UN agencies, NGOs, governments. Jewish News Syndicate (1 February 2024).
- ↑ Documenting the enablers of Hamas war crimes: UN agencies, NGOs, governments. Jewish News Syndicate (1 February 2024).
- ↑ ‘There Is No Palestinian Civil Society,’ Gerald Steinberg. Jewish News Syndicate (2 November 2021).
- ↑ ‘There Is No Palestinian Civil Society,’ Gerald Steinberg. Jewish News Syndicate (2 November 2021).
- ↑ Documenting the enablers of Hamas war crimes: UN agencies, NGOs, governments. Jewish News Syndicate (1 February 2024).
- ↑ NGO Monitor criticizes HRW report accusing Israel of genocide. The Jerusalem Post (19 December 2024).
- ↑ 50 years of Zionist demonization: From the Kremlin to Human Rights Watch. The Jerusalem Post (18 November 2025).
- ↑ ‘There Is No Palestinian Civil Society,’ Gerald Steinberg. Jewish News Syndicate (2 November 2021).
- ↑ 50 years of Zionist demonization: From the Kremlin to Human Rights Watch. The Jerusalem Post (18 November 2025).
