Binaifer Nowrojee

President of @OpenSociety. Pursuing philanthropy grounded in critical thinking, local knowledge, and risk-taking, to advance human rights, equity, and justice.

[Open Society Foundations @OpenSociety]

Recent events, including the fatal shooting at a mosque in San Diego and stabbings targeting the Jewish community in London, show how the demonization of faith communities can deepen divisions in society and lead to terrible violence.

Muslim and Jewish communities are often pitted against each other. Similarly, antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate are often countered separately.

As Open Society President Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF writes in @guardian, these hatreds cannot be defeated apart. That’s why we recently announced a $30 million initiative to counter both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate and keep communities safe across faiths.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

Antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate have flared across the west, with each rising to record levels.

But, as I write in the @guardian, these two hatreds have rarely been seen as related dangers - let alone confronted as a common threat to societies.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

Instead, Muslim and Jewish communities are being dangerously pitted against each other.

To defend Muslim and Jewish communities, and to defend them together, is how an open society defends itself.

https://t.co/kllVnrRDQ2

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

This is the work at the heart of @OpenSociety’s new $30m initiative – to protect communities from violence, to build bridges between them, to confront antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate, and to safeguard the space for lawful expression and free debate.

https://t.co/ttk91FzY14

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

Antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate have flared across the west, with each rising to record levels.

But, as I write in the @guardian, these two hatreds have rarely been seen as related dangers - let alone confronted as a common threat to societies.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

Instead, Muslim and Jewish communities are being dangerously pitted against each other.

To defend Muslim and Jewish communities, and to defend them together, is how an open society defends itself.

https://t.co/kllVnrRDQ2

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

As I discussed on the @WomensAgenda podcast, we have to both defend women’s rights and advance them.

Having women in leadership positions isn’t a trade-off—it’s win for everyone.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

At @OpenSociety, we just committed $300 million to defend freedoms and create economic opportunities for all in the U.S.

We are partnering with people who are looking beyond the hard times of today to imagine an affirmative vision for the next generation.

[Open Society Foundations @OpenSociety]

Every American should be able to live, work, and care for their families, yet costs are soaring, and this promise is out of reach for too many people in America today.

Laleh Ispahani shares why we’re doubling down on our work in the U.S. with a $300 million investment that will expand rights, foster economic dignity, and rebuild our democracy.

This builds on our decades-long work in the U.S. and around the world.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

https://t.co/fNaI5p89pl

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

Read more: https://t.co/Kib2bK6XVL

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran was not just a war against Iran’s military. It was a high-speed, systematic assault on an entire society—with little prospect of accountability. We must effectively regulate this new, high-pace, mass-scale of warfare before it becomes the norm.

[Open Society Foundations @OpenSociety]

Prejudice, dehumanization, and violence against Muslims and Jews––fueled by deep injustices in the Middle East––have led to corrosive hate.

This week, we were proud to announce a new $30 million, three-year initiative to support organizations working to address an alarming surge of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate.

[Open Society Foundations @OpenSociety]

For more than 50 years, the Southern Poverty Law Center has endeavored to protect those most vulnerable to hate, safeguard communities, and advance the principle that every person in this country deserves dignity and equal treatment.

We are living through a broader moment that demands we name what we are seeing. The organizations and institutions that protect our democracy are under sustained and coordinated pressure. There is a documented pattern of the federal government threatening nonprofit organizations, law firms, and even public servants who disagree with the current administration, a pattern that courts have rebuked repeatedly.

And as with law firms and universities, financial institutions and other intermediaries critical to charitable work now appear to be acting out of intimidation. When donor-advised fund sponsors preemptively decline to process contributions to civil rights organizations, the effect is no different from any other form of targeted pressure. It chills free speech and erodes our democracy.

As funders committed to democracy, justice, and the long-term health of civil society, we boldly stand with the Southern Poverty Law Center and with the broader civil rights community. We will continue to resource organizations defending rights and freedoms. And we will continue to call out the difference between legitimate accountability and the use of government power to silence critics.

Our democracy depends on a vibrant civil society and the freedom to organize, advocate, litigate, and express alternative points of view. We will not back down from the defense of our most vital freedoms.

This moment calls for a united voice. We hope you will join us.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

So great to speak with Dina Chaerani about how bodily autonomy is the first right women need:

“If women cannot control when they have sex, who they have sex with, when they have children, how many children they have—they cannot control their lives.” https://t.co/HZZV7fET5x

[Open Society Foundations @OpenSociety]

Congratulations to Open Society President Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF for being named one of Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2026 by @Washingtonian Magazine!

This recognition reflects what so many already know: Binaifer is leading Open Society as it confronts key global challenges and reimagines the fight for human rights.

Many of our partners also made the list. Together, we are building a future where everyone’s rights are protected, their freedoms are real, and the opportunity to thrive belongs to all.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

I’m proud to see so many of @OpenSociety’s partners recognized on this list — the people doing the hard work of building a future where everyone’s rights are protected. Honored to stand beside them.

[Washingtonian 🌸 @washingtonian]

Power comes and goes. But influence sticks around.

Here’s our list of the experts and advocates, outside the government, who are playing big roles in Washington’s policy debates.
https://t.co/p8lS12ZpqD

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

The future is being shaped by the people who live these realities. We are proud to walk alongside them.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

Behind each social justice movement lies decades of organizing––women, LGBTQ+ communities, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, care workers, and informal workers building power from the ground up, often at great personal cost.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

Look at any difficult situation and you will see people driving change.

These communities don't simply wait for their turn. They lead.

And at @OpenSociety, this work is at the heart of what we do.

[Binaifer Nowrojee @NowrojeeOSF]

At @WomenDeliver 2026, I’ve been inspired by courageous feminists on the frontlines of the fight for gender justice, often in the most difficult situations.

From grassroots movements to feminist approaches to tech, thousands of women leaders are moving power where it belongs.