Qatar Accuses Israel of War Crimes; Charms American Jewish Billionaires

The Emirate of Qatar accused Israel of war crimes on Tuesday, claiming that it has deliberately killed innocent civilians for two months — after Qatar’s prime minister met with wealthy figures in the American Jewish community in an attempt to improve relations.

Qatar currently hosts the terrorist leaders of Hamas, many of whom have become billionaires, in luxurious exile in Doha, Qatar, as they send others to die on their behalf, safe from the fighting and the suffering of the Palestinians they claim to represent.

Though Qatar has been acting as a mediator in discussions between Israel and the terrorist group in the effort to free hostages that Hamas abducted during its massive October 7 terror attack, it has become more stridently anti-Israel than ever before.

On Tuesday, Qatar’s leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani accused Israel of the “systematic and deliberate killing of innocent civilians continues, including women and children,” without providing any evidence. Israel takes pride in attempting to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible, and in lowering the ratio of civilians to terrorists killed to historically low levels.

Meanwhile, American Jewish business leaders met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani last week, according to Axios, as the emirate continued a years-old effort to charm the community and deflect criticism.

As Axios reported:

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump organized a private meeting in New York last Wednesday with Qatar’s prime minister and a bipartisan group mostly of Jewish businessmen and billionaires, three sources with direct knowledge of the meeting tell Axios.

…

Sheikh Mohammed told the group Qatar’s close relations with Hamas and the hosting of the terror group in Doha started in 2006 with the support of the Bush administration, an attendee in the meeting said.

…

“Many of us came in with a negative perception of Qatar based on what we have been reading, and came away with a more nuanced understanding of the role they have been playing in Gaza, both historically and currently,” one participant in the meeting said.

Jared Kushner reportedly accepted a $200 million investment from Qatar for his private equity fund after leaving the White House.

Among the billionaires at the meeting, according to Axios, was Bill Ackman, the Harvard donor who has been publicly criticizing Harvard University for antisemitism on campus. Harvard has taken money from Qatar, though not as much as other universities.

Qatar began trying to lobby the leaders of the American Jewish community in 2017, when the Trump administration briefly opposed the emirate’s role in the region. Qatar funded trips to Doha for American Jewish leaders, leading to condemnation by critics such as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who wrote at Breitbart:

Here you have the Qatar, largest funder of an organization dedicated to the annihilation of not just Israel but Jews wherever they are found, being whitewashed by Jewish leaders …

They’re genuinely trying to get Qatar to stop paying to murder Jews and to return the bodies of murdered Israeli soldiers being held by Hamas.

But precisely the opposite is what will most likely transpire. Qatar will use these highly well-intentioned people … to ease international pressure on them by showing that Jews are visiting with them, meeting with them, and accepting their hospitality.

…

I’m not saying Qatar should never be allowed to repent. But if the Emir of Qatar wants to be brought back into the community of nations, all he needs to do is announce the immediate cessation of all monies being sent to Hamas and repudiate its genocidal killers. He should immediately expel Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and Hamas terror leaders Ismail Haniya and Khaled Mashaal, who have been granted sanctuary in Qatar. And he should stop the daily demonization of Israel that takes place on Al-Jazeera, a veritable font of anti-Semitic poison designed to make the world hate the Jewish state. Until such steps are taken, Qatar cannot be allowed to whitewash its crimes.

Meanwhile, Israel’s security agencies have said they will hunt down Hamas leaders wherever they are — even in Qatar.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.