Alerts

Qatari PR Show in Washington to Focus on “Israel’s Destruction of Gaza” and “Genocide in Gaza”

Qatari-affiliated think tanks in Doha and Washington, D.C. will promote these canards at the National Press Club on June 11.
Share this
Qatari supported think tanks

Table of Contents

  • What think tanks promote Qatar propaganda in Washington? The Arab Center Washington (ACW) and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) in Doha, Qatar.
  • The ACRPS think tank is run by Azmi Bashara, a former member of the Israeli Knesset (1996-2007) and suspected Hizbullah spy against Israel, who fled Israel and is now ensconced in Qatari academia.
  • The Doha-affiliated organizations are funded by the Qatar Foundation, a multi-billion-dollar royal family initiative that links Qatar with American universities, Washington lobbyists, and the U.S. media.

The Arab Center Washington (ACW) touts itself as an “independent, nonpartisan research organization” dedicated to enhancing American “understanding of the Arab world and providing the Arab world with insights into policy formation in the United States.”

ACW was established in Doha, Qatar, in autumn 2010 with branches in Tunis, Washington, and Paris. Today, it is affiliated with the Qatari Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), an “independent social sciences and humanities institute” that employs “resident researchers and administrative staff, hosts visiting researchers, and offers sabbaticals to pursue academic research. Additionally, it appoints external researchers to conduct research projects.”

For all their claims of independence and non-partisanship, the Centers are cornerstones of the Qatari royal enterprises, led and funded by the Qatar Foundation.

Sheikha Moza in Turkey at a conference organized by the wife of President Erdogan
Sheikha Moza in Turkey at a conference organized by the wife of President Erdogan. (MEMRI)

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, one of the richest and most influential figures in Qatar, is the chairperson of the Qatar Foundation. The political message of the foundation was reflected in an antisemitic speech she delivered in Turkey in November 2023.1

For decades, we have witnessed Israel spreading fabricated historical narratives, which were refuted by many historians, including Israeli ones. These narratives have taken over the world’s collective mind, and if someone dares to debate any Israeli narrative, he is cast aside, having been accused of antisemitism, which in itself is another problematic narrative. By ‘Semitism,’ they mean Jews, having taken a monopoly on the Semitic race, which they attribute to themselves, while denying [its application] to other nations, which speak Semitic languages, like the Arabs, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans….

Everything we do for our brothers in Palestine, in Gaza, and in the West Bank is less than they deserve. At this point in history, they represent the honor of our nation, in a time of inferiority and determination. To the children of Palestine, I say: You were born men. With your steadfastness, you have proven how feeble and broken are the people whom we once thought to be men.

The Kangaroo Court Conference in Washington on June 11

These two Qatari-affiliated think tanks will be promoting the canards on “Israel’s Destruction of Gaza” and “Genocide in Gaza” at the National Press Club in Washington on June 11. The deck is stacked, and the lineup of speakers from nongovernment organizations and universities blessed with Qatari largesse will find Israel guilty on multiple counts of genocide.2 According to the conference announcement:

Participants will explore dimensions of loss beyond physical casualties: cultural heritage erasure, educational disruption, and the unravelling of Gaza’s social fabric. How has Gaza’s healthcare been systematically destroyed, and what are the long-term public health impacts? What dimensions of loss extend beyond physical casualties? How do events in Gaza challenge conventional understandings of genocide? What accountability mechanisms exist for war crimes, and who must be held responsible under international humanitarian law?

At the conference’s second session, titled “Palestine after the Genocide,” attention will be turned to the Palestinians’ political future, with an apparent focus on U.S. policy.

The session provides a multidimensional analysis of potential futures for Palestine, addressing internal political dynamics, international relationships, regional reconfiguration, and the evolving role of global powers. How are Palestinian political structures transforming at this pivotal moment? What dynamics are shaping Hamas’s future role? How are global solidarity movements evolving? How have events since October 7th reconfigured Middle East alliances? What shifts in U.S. policy toward Palestine can be anticipated, and what are their implications?

Sheikha Moza (center with the gold necklace), her son the Emir, and foreign university representatives, recipients of Qatari largesse.
Sheikha Moza (center with the gold necklace), her son the Emir, and foreign university representatives, recipients of Qatari largesse. “Leading institutions have established campuses and programs in Qatar – Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar, Texas A&M University in Qatar, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, HEC Paris in Qatar, and University College London in Qatar.” (Qatar Foundation)

The Qatar Foundation and its ACW and ACRPS affiliates provide a steady stream of “experts” to editors, media, publications, and speaking occasions in the United States. U.S. Justice Department Foreign Agent records provide an example from October 2024. The following letter is on file:

As we approach the one-year anniversary of October 7th, the following Qatar Foundation experts are available to support your coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Israel-Hizbullah conflict, and regional repercussions. All experts are based in Doha (GMT+3) and available for virtual interviews. Their institutions are part of Qatar Foundation’s Education City.

The experts listed in the Qatari documents include five professors from Georgetown University in Qatar and four from Northwestern University in Qatar, ready, willing, and able to discuss international law, media affairs, and international relations.3

Azmi Bishara
Azmi Bishara, director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and former Member of the Knesset, addresses students of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar. (Qatar.Georgetown.edu)
Bishara and the Emir of Qatar
Bishara (right) and the Emir of Qatar. (Qatarileaks)

ACRPS and the Arab Center Washington, the Megaphones for Propaganda

As the name “Arab Center Washington” gives no clue to its Qatari sponsors, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies publishes an annual survey called the “Arab Opinion Index.” The study, often cited in the Western media, doesn’t reveal its parentage. An example: the Washington Post published an article in October 2020, “What do ordinary Arabs think about normalizing relations with Israel? Our research suggests many oppose normalization but may be reluctant to say so,” by Dana El Kurd. The polling data of the Arab Opinion Index from “28,300 people in 13 countries, suggests that many Arabs are at odds with their governments on the question of Israel. The vast majority of Arabs probably oppose normalization [italicization added].” Strange language – probably and suggests – for a scientific study. What’s stranger is El Kurd’s narrative, “The UAE and Bahrain are among the most repressive governments in the Middle East. The UAE and Bahrain were not included in our survey, but we can get a sense of public opinion from how civil society reacted to the news of normalization.”

Scratch the surface, and the survey is not so strange. The Arab Opinion Index is a product of the Qatari-based ACRPS; El Kurd teaches at the Doha (Qatar) Institute for Graduate Studies. Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood it supports, loathed and fought against the Abraham Accords and “normalization” that Bahrain and the UAE embraced. [Was the Washington Post supposed to know this? Yes.]

An Iranian Connection?

Qatar joined with Iran to fight the Abraham Accords. Some analysts have suggested that the two countries’ joint proxy, Hamas, launched its 10/7 invasion of Israel to disrupt the chance of Saudi Arabia entering the Abraham Accords tent. The Qatar-Iran nexus is reflected in the writings of Annelle Rodriguiz-Sheline, a Fellow of the Arab Center and a Research Fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. The Quincy Institute was founded and is run by the Iranian regime advocate Trita Parsi.

Rodriguiz-Shelline is known for her public resignation from the State Department in March 2024: “Unable to serve an administration that enables such atrocities, I have decided to resign from my position at the Department of State. Whatever credibility the United States had as an advocate for human rights has almost entirely vanished since the [Gaza] war began.”4

Sheline joined with Parsi in a March 2025 Quincy paper, “Saudi-Israel Normalization: Parameters for an Acceptable Deal,” in which they wrote, “Saudi–Israel normalization would, in and of itself, neither transform nor stabilize the Middle East.” The Abraham Accords “sought to organize the region against Iran.” They called for a larger deal that would facilitate “America’s military exit from the region, a Palestinian state, and ending the Israeli occupation.” Precisely, the Iranian prescription for a Persian hegemony in the Middle East.

Conclusion

The foreign infiltration of America’s media, academia, and politics is alarming and must be investigated. Billions of dollars are spent. For half a century, from the days of Sen. J. William Fulbright, Israel’s detractors have shrieked about Israeli influence in the United States, but this author can attest from firsthand experience and liaison with the U.S. Justice Department and Federal Elections Commission that all charges are false and the activities of Jewish organizations and political activists are 100 percent kosher under U.S. laws.

The same cannot be said about the activities of countries like China, Qatar, and Iran. The work of the Justice Department’s Foreign Agent Registration Office must be expanded and toughened.

Irony of ironies, Fulbright left the U.S. Senate and had to register as a foreign agent for Saudi Arabia.

* * *

Notes

Lenny Ben-David

Lenny Ben-David worked for AIPAC for 25 years in Washington and Jerusalem. In 1997, he left to open an independent consulting firm, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tapped him to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff in Israel’s Washington Embassy. He is the author of the book <em>American Interests in the Holy Land Revealed in Early Photographs</em>, and he is completing his next book, <em>Secrets of World War I in the Holy Land Revealed in Early Photographs</em>. He is a Research and Diplomacy Fellow at the Jerusalem Center.
Share this

Subscribe to Daily Alert

The Daily Alert – Israel news digest appears every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Related Items

Stay Informed, Always

Get the latest news, insights, and updates directly in your inbox—be the first to know!

Subscribe to Jerusalem Issue Briefs
The Daily Alert – Israel news digest appears every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Notifications

The Jerusalem Center
Canada investigating Israeli-Canadian IDF soldiers?
JCFA senior researcher, Amb. Alan Baker slams the probe as a “political PR stunt with no legal basis.” “This isn’t justice—it’s a betrayal. Canada is siding with PLO propaganda over facts.”
11:29am
The Jerusalem Center
What makes a child believe killing a #Jew is justified?

In PA textbooks, Jews are called liars and frauds; their fate: elimination. This is #indoctrination—not #education. But change is happening. On East to West, @IMPACT_SE CEO Marcus Sheff exposes how #UNRWA-funded schools are fueling extremism—and what real reform looks like.  Listen now on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2JHqh973U  Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/8OkJTGNfVUc

11:43am
The Jerusalem Center
Highlights from the @Jerusalem_Post Annual Conference in NYC:

Dr. @Dan_Diker, President of the JCFA: “October 7 wasn’t just an attack on Israel — it was a blow to the U.S. on Israeli soil. It demands moral clarity and a united front between Israel and the U.S. to defeat jihadist terror.”

2:20pm
The Jerusalem Center
@XAVIAERD says it like it is

Well, @XAVIAERD says it like it is: If you’re part of “#Queers for #Palestine,” he’ll pay for your flight to #Gaza. Go see for yourself how they treat LGBTQ+ people over there. Don’t miss this bold take on the Israel-Hamas war and the woke right.

2:32pm
The Jerusalem Center
“This isn’t Israel vs. Hamas — it’s the frontline of the free world.”

“This isn’t Israel vs. Hamas — it’s the frontline of the free world.” On Our Middle East by @JNS_org, @Dan_Diker@KhaledAbuToameh (JCFA/@GatestoneInst) break it down: If Hamas isn’t crushed, Iran wins. The jihadis—from #Gaza to your campus—get the green light. Diker: “This war is for the West.” No fluff. No filters. Just raw insight from two insiders who actually know what’s going on.  Watch: youtu.be/4Aq_zcbb4Yo

2:15pm
The Jerusalem Center
5/5 Lt. Col. Kalo on East to West with @smartinezamir:

“This operation showcases Israel’s strategic intelligence superiority both regionally and globally. It demonstrates the moral commitment to recovered soldiers and also strengthens Israel’s position with allies.” youtube.com/watch?v=nIvNNi

2:07pm
The Jerusalem Center
4/5 The operation built on intelligence gathered during the 2019 #Baumel recovery

#Mossad agents operated under cover in #Syria for years, visiting a graveyard multiple times under fire to collect remains for DNA matching. The intelligence community’s evolution combines technology, big data analysis, and human intelligence capabilities.

2:02pm
The Jerusalem Center
3/5 This recovery coincided with the release of Israeli hostage Edan Alexander

This recovery coincided with the release of Israeli hostage Edan Alexander from #Hamas in #Gaza, significantly boosting national morale amid an ongoing conflict now stretching over 18 months. The dual successes demonstrate #Israel‘s unwavering commitment to bringing all soldiers home.

1:58pm
The Jerusalem Center
2/5 The operation used the power vacuum following #Assad’s fall from #Damascus

Lt. Col. Avi Kalo, former head of IDF Prisoners & Missing Persons Division, calls it “an outstanding event that brings hope and new spirit to the people of Israel.” The operation utilized the power vacuum following #Assad‘s fall from #Damascus, allowing #Israeli intelligence to deploy ground capabilities in #Syria.

1:56pm
The Jerusalem Center
1/5 Israeli forces recovered the remains of Sergeant First Class Zvi Feldman

In an unprecedented operation, Israeli forces have recovered the remains of Sergeant First Class Zvi #Feldman, missing since the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub. The complex #Mossad mission was conducted deep within #Syrian territory, 43 years after his disappearance. This follows the successful 2019 recovery of Zachary #Baumel from the same battle.

1:54pm
The Jerusalem Center
A molotov attack on a bus = a “barbecue party”?

That’s what #Palestinian kids are being taught under @UNRWA  — from grade school to graduation. This isn’t education. It’s indoctrination. Marcus Sheff of @IMPACT_SE  breaks it down with @smartinezamir

12:51pm

Close