By Abe Greenwald
Friday, May 16, 2025
When visiting several struggling U.S.-allied countries,
I’ve been approached by well-meaning, pro-Israel officials and foreign-policy
thinkers who ask me some version of the question: “How do we get an ‘Israel
lobby’ of our own?” And each time, I’ve explained: You don’t. Because the
Israel lobby isn’t what you think it is. First, the supposed money and
power of the Israel lobby is wildly exaggerated by anti-Semites. Second, the
American connection to Israel is unique. Its roots are deep and complicated.
The affinity between the two nations goes back to the
Founding of the U.S., our self-conception as a New Jerusalem, and our destiny
as a beacon of God-given liberty. That feeling has grown and spread and been
bolstered by the many bilateral ties and shared interests between the U.S. and
the modern State of Israel. Pro-Israel organizations and networks in the U.S.
aren’t buying political favors; they’re strengthening the longstanding and
wide-ranging organic links between America and the Jewish state. That’s
impossible for another country to recreate.
It turns out, what these people really wanted to know was
how to create their own version of a Qatar lobby. An explosive and insightful
article by Frannie Block and Jay Solomon at the Free Press reveals that Qatar has done exactly what Israel has long
been accused of doing. It’s paid nearly $100 billion to purchase American power
and permission, and it has ingrained itself in American media, energy, real
estate, education, foreign policy, and more. As a result, it’s getting its way.
To say there’s no organic connection between the U.S. and
Qatar doesn’t suffice. We’re a democratic republic, they’re a dynastic kingdom.
We believe in liberty, they’re theocratic slaveowners. We strive to maintain
global security, they menace our allies, finance Islamist terrorism all over
the Muslim world, and provide terrorists safe haven inside Qatar. To be sure,
it’s been costly to smooth over all this dissonance and get Washington to look
the other way. Which is why, according to the piece, “Qatar spent three times
more in the U.S. than Israel did on lobbyists, public-relations advisers, and
other foreign agents in 2021.” That’s just one year. In total, it’s worked.
We’ve been bought by the enemy.
Anti-Semitic paranoiacs claim that the Israel lobby has
shut down criticism of Israel in the U.S. Meanwhile members of Congress talk
about “evil” Israel pulling the strings of American policymakers, and seas of
protesters flow through the streets calling for Israel’s destruction.
Qatar, on the other hand, has successfully tamped down
unwanted criticism. It bought off one of its most vocal critics, Republican
adviser Elliott Broidy, for more than $150 million. Think about what the
Qataris have spent on people you’ve heard of. And Qatar has purchased the
acquiescence of many others, Republicans and Democrats, with investment
contracts and campaign donations. The
article reveals that after one university professor denounced Qatari terrorist
support, he received a reprimand from a “very senior” Pentagon official who
told him that such criticism “endangers” the Al Udeid Air Base, a massive U.S.
military facility built in and paid for by Qatar. Yet Al Udeid itself endangers
American security. As Block and Solomon report, “maintaining the air base in
Qatar comes with a significant string attached: The Gulf monarchy has said it
would oppose military strikes on Iran from its soil.” So Qatar has a say in
critical U.S. military policy.
There’s so much more. From grade schools (over $1million
paid to the New York Department of Education in three years) to the presidency
(the airplane, the resort deal, and beyond), Qatar has bribed its way into
vital American institutions. One result is this: When you see students, media
personalities, politicians denouncing the nefarious Israel lobby, you’re
watching what the Qatar lobby has paid for. And if you’re parroting those
voices, it’s purchased you as well.
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