Congressional reps, US Jews protest at Qatar's embassy to secure hostages

A group of American lawmakers and Jews demonstrated in front of Qatar’s embassy on Wednesday, in a new grassroots push to pressure Doha to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Ron Halber, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) launched the action. The JCRC posted on its X account (formerly known as Twitter)  Halber’s remarks to the Jewish Insider.

“We purposely chose the word gathering… This is an event to speak to the Qataris, to ask them to maximize their leverage over Hamas, and to use it to strongly pressure Hamas to bring as many hostages home as possible.”

Hamas to bring as many hostages home as possible,” @RHalber, executive director of the JCRC, told Jewish Insider ahead of the event. “We’re there to thank the Qataris and at the same time to press them to push Hamas.”

— JCRC of Greater DC (@JCRCgw) January 25, 2024

The number of protestors ranged from 150 to 200 people and included Congressional representatives Glenn Ivey (D., Md.) and Jamie Raskin (D., Md.).

According to Jewish Insider, Ivey recognized the work of Qatar “but we need to make sure that they understand today that we’re not where we need to get to. More needs to happen, and it needs to happen now.”

Raskin said, according to Jewish Insider, “We call on Qatar — which is politically and financially in a place to make things happen — to put this at the very top of the priority list,” adding “The hostages must be returned to their families and their communities now. On behalf of the American people, we demand that the hostages be brought home and given their freedom.”

What's the fuss with Qatar?

Qatar has become a lightning rod issue within Israel’s government and Congress due to its pro-Hamas views and massive financial support for the leadership of the US and EU-designated terrorist organization.  Edy Cohen, a leading Israeli expert on the Arab world, told the Jerusalem Post “The main role of Qatar is to help Hamas and give money to Hamas. They only care about Hamas infrastructure. They did not build restaurants” 

Cohen, who has a massive following of over 670,000 people, most of whom are from Arab countries on X, is an important Israeli voice in the Muslim world.

Cohen was born in Lebanon and speaks fluent Arabic. He added ”Qatar hosted the Muslim Brotherhood that was expelled from Egypt during the 20 century. That is why the society in Qatar has the same mentality as the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Hamas said its organization is "one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine." Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have either banned or classified the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Qatar’s regime is a zealous supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideology.

Cohen said “Qatar has no true friends. They only buy people and corrupt people.“

He noted that Arab countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and others) launched a boycott of Qatar in 2017 for Doha’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran’s regime. The pressure point campaign targeting Qatar ended in 2021.

Cohen said “Cohen said “We must not the let the Qataris be the mediator. It is better for  Egypt or Turkey to be the mediator than the Qataris. Hamas is Qatar.”.”

Cohen warned that “Qatar is a terrorist state” and stressed their support encompasses terrorist movements like the Taliban, Bin Laden of al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State.

Qatar’s regime via an official lashed out at the Congressional representatives and US Jews. A Qatari official told Axios“It’s unfortunate to see these organizations stirring the public for their own agendas, including fundraising and for them to have members of Congress present, delivering speeches for political posturing.”

Press freedom, right to assembly, and civil rights are largely nonexistent in the tiny-rich oil Gulf country. Protests against Qatar’s embassies and businesses have bubbled to the surface since Hamas massacred 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7. In late October, hundreds of demonstrators showed up in front of Qatar’s embassy in London demanding the release of the hostages in Gaza.

In November, the charismatic and popular Rabbi Pini Dunner of Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, staged a protest outside of the Qatari-owned Maybourne Beverly Hills. He called for a boycott of the Maybourne.

The LA Jewish Journal reported at the time Dunner said “We, if we go into this hotel, are supporting Qatar, who are undermining our system by infiltrating themselves into everything we hold dear. Every bullet that is fired by Hamas, every gun that is owned by Hamas, every tunnel in Gaza, every rocket that is shot by Hamas into Israel is paid for by Qatari money.”

“We will not stand for it,” Dunner continued. “We will not allow Hamas to be in the midst of a neighborhood that we live [in].”