Lessons from Qatargate: The press must recommit to exposing the truth - editorial

In December 2023, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) revealed documents that should have rocked the political landscape: Millions of dollars were transferred from Qatar to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The report, based on leaked Qatar-related documents from Project Raven, portrayed Doha’s financial involvement with political and military figures worldwide.

Then, five documents from 2012 and 2018, featuring correspondences between high-ranking officials in the Qatari government, including former prime minister Hamed bin Jassem Al Thani and then-finance minister Yousef Hussein Kamal, were shared.

They ordered and allegedly confirmed the transfer of dozens of millions of dollars to Netanyahu and then-deputy prime minister and defense minister Avigdor Liberman, respectively, as part of their election campaign.

The report received very little attention at the time. In fact, few Israeli media outlets – we admit, including ourselves – reported on it.

The second round of incrimination

Earlier this week, MEMRI released a second round of evidence. The report – later independently investigated by Jerusalem Post Middle East Affairs correspondent Ohad Merlin – included a 2012 classified “top secret” letter from Al Thani to Hussein Kamal.

In the letter, the prime minister explained the decision of the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to transfer a grant of $50 million to Netanyahu. In a second letter from the same year, Kamal stated that the money had been transferred to Netanyahu in cash through Qatar’s State Security Service.

There is no concrete proof that Netanyahu received these funds. However, it is unlikely that funds were discussed thoroughly and transferred discreetly without the person’s knowledge.

So why was such a critical story overlooked? Why was it our report, which has drawn broad coverage worldwide, that brought this old issue into focus?

Israeli media outlets, needless to say, have never been afraid of criticizing the prime minister. Allegations of mismanagement of funds, as well as, of course, bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, have been reported on since Netanyahu first became the leader of our country in 1996.

Perhaps the story’s complexity and the potential backlash might have deterred editors from giving it prominence. Perhaps the issue was that, to be sure, these allegations against Netanyahu are by far the most extreme we have yet to see.

To receive funds from a country that treats Israel as an enemy – a country that some have claimed transfers money to Hamas terrorists – is unthinkable, and for a prime minister to have done so would be treacherous.

No matter the reason for the blind eye, the result is clear. These sorts of reports being tossed aside initially are the kind of behaviors on the media’s end that cause public distrust. Citizens rely on the press to provide accurate, comprehensive information to make informed decisions. When it does not do its job, its citizens change course.

What happens in reality when these needs are not met is that corruption is permitted to continue. The media does not fulfill its true role of holding governments, public officials, and institutions accountable.

The media must, therefore, recommit to its investigative roots.

We at The Jerusalem Post do our best to investigate our stories fully before publishing them. We conduct independent research, interview high-ranking officials both on and off the record, and reach out to reliable sources and reliable sources alone.

Everyone must push themselves beyond their limits to properly investigate news stories to bring such issues to light, and they must not be afraid to put these stories in the spotlight – as long as they come from reliable sources.

This story, or Qatargate, as it is being called, should not have taken this long to break. It should not have taken half a year for the world to hear that a reliable research institute found incriminating documents suggesting that a prime minister – a head of a state currently at war – received money from one of the countries now involved in the hostage negotiation talks.

The Netanyahu-Qatar scandal highlights the need for the media to partake in its crucial role. Amid numerous threats to democracy, the press must recommit to exposing the truth and ensuring accountability among those in power.

Rigorous and fearless journalism ensures that every scandal is brought to light and no politician evades scrutiny.