University students across North America have set up encampments to protest Israel’s war in Gaza. These demonstrations are well organized and supplied, with tents, signs, banners, and even professional security at some locations. So how exactly are these demonstrations being funded?
One think tank has made it their mission to “follow the money” – so to speak. ISGAP, The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy – has uncovered that Qatar, which is currently housing the senior leaders of Hamas, is the single largest foreign donor to American universities and is also sending money to Student for Justice in Palestine, the organization supporting pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Qatar has more than $500 billion dollars of assets in the United States.
Charles Asher Small, our guest on this Munk Dialogue, is the Executive Director of ISGAP and argues that Qatar – a small country which adheres to the ideology of the Muslim Brothers – is using soft power to influence American society, and especially its youth.