From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 16, 2026
Lapid calls on US to declare Qatar an enemy state
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls on the United States to declare Qatar an enemy state, blaming it for anti-Israel activity in American academia.
Addressing Jewish leaders at a gathering of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Lapid says that he proposed an Israeli law designating Qatar an enemy state and “I call on the US Congress to do the same.”
“What we saw on campuses in the US is the result of Qatari money promoting antisemitism and radical Islam, when at the same time they were paying money to people closest to the prime minister,” he says, referring to the Qatargate scandal, in which aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are suspected of multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm.
“Qatar is an enemy of the US, an enemy of Israel, an enemy of the Jewish people and an enemy of the entire world,” Lapid declares.
The Gulf kingdom has lavished billions on US higher education in recent years. It has also hosted top Hamas leaders.
On Sunday, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted against Lapid’s bill, prompting him to ask if the Prime Minister’s Office instructed ministers to oppose the legislation.
The Times of Israel Community.