Qatar’s US envoy rejects claims Doha funding anti-Israel activity on campuses

Qatar’s ambassador to the US hits back at renewed accusations that Doha is financially backing anti-Israel activity on American college campuses.

“Qatar is not a large donor to US universities. The Qatar Foundation pays the costs for six US universities to maintain faculty and operate campuses in Qatar, educating and awarding degrees to women and men from Qatar and others who wish to study there,” tweets Meshal Hamad Al-Thani.

“These are not donations,” the envoy continues. “Qatar does not influence these universities, and we have nothing to do with anything that happens on their home campuses in the US.”

The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site Zman Yisrael first published a story in March detailing how some schools have received hundreds of millions of dollars from Qatar over the past decade.

According to a 2022 study, Qatar contributed $4.7 billion to dozens of academic institutions across the United States between 2001 and 2021. Some of the amounts are classified as “gifts” while others are labeled as “restricted agreements.”

Regarding media reports alleging some link between Qatar and recent events on U.S. university campuses, it is important to get the facts straight.

Qatar is not a large donor to U.S. universities.

1/3

— Meshal Hamad AlThani (@Amb_AlThani) April 28, 2024

Tal Schneider contributed to this report.