The Lie:

• Israel “controls Washington” through AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and outsized Jewish influence.

The Truth:

• AIPAC is funded entirely by American citizens, while Qatar, a foreign state sponsor of Hamas, has constructed the most extensive influence network in Washington to protect Islamist movements and shape U.S. policy from the outside.

Background:

• Qatar has invested nearly $100 billion into U.S. lobbying, academia, media, real estate, and elite political networks — all while financing Hamas and hosting Hamas leadership in Doha.
  
• Israel’s advocacy is minimal, transparent, and American-funded, focused on shared security needs and defensive cooperation with the United States.

Truth Explained:

• Qatar’s is Hamas’s primary financier and the Muslim Brotherhood’s most powerful state sponsor. Doha has funneled ~$1.8B into Hamas-run Gaza, sheltered senior Hamas leaders in five-star hotels, and elevated their messages worldwide through Al Jazeera. This is not neutrality — it is a deliberate political project to preserve Islamist power in the region.
  FDD
  
• To shield this network, Qatar constructed the most expansive foreign influence operation in Washington. It hired 31 FARA-registered lobbying and PR firms — with an unprecedented 71% based in Washington, D.C. — giving Doha direct access to the policymakers, journalists, and institutions that shape American policy. Quincy Institute
  
• Qatar then saturated the U.S. political system with money and face time. Since 2016, it has poured nearly $250M into lobbying and public relations, employing dozens of former members of Congress and high-profile political operatives. Its agents logged 627 in-person meetings with U.S. officials between 2021–25 — more than any other foreign country, by a wide margin. This is foreign influence at industrial scale.  Quincy Institute
  
• Qatar’s influence extends deep into America’s cultural and educational infrastructure. As the largest foreign donor to U.S. universities — contributing $6.3B, with $1B to Georgetown University alone — Qatar has shaped academic narratives on the Middle East, Islamism, and Israel from inside the country’s most prestigious institutions. This is long-term ideological engineering, not standard diplomacy.  Fisch Files,  The Free Press
  
• Qatar also commands disproportionate media access and narrative power. Al Jazeera and its subsidiaries hold 136 congressional press credentials — far more than major U.S. outlets — allowing Qatar to shape political journalism from inside Capitol Hill. At the same time, Qatari foreign agents have aggressively courted right-wing media, paying six-figure monthly retainers, placing stories, and even investing $50M into Newsmax to soften coverage. GIOR, Fisch Files
  
• Meanwhile, AIPAC is not a foreign lobby — it is 100% American. Every dollar comes from U.S. citizens. Its board is American. It takes no instruction from Israel. Its advocacy reflects American public opinion — which has consistently been strongly pro-Israel for decades. AIPAC
  
• Israel’s lobbying is transparent, modest, and focused entirely on shared security. In 2023, Israel spent just $3.1M advocating for lifesaving defense systems like Iron Dome — a fraction of Qatar’s vast, multi-front influence machine. OpenSecrets

Quotes

• “Qatar fooled Trump, played Israel, manipulated the Arabs, and ensured Hamas would remain the only force ruling Gaza.” — Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
• “Qatar’s influence dwarfing everyone — Israel doesn’t even come close.” — Eitan Fischberger
• “Qatar has enabled Hamas politically and financially for decades.” — Foundation for Defense of Democracies
  

Takeaway:

The claim that “Israel controls Washington” is a political myth — the evidence shows that Qatar is the true foreign influence superpower, using its billions to shield Hamas, shape U.S. elites, and dominate the narrative.