UAE lobbied pro-Israel groups to level antisemitism charges against KSA
The UAE tried to ally with pro-Israel US lobbying groups in its spat with Saudi Arabia, one current and one former US official told Middle East Eye.
At least one group, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), came under pressure from the UAE to make a statement raising concerns about alleged antisemitism in Saudi Arabia, the current US official told MEE.
AJC is an ardent defender of Israel with deep ties in Washington. The CEO is former US Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch.
The UAE’s decision to utilise its close ties with pro-Israel US lobbying groups shows how Abu Dhabi is trying to capitalise on the 2021 Abraham Accords, under which it normalised ties with Israel.
AJC established a satellite office in Abu Dhabi in 2021 called The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding. The office’s mandate is to promote “Muslim-Jewish dialogue” and “Combat antisemitism wherever it appears”, along with promoting the 2021 Abraham Accords.
The head of the Abu Dhabi office referred MEE to AJC’s press team for this story. The press office did not respond to MEE’s request for comment.
AJC has not waded into the rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, at least publicly, but other groups have.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) posted a statement in January warning of the “increasing frequency and volume of prominent Saudi voices … using openly antisemitic dog whistles and aggressively pushing anti-Abraham Accords rhetoric”.
The ADL partnered with the UAE to launch the Al Manara Centre in Abu Dhabi in 2023. This article is the first time that direct Emirati lobbying has been reported.
The ADL has a long history of describing Palestinian rights movements as antisemitic and has, in the past, worked with US law enforcement to spy on and target Arab-American groups, among others. It has also facilitated and funded US police training trips to Israel.
Both current and former US officials told MEE that the lobbying is part of a broader Emirati effort to level charges of antisemitism at Saudi Arabia that have come under the attention of administration officials.
The charges of antisemitism against Saudi Arabia would be particularly damaging inside Washington.
Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, met with pro-Israel groups, including the AJC and ADL, in Washington last month during his US visit.
Saudi Arabian officials also held follow-up meetings with AJC officials after the defence minister’s visit, a separate source briefed on the matter told MEE.
A former US official described Saudi Arabia’s outreach as “damage control” to MEE.
Ties between the erstwhile allies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have been strained for years, but the tension erupted in spectacular fashion in December when the latter led a counter-offensive against the UAE’s allies in Yemen.
Riyadh has since moved to evict the UAE and its local proxies from the country.
According to Middle East Eye
