{"id":598103,"date":"2021-07-20T14:50:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T18:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=598103"},"modified":"2021-07-20T14:51:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T18:51:00","slug":"swalwell-had-meetings-with-qatari-charity-tied-to-terrorist-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/swalwell-had-meetings-with-qatari-charity-tied-to-terrorist-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Swalwell Had Meetings With Qatari Charity Tied to Terrorist Groups"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fswalwell-had-meetings-with-qatari-charity-tied-to-terrorist-groups%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=598103&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div readability=\"29.248868778281\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"article-category\"><a class href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/\">Democrats<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-excerpt\">Qatar Foundation spends hundreds of millions of dollars per year to influence U.S. colleges<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail-container relative lg:mr-24 w-full my-4 mb-8\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"736\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/swalwell-main-736x508-1.jpg\" class=\"w-full lazyload blur-up wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/swalwell-main-736x508.jpg 736w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/swalwell-main-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/swalwell-main-768x530.jpg 768w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/swalwell-main-711x491.jpg 711w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/swalwell-main-1.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" \/><figcaption class=\"absolute text-white p-4 w-full text-right text-xs bottom-0 bg-black opacity-75\">\n\t\t\t\tInstagram\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t<span class=\"text-gray text-xs md:text-lg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/author\/chuck-ross\/\" title=\"Posts by Chuck Ross\" class=\"author url fn text-red-700\" rel=\"author\">Chuck Ross<\/a> \u2022 July 20, 2021 2:45 pm<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"134.72052067381\">\n<p>Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee member who was targeted by a foreign spy during his early days in Congress, has met twice in the past nine months with a Hamas-linked charity that spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year to influence U.S. universities.<\/p>\n<p>Swalwell and four other House members visited the Qatar Foundation headquarters in April during a four-day trip hosted by the US-Qatar Business Council, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/gtimages\/MT\/2021\/500023137.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an itinerary<\/a> of the junket. The delegation met with Qatar\u2019s emir, government leaders, and Qatar Foundation officials to discuss business opportunities for the members\u2019 districts. The trip drew attention after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/eric-swallwell-ruben-gallegos-shirtless-in-qatar-riding-camel-2021-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">photos surfaced<\/a> of Swalwell and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.) riding shirtless on camels in Qatar\u2019s desert. Swalwell also visited Qatar Foundation headquarters with two fellow Democrats during a trip to Doha last October.<\/p>\n<p>Swalwell\u2019s meetings with the controversial charity raise additional questions about his position on the powerful House Intelligence Committee. Republicans called for Swalwell to be stripped of his committee assignment last year after it was revealed that he had a close relationship through 2015 with an alleged Chinese spy named Christine Fang. Fang helped raise money for Swalwell\u2019s 2014 congressional campaign and allegedly placed an intern in his congressional office.<\/p>\n<p>The Qatar Foundation, founded in 1995 by Qatar\u2019s then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, says its mission is to promote scientific research and educational advancement in the Middle East and across the globe. The foundation has faced scrutiny in recent years over its alleged links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Its funding of satellite campuses for dozens of U.S. schools has also fueled concerns that the foundation has infiltrated the colleges in order to push its political views and downplay the Qatari royal family\u2019s close ties to terror groups.<\/p>\n<p>The Lawfare Project, a legal group based in New York City, said in <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/FARA_Memo_with_Exhibits.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a report<\/a> last year that the Qatar Foundation\u2019s &#8220;infiltration&#8221; of American schools has turned &#8220;school teachers into de facto agents of the Qatari government, conveying its political (and anti-Semitic) views to students and the general population without any acknowledgment of the origins of these views.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The foundation, which registers with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, has numerous links to terror groups and to clerics who have espoused anti-Semitic views. It <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20100821183917\/http:\/www.gulf-times.com\/site\/topics\/article.asp?cu_no=2&amp;item_no=314242&amp;version=1&amp;template_id=57&amp;parent_id=56\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opened<\/a> an academic center in 2009 named after Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure who lives in exile in Doha. Al-Qaradawi said in a 2009 speech that Adolf Hitler &#8220;put [Jews] in their place,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.memri.org\/tv\/sheik-yousuf-al-qaradhawi-allah-imposed-hitler-upon-jews-punish-them-allah-willing-next-time-will\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to the Middle East Media Research Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Daily Beast<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/qatars-foundation-for-hypocrisy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> in 2015 that al-Qaradawi was in attendance at the opening of a Qatar Foundation mosque in Doha that featured a long roster of anti-Semitic clerics.<\/p>\n<p>One Qatar Foundation official, Haya al-Nassr, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/florida-jewish-journal\/fl-jj-report-qatari-foundation-anti-israel-propaganda-schools-20181017-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">awarded<\/a> Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh with a &#8220;victory shield&#8221; during a ceremony in 2012. During Hamas\u2019s rocket attacks on Israel in May, professors at the foundation\u2019s Northwestern and Georgetown University satellite campuses <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/qatar-behind-hostile-israel-statements-from-american-universities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called Israel<\/a> an &#8220;apartheid&#8221; state.<\/p>\n<p>The US-Qatar Business Council, which promotes trade between the United States and Qatar, paid $19,000 for travel, lodging, and meals for Swalwell and his wife, according to disclosures filed with Congress. <em>Business Insider<\/em> first reported that Swalwell, Gallego, Reps. Sara Jacobs (D., Calif.), Lou Correa (D., Calif.), and Lisa McClain (R., Mich.) made the trip.<\/p>\n<p>One focus of the junket was the FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Qatar next year. The itinerary for the trip says the representatives met with Qatari officials to discuss security plans for the tournament, as well as business opportunities for U.S. companies. Qatar has come under fire from human rights groups who say the regime uses slave labor to build the stadiums and facilities that will host the tournament. Amnesty International <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2021\/03\/qatar-fifa-must-act-on-labour-abuses-as-world-cup-qualifiers-kick-off\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called on<\/a> FIFA in March to pressure Qatar to end abuse of migrant workers building infrastructure for the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Swalwell visited Qatar Foundation\u2019s Education City last year with Reps. Jim Himes (D., Conn.) and Seth Moulton (D., Mass.) to learn about Qatar\u2019s medical innovation in the field of precision genetics, <em>Gulf Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gulf-times.com\/story\/675280\/US-Congress-delegation-visits-Education-City\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>. Education City is the site of satellite campuses for U.S. colleges that partner with the Qatar Foundation, including Northwestern, Georgetown, and Texas A&amp;M. Himes, who also sits on the House Intelligence Committee, praised Qatar\u2019s gender rights record during an interview about the trip.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s also a model for reform in the Arab world and a leader in women\u2019s rights. Qatar is a linchpin in the Middle East and provides a bridge between the Islamic world and the West,&#8221; Himes said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2021\/03\/29\/everything-i-have-do-tied-man\/women-and-qatars-male-guardianship-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to Human Rights Watch<\/a>, Qatar still maintains so-called male guardianship rules that require women to obtain permission from their male guardians in order to marry, study abroad, work in government jobs, and receive birth control.<\/p>\n<p>Swalwell\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats Qatar Foundation spends hundreds of millions of dollars per year to influence U.S. colleges  Instagram  Chuck Ross \u2022 July 20, 2021 2:45 pm &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-598103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}