EXCLUSIVE: Campaign to boycott luxury London hotels over owner’s Hamas connections
Billionaire hotelier Hamad bin Jassim was prime minister of the emirate when the terror group set up its headquarters there and has been seen publicly with its leader.
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Some of London’s most luxurious hotels – including the Connaught and Claridge’s – are the target of a boycott campaign due to their Qatari owner, who was prime minister of the emirate when Hamas moved its headquarters there.
Billionaire Hamad bin Jassim was prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar in 1999 when the terror group behind the 7 October massacres in southern Israel relocated from Jordan to Doha.
He has been photographed with Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and, together with the then emir of Qatar, paid a state visit to Gaza in 2012.
Haniyeh is based in Doha, where he directs Hamas’ terror operations.
Professor Eyal Zisser, vice-rector of Tel Aviv University, told Jewish News: “There is no doubt. Iran has provided the weapons, the money [to Hamas] comes from Qatar. It has been involved with Hamas for years, and its abilities are thanks to Qatari support.
“Qatari leaders, anxious to curry favour with America, frequently say one thing in English and something very different in Arabic when it comes to speaking about radical movements in the region.”
There is no evidence, however, that Hamad bin Jassim personally funds the terror group.
The campaign directed at bin Jassim was lauched in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, where it is led by former London Rabbi Pini Dunner, now rabbi of the prestigious Beverly Hills Synagogue.
The boycott campaign was sparked by bin Jassim’s recent purchase of the Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills which is now part of a property portfolio which includes four London hotels — Claridge’s, the Connaught, the Berkeley and the Emory.
On the day after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and murdered 1,400 civilians, bin Jassim could be found on Twitter/X posting a series of comments which appear to put the blame on Israel.
Without mentioning Hamas, he wrote: “The Israelis must realise that their government’s provocations at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque will only lead to violence, and violence begets violence. Although I reject the killing of civilians or their capture, at the same time I believe that all parties must take a serious look at finding a solution to this issue through serious discussions and negotiations as well.”
Qatari leaders, anxious to curry favour with America, frequently say one thing in English and something very different in Arabic when it comes to speaking about radical movements in the region.
Rabbi Dunner told Jewish News he has called on Los Angeles city council to issue an ordinance “forbidding any official events or functions to take place at the Maybourne Hotel”.
A similar ordinance was issued some years ago relating to the Beverly Hills Hotel, owned by the Sultan of Brunei, in protest at homophobic laws in Brunei. Dunner added: “If that could be done for the Beverly Hills Hotel, why can’t it be done for the Maybourne? It would seem there are dual standards when it comes to Jews.”
Earlier this week, Beverly Hills City Council passed a resolution “in ardent support of the state of Israel”, in which it “unequivocally condemns those who have supported Hamas, harboured Hamas and who have, after the fact, celebrated the death of the Jews and praised the Hamas terrorism attacks in state sponsored media, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar”.
Dunner told Jewish News he wants to extend the campaign to the UK, and said that he was ready to fly to London and ask the relevant government minister to freeze bin Jassim’s assets. “Why is this any different from what was done with Roman Abramovitch?”
Top crime novelist Jonathan Kellerman, a member of Rabbi Dunner’s congregation, has also been active in highlighting bin Jassim’s background. He said: “When the war broke out and his [bin Jassim’s] apparent Hamas connections became apparent, so I renewed my attempts to bring this to light.”
A former mayor of Beverly Hills, now a councillor, John Mirisch, said he had been alerted to the new ownership of the Maybourne Hotel in August and had been asking repeatedly to launch a boycott campaign.
He believes an approach should be made by the State Department to expel the Qatari consulate from Beverly Hills. Mirisch told Jewish News: “I won’t go to the Maybourne, and I believe local residents should boycott it.”
Like Rabbi Dunner, he said London’s Jewish community should be aware of bin Jassim’s ownership of four leading hotels and take action accordingly. “People should not be holding weddings or barmitvahs in these venues,” he added.
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