Liberals are not the only ones appeasing Islamic supremacists and outright jihadis. Conservatives in the U.S. and Israel do so as well. A brief and incomplete review:
• President Donald Trump saved the Qatari monarchy from a Saudi-led invasion to overthrow the Doha regime accused of advocating for terrorism in 2017, and collaborated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use Qatari funding to prevent Hamas bankruptcy and a supposed Gaza “civil uprising” in 2018.
• In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan funded and worked with the Afghan mujahideen to defeat the USSR, while Muslims such as Osama bin Ladin’s mentor, the jihad scholar Abdullah Azzam, spoke and wrote openly of destroying the West after eliminating the Soviets. Azzam toured some 50 American cities during the Afghan War, openly preaching the jihad theology, ostensibly to destroy the Soviets.
• The West, under the leadership of both liberal and conservative governments, welcomed Saudi (until 2015) and Qatari jihadi-tainted funding and investments for decades, in business, sports, real estate, and most notably education. Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism & Policy (ISGAP) research has proven Qatar invested up to 20 billion dollars to buy American education from K-12 and at major universities. Neither Democrats nor Republicans halted their activities.
• American Vice President JD Vance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with President Trump’s approval in June 2026, granting the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps/ayatollah regime $300 billion in relief, and unfreezing assets to end the showdown with the U.S. Implementing the MOU allows Tehran to fund whichever organization it choses, meaning the Houthis, Hezbollah and pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq. The U.S. administration would be rebooting the Iranian global jihad. The status of this agreement is unclear after hostilities resumed after its signing.
• Qatar enjoys full support from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Qatar also remains an Iranian ally despite attacks from Tehran.
• In summer 2026, Vance had a fundraiser in New York, which Qatari advocate Omeed Malik sponsored, with his American “conservative” ally Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Jr.
• With Trump’s encouragement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic Turkey is leading much of NATO’s military exercises.
One would expect Israel’s right-wing Netanyahu government to be intensely aware of Islamic supremacist governments and never cooperate with them. Israel’s sworn enemy Hamas is the Palestinian jihadi wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, this is not regarded as a “given.”
• In 2015, then MK and today’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich of the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionist party, declared “Hamas is an asset.” He reasoned that by supporting Hamas in Gaza, he would split the Palestinians, ensuring that the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah could not be a “peace” partner, as there was no unified leadership.
• In 2018, defense minister Avigdor Lieberman quit the government, warning against deals with Hamas or Hezbollah. Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump decided to curtail and buy off Hamas through economic development. Islamic Qatar would donate $30 million every month for Palestinian well-being in Gaza, thereby assuring continuing Hamas rule.
• Reportedly, Netanyahu and his right-wing government ignored warnings from Shabak security and Army Intel not to embolden Hamas. By 2023, these same security organizations were urging heightened alert, while the Egyptians and Emiratis also warned Israel of impending dangers. Netanyahu denies all these reports.
The warnings were ignored, as Netanyahu believed Hamas was “deterred,” and that Qatar was bent to his will. Hamas would accept an “economic peace.” Labor tried this approach in the 1990s, trusting PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat to keep his side of the bargain during the Oslo Process when negotiating for a two-state solution. Even Netanyahu negotiated the “Wye Accords” with Arafat in 1998, although these were never fully implemented. As it turned out, Arafat was a jihadi, and the Second Intifada exploded against Israel in September 2000 under Labor Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
It gets worse. Israel agreed to Trump’s Board of Peace in October 2025, with heavy Turkish and Qatari involvement. Trump’s 20-Point Plan officially ending the Gaza War advocates the establishment of a Palestinian state under certain conditions (Art. 19), even if Netanyahu declares it will never happen as long as he remains Prime Minister.
Further, there is the “Qatargate” scandal, where Netanyahu’s closest advisors admit to being in the pay of Doha. They are accused of working to outmaneuver anti-Muslim Brotherhood and pro-Palestinian Authority Egypt in favor of Qatari influence. The prime minister describes the relations with Qatar as “complicated,” but not hostile. Qatar is known for negotiating hostage releases by paying off the jihadis to do so.
Republican and Democrat hubris is similar: Deny that Islamic supremacists mean what they say, and believe that jihadis can be bought off and controlled. Israel’s Likud right-wing government trapped the Jewish state into October 7 with this same denial of Hamas and Qatari intentions.
Conclusion: Never cut deals with Islamic supremacists; it becomes a self-inflicted death trap. Unfortunately, the West, including Israel, was and will continue to be complicit in the jihad suicide-homicide-bombing of itself, unless this lesson is fully comprehended.
Yisrael Ne’eman taught Middle Eastern courses at the University of Haifa and the Technion for 35 years. After October 7, he co-founded the Ne’eman Academy to educate about Israel, the Middle East and Islamic jihadi issues.
40 rounds says
No doubt the left and right are dealing with the devil but sometimes, as is often said, my enemies enemy is my friend and with Islam, that arrangement is always temporary.