More than 70 lobbying and public relations firms in the United States have also received approximately $240 million from Qatar, alongside at least $22.6 million directed toward think tanks.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

Concerns are mounting in Washington over Qatar’s expanding financial footprint across key American sectors, where investment flows are increasingly seen as a vehicle for strategic influence and geopolitical leverage, a new study has found.

According to a newly released report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based think tank, Qatar has invested over $400 billion in the United States since 2000, with analysts now raising alarm bells over the scale and strategic reach of its financial ties.

While FDD’s analysis uses a conservative baseline, the estimate could even reach roughly $1.2 trillion in investment flows if Qatari government projections and White House–linked assessments are taken into account.

With a citizen population of just over 300,000, the FDD report by senior research analyst Natalie Ecanow estimates Qatar has spent the equivalent of roughly $1.2 million per citizen to expand its influence across nearly every corner of American life, spanning education, health care, defense, energy, and the media industry.

As the United States and Qatar continue to expand their bilateral relationship further, US President Donald Trump has encouraged increased Qatari investment, signing an agreement in May that could reportedly generate at least $1.2 trillion in economic output.

Next month, Trump is also expected to receive from Qatar a Boeing 747 aircraft currently being refurbished for use as Air Force One, estimated to be worth around $400 million, in what is set to be one of the largest gifts ever given to a US political leader.

With Doha pouring such massive sums into nearly every sector of the US economy, the FDD report warns these investments go far beyond commercial returns, functioning instead as strategic instruments to advance Qatar’s regional ambitions and deepen its influence in Washington.

For instance, Trump signed an executive order last year pledging that the US would “guarantee the security and territorial integrity” of Qatar “against external attack,” marking a significant expansion of formal security assurances.

But experts point to a more concerning dimension of Qatar’s growing footprint in the United States, mainly its record as a long-time backer of Hamas, both politically and financially, and as one of the world’s largest promoters of the Muslim Brotherhood, raising questions about alignment with US values and interests.

“It is the country’s tendency to support jihadi causes in the Middle East that raises significantly more concern. The country’s horrific track record in this regard distinguishes Qatar from other Gulf states that spread their wealth in America,” FDD’s executive director, Jonathan Schanzer, writes in the forward to the report.

According to FDD’s estimates, Qatar has given at least $8 million to American public schools since 2010. But the sector attracting the largest share of investment is aviation and infrastructure, which has received more than $246 billion.

In defense, Qatar has poured an estimated $8 billion into building and sustaining Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, and plans to invest another $10 billion in the coming years, while also emerging as America’s second-largest partner in arms sales, with deals totaling $56 billion since 2011.

The FDD report also calculates roughly $25 billion of Qatari investment in the US financial sector, including banks, investment firms, and broader Wall Street-linked institutions.

More than 70 lobbying and public relations firms in the United States have also received approximately $240 million from Qatar, alongside at least $22.6 million directed toward think tanks.

“Some of these investments include naked influence-peddling — from sponsorship of the annual congressional baseball game to annual White House correspondents dinner parties,” Schanzer writes in his forward. “The Qataris spend an enormous amount on lobby groups and public relations, which helps ensure that their investments continue with minimal scrutiny.”

Qatari capital not only reaches nearly every sector of the US economy, from defense and energy to real estate, media, and sports; the FDD analysis warns that these financial ties may advance the political agenda of the Al-Thani ruling family, whose interests are often viewed as diverging from, or even contrary to, those of the United States.

“This relationship between business ventures and political influence takes on special importance when a foreign power is providing the funds,” Ecanow writes.

“In each case here, the investment vehicle or grantor is either government-controlled or run by members of Qatar’s ruling family,” she adds. “None are independent commercial actors in the way that British Petroleum or Toyota Motors are.”

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A media report on Norwegian investment in an Israeli defense company sparked public backlash and government review.

By World Israel News Staff

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is pulling significant investments from Israel, citing concerns over the ongoing war in Gaza and Israeli policies in Judea and Samaria.

The move includes selling shares in numerous Israeli companies and ending ties with certain Israeli asset management firms.

At $1.9 trillion in value, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is the largest in the world and is managed by the private Norwegian firm Norges Bank Investment Management.

Announcing the decision, Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tangen pointed to “extraordinary circumstances,” explaining that the fund will scale back its investments in Israel.

“We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened. In response, we will further strengthen our due diligence,” Tangen said.

Norwegian media reports estimate that in 2024, the country’s investments in Israel totaled around $216 billion.

The fund confirmed it has holdings in 61 Israeli companies but is working to divest from 11 of them, citing an “unacceptable risk of contribution to serious norm violations associated with business operations in” Judea and Samaria.

Going forward, the fund said its investments in Israel will be limited to companies listed in its equity benchmark index.

The announcement came shortly after a report in Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten revealed that the fund had invested in an Israeli company manufacturing parts for Israeli fighter jets.

Public backlash to the revelation prompted Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to ask Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg to review the nation’s investments in Israel.

In May 2025, Norway’s Finance Ministry decided against a blanket withdrawal of all its assets in the Jewish State.

“If a company sells a generic product, which Israeli settlers buy, then this should not be sufficient to sell the fund out of the company,” a source privy to internal debates over the matter said at the time.

“But if we are speaking of specific products for, say, surveillance that are made specifically for the needs of Israeli settlers, then that is something completely different.”

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You could argue that Qatar functions as the world’s largest political hedge fund, hedging its bets across political causes, parties, and power centers throughout the United States, Europe, and the Muslim world.

By Dave Gordon, Frontpage Magazine

How could it not raise eyebrows? Donald Trump is set to invest some $5.5 billion in Qatar, according to news reports, and he’s just received a $400 million jet from the Qataris.

This is the same Qatar that unabashedly hosted Hamas leaders and funds the terror organization with billions of dollars.

It’s the same oil-rich country that is bankrolling Al Jazeera, a channel virtually synonymous with Jihadist propaganda, and that is also being sued for having alleged terror ties.

To top it off, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister has a history of pro-Hamas tweets.

Yet, if Qatar’s place in the world could be described as a Facebook relationship status, it’d be “It’s complicated.”

Complicated, indeed. After all, Qatar has announced that it is no longer playing the role of mediator between Israel and Hamas, and that it is closing the terror group’s offices within its borders.

The country the size of Connecticut has also invested $50 million in pro-Trump American media Newsmax in 2019 and 2020.

It gave the green light to thousands of fresh kosher meals being provided to Israelis during the 2022 World Cup in Doha, which now hosts a recently opened Jewish center.

Additionally, Qatar also houses Al Udeid, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East with 10,000 troops, a sign of cooperation that arose after the U.S.’s Saudi military base was shut down.

“It’s a massive amount of money that they have spent on an air base, that America got for free. And what they have done through this direct foreign direct foreign investment, is they have effectively convinced American decision makers, Congress people, the White House, to look the other way,” says Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

In an exclusive interview with this author, Schanzer described the country of 330,000 citizens as “this weird place” that, by his calculation, has “invested $150 billion to $300 billion in the United States’ influential spheres” — which has been revealed in detail lately by The Free Press.

In 2023, The New York Daily News reported that Qatar invested in advertising contracts and sponsorships for A-list media and entertainment outlets such as Foreign Policy, VOX, Sundance, and Buzzfeed.

$5 million was given to the L.A. Mayor’s Fund, and $20 million for the Nixon Foundation, and the Endowed Journalism Fellowship for the Carter Center.

The “Qatari influence ecosystem” expands its reach to think tanks, influencers, PR firms, lobbyists and universities, and all of this “has effectively advanced the virulently antisemitic and anti-Israel views of the Al Thanis.”

With roughly 10-12% of the world’s energy resources, the Qataris can “do whatever they want, and they do. They have bought off so many levers of power that it makes it virtually impossible for the state to fight back,” Schanzer warns.

Qatari tentacles have taken hold in Canada, too. In August 2021, Canada and Qatar signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA), providing a framework for joint defense activities.

In May 2024, both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an annual bilateral political consultation mechanism, further formalizing their commitment to deepening ties.

Qatar is Canada’s fourth-largest merchandise trade partner in the Gulf. Between January and July 2024, bilateral trade totaled $193.72 million, with notable Canadian exports including aircraft ground trainers, nuclear reactor components, and pharmaceuticals.

Major Canadian companies such as Bombardier, SNC-Lavalin, and CAE, have a presence in Qatar, and joint ventures are active in various sectors.

Qatar Energy has entered into agreements with ExxonMobil Canada for LNG exploration licenses off Newfoundland and Labrador.

Canadian healthcare institutions, such as SickKids and Accreditation Canada, have established partnerships with Qatari organizations.

Meanwhile, France received a $11.5 billion investment from Qatar, of which a fraction is transparent, according to a report by The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) last year.

The Qatari government owns some $30 billion in French assets, such as luxury hotels in Paris, Cannes, and Nice; a stake in the French brand, LVMH, the Printemps department stores; and the majority of the shares of Paris Saint-Germain.

Qatari investments have secured nearly $2 billion over the past fifteen years in the UK.

Schanzer states:

You could argue they’re the world’s largest political hedge fund. They are hedged across a wide range of political causes, political parties, lots of the United States, swaths of Europe, swaths of the Muslim world.

They are hedged across all of it. What does that enable them to do? Access everywhere.

That includes as much the halls of power in Washington and London, as with the leadership of the most infamous terror groups.

Schanzer likens Qatar to the Mos Isley cantina scene from Star Wars. “I mean, you will see Taliban, you’ll see Hamas, you’ll see al Qaeda,” but he believes the country is uninvolved in the dirty work of actual attacks.

Schanzer also stresses that Qatari officials “hang out with Hamas people” in Turkey. To Western leaders, the cover story goes something like this: “it gives us the ability to speak to these bad actors,” but Schanzer isn’t buying it.

It’s all about influence, and part of the hedge fund deal is to buy as much of it, in as many ways, in as many countries, as possible.

Qatar has its hand in billions of dollars in donations to institutions of higher learning, as well as ties to US teachers’ unions and grade schools. The Middle East Forum just recently released a deep dive report of Qatar buying influence in elite institutions.

In a bygone day, the financial network of alumni used to line the coffers; now it’s “sovereign wealth.” And for good reason.

Schanzer asks: “If you can get a ten-million-dollar check from sovereign wealth, why do you want to go around asking for $10,000, in a laborious process that may yield you less money over a longer period of time?”

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism & Policy (ISGAP) and the US Department of Justice have since 2012 worked jointly to examine the unlawful money trails flowing between foreign governments and donors, and American universities.

Their 2019 report discovered that billions of dollars of Middle Eastern donations – predominantly Qatar – had not been reported to the Department of Education, even though it was required by law.

The ISGAP 2024 report revealed that between 2001 and 2023, the Qataris donated $4.7 billion to US academia, including the largest direct foreign donation to any university, that of $1.95 billion to Cornell.

Other elite schools receiving nine or ten-figure donations include: Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, MIT, Texas A&M, Yale, and Johns Hopkins. According to the Department of Education, Georgetown University received more than $870 million in gifts and contracts from Qatar since 2005.

This is just what is publicly known.

Although there are some universities that have now cut ties, such as Texas A & M. And of late, Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern severed its relationship with Al Jazeera.

Those billions, meanwhile, have helped rev the engine of campus antisemitism in North America, in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in Israel. The institutions receiving heavy donations “feel less responsive to the alumni networks that are talking with disapproval,” said Schanzer.

Administrators who were able to connect the dots, he said, “kept their hands folded, quite content with the money that’s coming through” lest the purse strings be not so coincidentally snipped.

Combined with the encouragement of leftist tenured professors, and radical campus groups bought and paid for by extremist elements, the malignant hate was given free rein to metastasize.

Given these red flags, the American government still isn’t paying close enough attention to the stranglehold Qatar has on US interests, Schanzer believes.

“I think that we should be heavily monitoring and restricting their investment in the United States. We should be far more critical where they spend their money abroad,” Schanzer states.

The U.S., he says, needs to “turn the screws” and remove itself from the al-Udeid Air Base, revoke Qatar’s status as a major non-NATO ally, force Al Jazeera to be recognized as a political threat the same way as Russian and Chinese propaganda, send Hamas officials to the U.S. to stand trial, sanction Qatar, and revoke the visa waiver program that was recently introduced to Qataris.

Much to Schanzer’s consternation, he warns, “we’ve not held them to account. Not once.”

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Strategic investments include artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, which represent a threat to U.S. national security interests and Americans’ privacy data.

By Middle East Forum

The Middle East Forum’s (MEF) latest report, “America for Sale: Qatar’s $40 Billion Spending Spree Buys Influence and Control of Elite Institutions,” exposes Qatari government investments across U.S. financial sectors, from businesses and lobby firms, to think tanks, universities, and K-12 education.

The New York Sun calls MEF’s study “a highly detailed look at Qatar’s enormous influence campaign, in which the tiny kingdom has deployed its enormous natural gas and oil wealth to win America’s approbation.”

Marking the first attempt to empirically quantify Qatar’s strategic investments in the U.S. marketplace, “America for Sale” presents a comprehensive picture of the Gulf emirate’s use of petrodollars to purchase political influence and shape global opinion.

Doha’s investments include billions in critical infrastructure, including crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, even though Qatar is America’s chief competitor in global LNG sales.

As the U.S. seeks energy independence from the Middle East, American companies are outsourcing control of the U.S. power grid and green energy products to Qatar.

Strategic moves include investments in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, which represent a threat to U.S. national security interests and Americans’ privacy data.

In real estate, the Gulf emirate’s ventures include more than $6 billion in Manhattan trophy properties, even as New York legislators seek to impose foreign ownership restrictions.

“America for Sale” discloses over $71 million in lobbying and public relations expenses targeting K Street powerhouses, including contracts with former Congress members, legislative staff, and campaign managers from both sides of the aisle.

Ignoring post-October 7 objections to its $6.3 billion in gifts to American colleges, the report shows Qatar donated record sums to institutions of higher learning.

Simultaneously, Qatar Foundation International invested millions in K-12 classrooms.

Doha’s funding of respected think tanks, such as the Brookings Institute and RAND Corporation, undermines their objectivity and independence.

“It’s time for American policymakers to accept that Qatar is a foreign adversary not unlike Iran, China, and North Korea,” said Benjamin Baird, director of MEF Action and the report’s author.

“We must strike a balance between growing our economy and outsourcing control of our critical infrastructure and advanced technologies to foreign adversaries.”

“Qatar’s $40 billion infiltration is a direct threat to American values and security,” said Gregg Roman, MEF’s executive director. “Let’s end the foreign payoffs, protect our national security, and stop the soft power Trojan horse in its tracks.”

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Foreign donors can provide scholarships to their own nationals, judged politically reliable, to study in America, and influence their classmates, or provide scholarships to American students to study in their countries, where they will be subject to round-the-clock propaganda.

By Hugh Fitzgerald, Frontpage Magazine

The Trump administration is not letting up in its determination to make American colleges and universities shape up and fly right.

First, it has asked the universities to supply the administration with information on what they have been doing to record, punish, and prevent antisemitic acts on their campuses.

Second, the administration has asked them to furnish the government with information on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs that are enforced at the schools, so that their observance of the law, or failure to do so — the law as set out in the 2023 Supreme Court decision that struck down Affirmative Action programs for college admissions — can be judged.

And now the Trump administration wants colleges and universities to reveal what foreign money they have accepted, with particular attention to money coming from China and Qatar, two countries that do not share our values, and are, indeed, hostile to us.

More on this request for more information on foreign “influencers” of American universities can be found here:

“Trump order will prevent Qatari, Chinese influence at schools, ed. sec. says,” by Michael Starr, Jerusalem Post, April 24, 2025:

A Wednesday executive order from US President Donald Trump will require transparency in foreign university funding, with Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon emphasizing that the order would address the problem of Chinese and Qatari influence in American academic institutions.

Trump’s order called for McMahon to take all appropriate action to enforce preexisting laws on foreign funding to universities and to demand the disclosure of more details about the donations, their sources, and purposes.

McMahon and Attorney-General Pam Bondi were ordered to hold institutions that failed to properly disclose foreign funding accountable, and to conduct audits and investigations where appropriate.

The order explained that legislation on foreign funding in higher education had not been robustly enforced, with blame leveled at former US president Joe Biden’s administration.

Trump accused Biden of undermining investigations into foreign funding by moving the task out of the Education Department, and supposedly undoing his previous term’s work.

The previous Trump administration had opened 19 investigations into undisclosed foreign funds, according to the order, leading to the reporting of a further $6.5 billion in foreign funding.

Trump’s new administration suggested that as much as half of reportable foreign gifts were not being disclosed, and funds that had been reported supposedly did not detail their true sources.

A Wednesday White House Fact Sheet claimed that $60 billion in foreign gifts and contracts had flowed into American academic institutions over several decades, and only 300 institutions self-reported about the matter each year….

The $60 billion given by foreign donors to American colleges and universities is a staggering sum.

It is rarely given out of the goodness of their hearts, but funding from certain countries is more worrisome than that from others, because this money forms part of sustained campaigns to buy up influence on campuses, by paying for faculty to teach subjects that will be in line with the donors’ desires.

Foreign donors can provide scholarships to their own nationals, judged politically reliable, to study in America, and influence their classmates, or provide scholarships to American students to study in their countries, where they will be subject to round-the-clock propaganda.

The Chinese might pay an American university to take Chinese students or faculty, who will then be able to spread propaganda, but also, if in the sciences, potentially steal secrets from American researchers.

This has already been happening far too often. Qatar has poured money into Middle East Centers filled with native speakers of Arabic, where certain subjects — “contemporary Palestinian literature,” or “the literature of Palestinian resistance,” or “Edward Said’s ‘Orientalism’ Reconsidered” — might be the subject of courses that would please the donors in Doha.

The request had also sought a list of visiting researchers, scholars, students, and faculty, and details about foreign students who had been expelled or had their credentials cancelled.

These requests do no more than ask universities what they were already required to do under the 1965 Higher Education Act.

That is, universities are required to report to the government on “foreign gifts, grants, and contracts” received, and provide information as to the individuals involved in such donations.

Why should this be controversial? Doesn’t the government have a right — a duty — to make sure that malign foreign governments are not managing to plant agents in American universities, either to propagandize for those governments, or for their favorite causes, or to nurture, among the American faculty who receive funding from them, a cadre of professors who may brainwash American students?

How many departments of Middle Eastern Studies have even one faculty member who is well-disposed to Israel?

And what about the continuing scandal of Chinese researchers working at American universities, insufficiently vetted, who have turned out to be stealing the work of American researchers?

Qatar may be the largest foreign donor to American colleges. It is also the main supporter of the terror group Hamas, to which it has donated billions of dollars for weapons and to pay the salaries of combatants.

Most of Hamas’ leaders live securely and luxuriously in Doha. Of course ,the Qataris will want to support Middle East Studies programs that can be staffed with faculty who will be well disposed not just to the Palestinians, but also to Hamas.

Think of the effect of the key professors — Joseph Massad, Rashid Khalidi, and Hamid Dabashi — at Columbia’s Department of Middle East Studies, whose courses would not be out of place at Bir Zeit University.

They have managed to prevent the hiring of any faculty who do not share their pro-Palestinian views. The Qatar Foundation has been pouring money into Columbia, and if the federal government continues to withhold $400 million in funding for the university, Qatar could easily step in and make up the difference.

All the administration wants is to be kept fully informed of what foreign money has been, and is being, spent on American higher education, what programs or individuals are being funded, what sums are being provided, and whether there is any reason for alarm about the effects of that funding coming from countries that have very different values from ours, and do not wish us well, such as China, such as Qatar.

What’s wrong with that?

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Many conservative voices in Washington are wary of unconditional U.S. foreign aid, and a new model for stressing reciprocity would appeal to policymakers.

By Sveta Listratov, TPS

Israeli officials are laying the groundwork to phase out a longstanding U.S. foreign aid model for a new framework based on joint investments, innovation and equal partnership.

“I believe Israel must be an equal among equals,” Likud MK Amit Halevi, who is spearheading the initiative, told The Press Service of Israel.

“Israel must first and foremost be a sovereign state that respects its sovereignty and breaks free from any framework or system that enables or imposes dictates on its policy,” insisted Halevi, who chairs the Knesset subcommittee on National Security Doctrine and Force Buildup.

Under the current Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed in 2016 and is in effect from 2018-2028, Israel receives $3.8 billion annually. While $500 million is earmarked for missile defense cooperation, the remaining $3.5 billion is used entirely within the U.S. defense industry.

But key Israeli figures told TPS-IL that this model no longer reflects Israel’s capabilities or the mutual benefits at stake.

Halevi, who convened a series of hearings on the issue, wants to emphasize bi-national funds and mega-projects reflecting joint strategic interests.

He suggested that models such as the Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD Foundation) and the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF Foundation) be scaled to the defense and national strategy arena.

During a February visit to Washington, Halevi presented his principles to Republican and Democratic lawmakers. He told TPS-IL that his proposal was met with genuine interest, especially among conservative members who viewed it as a potential response to critiques of foreign aid.

‘Not Handouts’

“Too often, Israeli officials arrive on Capitol Hill thanking America for its generosity,” Yoram Ettinger, former Israeli ambassador and expert on U.S.–Israel relations told TPS-IL. “They should be reminding Congress that this is a win-win. The $3.8 billion remains in the U.S., supports American jobs, and boosts American security.”

The retired diplomat and researcher stressed, “These are not handouts. Israel is not a foreign aid recipient. It’s a battlefield laboratory for the U.S. defense industry. Every dollar ‘given’ to Israel returns hundreds in value to American taxpayers.”

He pointed to data from U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Boeing showing that Israeli feedback from combat use of American systems shortens R&D timelines, improves weapon effectiveness, and drives U.S sales.

“We are the luxury showroom of American military hardware,” said Ettinger.

The research of Dr. Raphael BenLevi has shaped much of the debate. BenLevi — the director of the Churchill Program for Statecraft and Security at the Argaman Institute, and a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security — told TPS-IL that Washington’s use of aid as both a carrot and stick has distorted decision-making and public perception.

“Since the 1970s, many Israeli territorial concessions were indirectly facilitated by aid packages — aid that was meant to ‘sweeten’ politically risky moves,” he explained. “We called it ‘land for peace,’ but it was often ‘land for aid.’”

BenLevi also warned that overreliance on U.S. procurement hollowed out Israel’s own production lines. The current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) ended Israel’s ability to convert 26% of aid into local currency.

“We became addicted to Washington’s credits. Then came the war on October 7, and suddenly we needed ammunition we couldn’t manufacture fast enough at home,” said BenLevi.

According to BenLevi and Halevi, a ten-year phased transition would allow Israel to adjust its military budgeting and strengthen its industrial independence. By 2028 — when the current MOU expires — Israel could be “in position to negotiate a new framework based on joint innovation, not dependency.”

Halevi’s committee hearings revealed internal divisions. Some warned that reducing U.S. aid could endanger Israel’s security, with one academic calling the dependence as “existential.”

Opposition MK Moshe Tur-Paz added that while U.S. aid is 2% of Israel’s defense budget in peacetime, it surges to 16% during emergencies and must be preserved.

In response to those concerns, BenLevi told TPS-IL that that the aid currently represents only 0.7% of Israel’s GDP and roughly 2.5% of the pre-war national budget.

“That’s not existential. We can fund these purchases ourselves, and gain flexibility in choosing suppliers, investing in domestic capabilities, and forming new partnerships—without undermining our bond with America,” BenLevi said.

Reciprocity

Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel, explained to TPS-IL that many conservative voices in Washington are wary of unconditional U.S. foreign aid, and that a new model for stressing reciprocity would appeal to policymakers.

“U.S. assistance to Israel is not a one-way street. It’s an investment. Israel is not a welfare case—we’re a critical ally that gives back more than we get,” Zell told TPS-IL. “This shift in messaging can neutralize criticism on the right—and highlight how this alliance serves American interests.”

This debate was reignited when President Donald Trump introduced trade tariffs affecting more than 90 countries. Israel was hit with a 17% tariff on products.

“Don’t forget, we help Israel a lot. We give Israel $4 billion a year. That’s a lot… But we take care of our friends,” Trump told reporters during a joint Oval Office appearance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April. In Jerusalem, Trump’s remarks were viewed as patronizing.

In contrast, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, speaking in Jerusalem later in April, struck a different chord.

“It is not that Israel benefits so greatly because of its relationship to America. America benefits greatly from its relationship to Israel… From intelligence and military tech to life-saving medical innovations, what we get is invaluable,” Huckabee said.

Said Halevi to TPS-IL, “This isn’t about walking away from America. It’s about maturing the alliance. About freeing ourselves from structural pressures. About standing tall and saying—we are equals.”

Halevi is busy drafting a formal policy paper outlining a practical roadmap to gradually replace the current aid model with bilateral investment frameworks and strategic cooperation mechanisms.

His plan is expected to feed into Israel’s preparations for the next Memorandum of Understanding negotiations.

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U.S. investors dominated the market, contributing $24 billion, representing 73% of total foreign investments.

By JNS

Preliminary numbers for the first half of 2024 show a 15% increase in foreign investment in Israel, according to the annual report of the Chief Economist’s Office of Israel’s Finance Ministry, published on Tuesday.

With the exception of a major investment by Intel, 2023 saw a 24% decline in foreign investment in Israeli hi-tech compared to the previous year, the report states, according to Israel’s Globes business daily.

Only 1,563 deals were concluded in 2023, compared to 2,502 in 2022—a drop of 62%. Key investments included Thales SA’s $3.6 billion Imperva merger and Adani Group’s $1.2 billion Haifa Port acquisition.

Semiconductor investments led sectoral distribution at 48%, followed by IT at 31% and life sciences at 6%.

U.S. investors dominated the market, contributing $24 billion, representing 73% of total foreign investments.  hi-tech French investments reached $3.7 billion, taking the second-place position.

By contrast, preliminary 2024 data shows first-half investment volumes of $11.8 billion across 910 deals. First-quarter investments totaled $4.4 billion with 460 deals, while second-quarter figures reached $7.4 billion with 450 deals. In October 2024 alone, the hi-tech sector brought in more than $1 billion in foreign investments.

“The global trend of a slowdown in foreign investment flows in 2023 also affected Israel. Investment volumes in Israel in 2023 were bolstered by Intel’s significant investment deal, while the country faced challenges, particularly in the fourth quarter, due to the ‘Iron Swords’ conflict,” said Finance Ministry Chief Economist Shmuel Abramzon, according to Globes.

“Data for 2024 indicates a growth trend in foreign investment deals in Israel, and improved security and political stability are expected to support this trend further,” he added.

However, not all signs point to improvement. The year-long war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization devastated Israel’s north, which will cost the country more than 5 billion shekels ($1.4 billion) to repair.

The damage from Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Oct. 1 alone will cost an estimated $40 million to repair.

In addition, the Finance Ministry in October significantly reduced growth projections for the coming year due to the ongoing conflict, causing it to make more than $10 billion in budget cuts while aiming to limit the deficit to just 4% of GDP.

An additional step the ministry has taken to right the ship and lower the deficit from its current 8.1% of GDP to its target goal of 4% was to raise VAT to 18% beginning on Jan. 1, 2025.

This increase is expected to cost Israeli families between 1,000 to 2,000 shekels ($274 to $548) annually.

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Maayan Cohen, CEO of Hello Heart, said the company kept tens of millions of dollars in the bank after raising $70 million in a Series D in 2022 and taking its total funding to about $138 million.

By Meir Orbach, Calcalist

Maayan Cohen, CEO of Hello Heart, realized that something was wrong at Silicon Valley Bank on Thursday and knew she had to act fast. “We kept tens of millions of dollars in the bank and in fact, all our money was there and so was all the money of many companies.”

Cohen did not specify exactly how much money the company had in the bank, but in its last funding round in May 2022, the company raised $70 million in a Series D, taking its total funding to about $138 million.

The company’s flagship solution is an FDA-cleared blood pressure monitor coupled with an app. The app allows people to track their blood pressure, pulse, medications, weight, and activity using AI-based technology. The app provides real-time alerts to extremely high readings and encourages users to reach out to their physicians and healthcare professionals to catch risks in time.

“There was a crazy sequence of events,” Cohen told Calcalist. “On Thursday I started to see people talking about SVB in the entrepreneurs’ groups and then I realized that all my money was there. I saw that they were downgraded and there was a liquidity problem, I understood that there was going to be a problem. I woke up our entire finance department from the United States and we moved half of the money to Israel.

“After an hour I turned to our investors but they were divided in their opinions. I decided not to wait and withdrew all the money. A CEO’s loyalty should be to the company first. Not to the bank, not to the state, not to anyone else. So when there is a risk, money is withdrawn.”

Cohen said the local ecosystem responded admirably. “There are masses of entrepreneurs who were in dire straits and many entrepreneurs helped companies with their systems. From what I experienced, most Israeli companies withdrew the money on time because of the connection between all the entrepreneurs. Most other founders waited until the afternoon when it was no longer possible to withdraw the money. This is a step that, for me, saved the company.”

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Caught between the U.S.-China trade war, Israeli companies are increasingly focusing on Japan as their Asian business center.

By Meir Orbach, CTech

2021 was a record-breaking year in terms of investments in Israeli tech, and it was revealed on Sunday that Japanese investments played no small part in that. According to research conducted by the Harel-Hertz Investment House Ltd., Japanese investments in Israeli companies in 2021 reached an all-time record high of $2.945 billion, showcasing a rise of 190% compared to the year prior.

The number of investments also rose dramatically, leaping from 63 in 2020 to 85 in 2021, while in 2019, that number stood at 70. Japanese investments accounted for 12% of all investments in Israeli companies, and 15.8% of all foreign investments.

An additional positive statistic was the diversity of investments across different fields. In 2015, most investments (61%) focused on telecommunications and internet, but the share of such investments dropped to 13% in 2021, with growth being seen in life sciences, medicine, foodtech, cybersecurity, fintech, cleantech, and the automotive industry.

A total of $13 billion since 2000

Since the year 2000, Japanese companies have invested $13 billion in Israel. The momentum of Japanese investment in Israel soared from 2015 after the exchange of diplomatic visits between then-prime ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Shinzo Abe. This trend continued following the signing of investment agreements and a security memorandum of understanding and led to collaborations in the fields of cybersecurity, space, academic research, and agriculture.

While 2020 was defined by the entrance of Japanese institutional investors (insurance companies and banks) who increased their presence in Israel, including the establishment of independent offices and cooperation with their Israeli counterparts, 2021 saw the entry of Japanese venture capital funds into the country, whether through Israeli branches or independently.

Currently, 18 Japanese VCs operate in Israel through cooperation agreements. That includes the public entry of Japan’s two leading tech companies – NTT and SoftBank. They join 95 other tech, investment, industrial, telecommunications, and other companies which have created an active Japanese community that influences the Israeli high tech scene. This year, nine new companies made their first investment in the country and joined this community.

Another factor that proves the maturity of Japanese investments in Israel is the transition to more advanced stages of investments. A few years ago, the majority of investments were in initial stages of development, while this year the share in growth stages has increased.

A major part of the impressive growth were the three significant acquisitions that were completed this past year by Japanese companies, with Itamar Medical being acquired by the ZOLL Medical Corp., an Asahi-Kasei company, Medi-Tate being acquired by Olympus, and Celano being acquired by Renesas.

Elchanan Harel, CEO of Harel-Hertz noted that these growth figures are more impressive when considering they were all “digital investments,” which were conducted through Zoom calls and without any physical meetings between the parties due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. That also points to the maturity of the relations between Japanese business people and their Israeli counterparts.

According to the Harel-Hertz group, the escalation in the trade wars between the U.S. and China, as well as the rise in tensions between Eastern Asian countries and China, Israeli companies focus on Japan as their Asian business center. Many Israeli companies are now examining options of opening branches and offices in Japan, and are appointing local Japanese managers to represent their companies locally, recognizing their economic importance, and viewing Japan as a convenient center for operations in Asian countries.

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It’s not by chance that 40 percent of all private cyber investments in the world are invested in Israeli companies.

By Abigail Klein Leichman,Israel21c

It is not by chance that 40 percent of all private cyber investments in the world are invested in Israeli companies, and that a third of the world’s unicorn cyber companies – private startups worth at least $1 billion – are Israeli.

Cybermania: How Israel Became a Global Powerhouse in an Arena That Shapes the Future of Mankind, gives an expert view of how Israel became a leading country in the field and among the first to recognize the size and importance of the cyber revolution.

“Today, cyber accounts for 15% of Israeli high-tech exports, which is about half of the total exports of the State of Israel, and it will only grow,” lead author Prof. Eviatar Matania said.

“These are amazing numbers, but they do not show the whole picture. After all, there are metrics that cannot be measured, such as defense capabilities. Within a decade, Israel has become a very significant player in the new cybersecurity and cybereconomy arena.”

Matania is founding head and former director general of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, a member of Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and head of TAU’s International MA programs in cyber-politics and government and in security studies. He is also an adjunct professor at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government.

Matania’s coauthor, Amir Rapaport, founded Israel Defense magazine and its global Cybertech conferences that began in 2014.

Matania said although Israel leads in various indices of technology and security, it’s always in relative terms — per capita or by relative size – except when it comes to cyber.

“For example, Israel is strong in academic publications per capita, or in the percentage of national expenditure on research and development. But when looking at absolute numbers, it is clear that other countries like the US and China overshadow us by a considerable margin in absolute investment in research and development,” he said.

“In cyber, on the other hand, Israel is a global powerhouse in absolute numbers: 40% of all private investments in the world in cyber reach Israel, and every third unicorn company is Israeli. It’s a unique phenomenon.”

The book from Kinneret-Zmora-Dvir Publishers, soon to be published in English, is based on Matania’s experience as head of the National Cyber Directorate and later as director of the National Cyber Security Authority in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2012 until 2018.

“The tipping point of Israel’s journey to become a cyber-power was a visit by then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Unit 8200 in 2010,” said Matania, referring to an elite military intelligence squadron.

“Netanyahu was astonished by what he heard from the soldiers. He understood that the new world of cyber posed an extraordinary risk to Israel, as the country would be vulnerable to attacks from anywhere in the world. At the same time, he was able to see the cyber opportunity for a small country like Israel, which specializes in both technology and security, to take the initiative.”

National Cybersecurity Structure

Matania said the visit to 8200 led Netanyahu to initiate a comprehensive national cybersecurity plan with its foundations in academia and industry.

The architect of this plan was Maj. Gen. (Res.) Prof. Yitzhak Ben-Israel, then head of the National Council for Research and Development and now head of Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center.

According to Matania, Netanyahu wanted Israel to be one of the five leading cyber powers in the world. But the result was even better than that.

“The national cyber system that I headed was the first of its kind in the world, reporting directly to the prime minister,” said Matania.

“There was an in-depth government understanding that it was not enough to wait for the free market to do its thing. Large budgets were invested in academia and industry and in building dedicated cyber defense capabilities.”

Six cyber research centers were established at Israeli universities, and the government invested heavily in cyber startups, many of them founded by IDF veterans parlaying their cyber expertise into private ventures.

“That’s how Israel got the jump on the whole world,” said Matania.

“The British were the second in the world, by the way, and that was only because the then British Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, studied the structure and the Israeli strategy – and then returned to London and was appointed chief of cyber in the UK Cabinet.”

Matania added that Israel’s cyber capabilities help leverage its political achievements.

“When Israel signs a cyber-defense alliance with Cyprus and Greece, it does not necessarily need Cyprus or Greece to upgrade its cyber defense – but in return we get payback in other areas,” he explained.

“Israel has become synonymous with cyber — so much so, that today we are relying on cyber in the international arena.”

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Prime minister says diplomatic relations with UAE will give Israel access to $1 trillion in investment.

By Paul Shindman, World Nsrael News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the pending peace deal with the United Arab Emirates would bring massive investment to Israel’s southern desert region.

“We have good news that is very important to the state and to the Negev. The peace agreement with the UAE is a great opportunity for the injection of new investments in the Negev,” Netanyahu told a meeting of the Negev Lobby at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

“In the Negev, you are developing the whole gamut of desert agriculture, water and solar energy. These things are very interesting to our friends in the UAE,” Netanyahu said.

Israel and the UAE are expected to sign an agreement at the White House in the next few weeks that will establish full diplomatic relations. It is the first peace treaty with an Arab country since Jordan and Israel ended their state of war in 1994.

Netanyahu emphasized the economic importance of the development, given the economic crisis the Jewish State is in due to the coronavirus pandemic with unemployment hovering around 20 percent.

“I am aware of their desire to invest here in their sovereign wealth fund, which, by the way, is almost $1 trillion. They are very interested in investing in Israel,” Netanyahu said. “I also intend to bring them to the Negev and I am certain that you will show them the great possibilities that exist here. Therefore, I think that there truly is a unique opportunity here. This is a historic agreement that contains great news for the State of Israel”

The agriculture sector has great potential due to Israeli prowess in agri-tech and due due to the dry climate in both Israel and the UAE, Calcalist reported.

“We have been talking to different actors in the UAE about promoting desert agriculture projects,” said Or Haviv, a partner in the Israeli investment firm Arieli Capital.

“There is no done deal, but we were already discussing it prior to last week’s announcement,” Haviv told Calcalist. “The UAE wants to learn how to do agriculture in the desert and gain produce which is at the level of that grown in Israel. There is a plan to send a delegation from the UAE to Israel so that they can undergo training at Ramat Negev.”

Israeli investor Alan Feld of of Vintage Investment Partners, traveled to the UAE earlier this year and said he believes the Arab business sector  is open to both investing in Israeli tech and purchasing equipment and products.

“I believe that we will very soon see investments in VCs and Israeli companies. They have a VC industry and they also want us to invest in their companies,” Feld said.

“The entire region is a desert and in the middle of it they built an amazing airport and one of the best tourism systems I’ve seen,” said Feld. “They want to diversify their sources of income and not be so dependent on the price of oil. They see themselves as a regional technology center and Israel is a good source of technology for them.”

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The greatest amount of investment by foreign residents came from the United States.

By JNS/Israel Hayom

Foreign investment in Israel jumped 30 percent in two years, according to a new report from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), released on Sunday.

The report states that foreign investments in Israel totaled $129.1 billion for 2017, a 20.2 percent increase compared to 2016 and 30 percent higher than 2015, when total foreign investment was under $100 billion.

The CBS figures covered investments by foreign residents or companies who bought more than a 10 percent stock share in Israeli companies.

In 2017, 60.4 percent of foreign investment went to the fields of trade and services. The remaining investment was divided between high-tech (32.6 percent), industry (28.3 percent), and advanced technologies (15.8 percent).

The greatest amount of investment by foreign residents came from the United States ($21.1 billion), followed by the Netherlands, the Cayman Islands, Canada, China, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Switzerland.

Israelis abroad were also investing more outside of Israel.

In 2017, Israelis abroad put $100.3 billion into foreign ventures, more than 65 percent of which went into industry. Other prominent investment targets included companies in the oil, chemical, and pharmaceutical sectors. The lion’s share of investment from Israelis abroad went to Europe, which received more than 63 percent of the investments.

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