On Feb. 16, Rabbi Pini Dunner stood outside the house of former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani (known in short as HBJ) with a small group of people, holding a handmade sign that read: “A man who funds terrorism lives here.”
A few days before, he stood with the same group of people outside the Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills, which was purchased in 2019 by the Maybourne Group. The hotel, formerly known as the Montage Hotel, is owned by the Qatari royal family. Dunner finds this outrageous, and since Oct. 7, has made it his mission to ensure people are aware of the hotel’s connection to Qatar and its financial ties to Hamas.
“This is HBJ from the royal family of the Al Thani family, the royal family of Qatar,” said Dunner, pointing at a placard with a photo of the former prime minister. “Qatar pretends to be mediators, the honest brokers of the Middle East. But you know who they are? They are the funders and supporters of terrorism. All they are interested in is creating havoc and chaos in the world and then pretending to resolve it.”
The rabbi of Young Israel of North Beverly Hills is a man on a mission: he wants to raise awareness, and he wants the Qataris out of Beverly Hills. Talking to The Journal following the protests, he said that people are not well aware of the connection between Qatar and Hamas and how they support this terrorist organization. Therefore, Dunner says, every time a guest stays at the hotel or celebrates their wedding or bar mitzvah there, they’re indirectly helping fund Hamas.
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. The problem is that most people don’t see it. They [Qatar] build a narrative around themselves that they are wonderful people, the mediators between Hamas and Israel, and people have fallen for it. It’s quite unbelievable and scary. It shows you that if you know how to manipulate your image, you can sell anything.”
Dunner himself admitted that his synagogue once held a function at the Maybourne. It was back in 2021, and someone told him that the hotel was purchased by Qatar. He put it in the back of his mind, but then after Oct. 7, it made him see the absurdity of the Arab country playing a role in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Dunner wrote a letter to the Beverly Hills City Council asking why Qatar is allowed to conduct business in town — the same country that invited Hamas to Doha and began funding Hamas in Gaza.
A small group of around two dozen protesters stood outside the luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, with signs that read, “This hotel supports terrorism,” alongside a picture of a Hamas terrorist. Other signs labeled members of the Qatari royal family as “accomplices in terrorism” and claimed their hands were stained with blood.
Beverly Hills City Councilmember John A. Mirisch, who participated in the protest, condemned Qatar’s anti-Jewish racism and its funding of terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. “Qatar is using the Al-Jazeera network to spread terrorist propaganda,” Mirisch said.
“Qatar allows a disgraceful treatment of the hostages upon their release and this, coupled with the fact that every bullet fired by Hamas, every tunnel in Gaza and every rocket fired at Israel is financed with Qatari money,” said Dunner. “We are not willing to accept the presence of terror supporters in our city. There is no difference between the state of Qatar and members of the Qatari royal family.”
Dunner’s protest is a quiet one; he doesn’t mind the small number of people who join him in his quest. His battle is waged primarily on social media and through the press. Still, he is frustrated that Qatar is considered an ally of the U.S. and holds significant power thanks to its financial strength.
“I may not have the power to make sweeping political changes,” he said, “but I can tweet. And if a few thousand people see it, then more and more will start paying attention. Awareness leads to action, and eventually, we will get results.”
“People paint Iran as the greatest threat, but Qatar is a much greater threat.” – Rabbi Pini Dunner
“They are puppet masters,” said Dunner of the Qataris. “All the chaos on campus is paid for by Qatari money. People paint Iran as the greatest threat, but Qatar is a much greater threat. I have a friend who is a minister in the Conservative government. I called him up and said that the U.K. should be taking measures against Qatar and he said it would be more difficult to extricate Qatar from the U.K. than Brexit. They own 20% of the London Stock Exchange, they own Harrods, they own British Airways, they own Sainsbury’s, which is like Ralphs, they own billions of pounds’ worth of property, they own politicians because they give them cash — you can’t believe these people’s reach.”
Dunner hopes that the Qatari will sell their hotel, but not only that. “Their assets should be confiscated, their visas revoked,” he said. “Most of all, I want the narrative to change. People need to wake up to who they really are.”
