Lahav Harkov
Jewish Insider, Dec. 18, 2023
“It’s all a scam on the families, sadly. The one lever not pulled in 10 weeks is pressure on Qatar.”
The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which receives substantial funding from the Government of Qatar, advised the families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza not to criticize the Gulf state, which is a major financial backer of Hamas.
The Richardson Center “promotes global peace and dialogue by identifying and working on areas of opportunity for engagement and citizen diplomacy with countries and communities not usually open to more formal diplomatic channels,” according to its mission statement. One of the ways it does this is to negotiate for the release of hostages, and was involved in the release of American student Otto Warmbier from North Korea and Princeton student Xiyue Wang, and worked with the family of basketball player Brittney Griner when she was imprisoned in Russia.
In multiple statements regarding the release of American hostages last year, the Richardson Center stated it “is greatly appreciative of our partners, including the Government of Qatar, and the many individuals who support and enable our work as a not-for-profit.”
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