In his article to Algemeiner, titled "Why Is Alan Dershowitz Defending Qatar?", Rabbi Shmuley Boteach highly criticized the professor for his piece on The Hill, in which he sided with the Qatari regime, praised Hamadein’s politics calling Qatar “Israel of the Gulf”. He questioned the motive behind Dershowitz’s peculiar change of position, and how could he “publish such a poorly-argued piece defending the principal funder of Hamas.”
Boteach wrote, “It is astonishing that Alan Dershowitz — a man I deeply respect for his principles — has allowed himself to become a mouthpiece for Qatar. The fact that someone of Dershowitz’s stature would come back from his visit, which he admits was entirely funded by the government of Qatar, parroting its views only emboldens the Qataris to persist in the tactic of offering Jews free propaganda trips and hiring more Jewish operatives, like Nick Muzin, to whitewash their support of terror.”
He quoted Republican Congressmen, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Dan Donovan of New York, who wrote an op-ed a few weeks ago, noting that “Qatar is the master of playing all sides.” They said that the emirate’s strategy is to “pursue good relations with the United States, make false promises about combating terror , lavishly fund western universities and business projects — all while quietly financing and promoting terror, allying with Iran , and leveraging an American air base as an insurance policy against punishment for promoting terror.”
The Rabbi concluded, “If the Qataris are so worried about their reputation and their survival, however, they would be better advised to stop supporting terrorism and sever ties with Iran, rather than continue to seek out influential Jews whom they think can help them end their isolation."