Politics

Al Jazeera Spied On American Jews For A Documentary And It’s About To Premier

Reuters

Greg Price Contributor
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Multiple congressional offices have been invited to attend the screening of a never-before-seen Al Jazeera documentary about the Israel Lobby’s influence on the American political system.

The Lobby: USA is a previously unreleased documentary that never aired after it was revealed that it relied heavily on undercover recordings obtained during a 2018 spying operation on American Jews and pro-Israel groups in Washington D.C. conducted by Al Jazeera.

An invitation to the screening sent to various congressional staffers was reported by the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday. It is being hosted by two progressive foreign policy think tanks, the Center for International Policy (CIP) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). (RELATED: Republicans Ask DOJ Why Qatar-Owned Al Jazeera Isn’t Registered As Foreign Agent)

The event will consist of a “screening of a 24-minute segment from the never-shown 2018 Al Jazeera documentary The Lobby: USA on the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. This four-part documentary never aired following the Qatari government’s decision to ‘postpone’ its release,” according to the invitation.

In addition to the screening, the event will also feature a “panel of experts” who “will discuss domestic groups that are working with the government of Israel to stifle critics and Palestinian rights advocacy in the U.S., but have not registered under FARA.”

Revelations of the spying operation at the time prompted members of Congress to call for Al Jazeera to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires state-backed actors to disclose their ties to foreign governments.

The organizers of the event maintain that pro-Israel organizations register under FARA disclosure laws even as Qatari owned Al Jazeera have rebuffed such demands of them, citing their editorial independence.

Al Jazeera and its subsidiary AJ+ have a long history of promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. (RELATED: Media Outlet Tied To Qatar Tricks Young Liberal Americans Into Spreading Anti-American Propaganda, Experts Say)

Al-Jazeera says they played no role in organizing the congressional event.

Representatives from CIP and IPS declined requests for comment.