Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein told a Qatari businessman that Doha needed to “sing and dance” for Israel to get on US President Donald Trump’s good side during a blockade of the small Gulf state.
The email, part of the US Justice Department’s tranche of documents released over the weekend, shows Epstein inserting himself into a rift that erupted in the Gulf between Qatar on one side and the UAE and Saudi Arabia on the other.
Epstein told a man identified as “Jabor Y” that Qatar could apparently come in from the cold if it was able to normalise ties with Israel.
“If the people would allow your country to recognize israel. ,could be interesting to discuss. If not maybe consider putting 1 billion into a fund to benefit the victims of terrorist acts. asking the other gcc memebers to match it,” Epstein wrote on 9 July 2017.
In other emails, Jabor Y appears under the name Jabor Yousef Jassim Al Thani. He is a Qatari businessman and member of the royal family. In a 2016 document, he appears to ask for permission for Epstein’s plane to land in Doha.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia led Arab states in severing diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on the gas-rich monarchy in June 2017. Trump backed the blockade.
Epstein suggested that Qatar’s problems could go away if it stopped “kicking and arguing” and forged closer ties to Israel. He said Qatar needed to follow India’s example, which has emerged as a close Israeli partner.
“The Indian Prime minisiter modi took advice. and danced and sang in israel for the benefit of the US president. they had met a few weeks ago.. IT WORKED.!” Epstein wrote to Jabar.