JNS
"The dialogue with them was very pleasant, and they received us respectfully. They know the potential of the Israelis."
An Israeli delegation, including members of the Israel Diamond Exchange, participated in the inaugural International Diamond and Gem Conference (Jan. 29-31) held in Qatar.
The gem conference billed itself as a “brainstorming event” to develop new ideas given the structural changes to the diamond and gem supply chain and shifts in consumer preferences.
Among those attending were Israel Diamond Exchange President Nissim Zuaretz, and the Ramat Gan-based-exchange's CEO Eran Zini.
They were invited by Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry Faisal Al Thani and entered using their Israeli passports. The Qataris did not try to hide the Israeli presence, Globes reported.
Zuaretz sat in the first row with Qatar's Minister for International Trade Ahmed al-Saad and chairman of the Tourist Authority Saad Al Kharji.
“The dialogue with them was very pleasant, and they received us respectfully. They know the potential of the Israelis, and what is happening with [U.S. President Donald] Trump may bring about a change in the economic strategy with them,” Zuaretz said.
Israel is at the start of a process for many business opportunities with the Qataris, not only in diamonds, Zuaretz said, comparing the situation to what happened with the United Arab Emirates, where “where today flights from Israel to Dubai never stop, and the UAE comes and invests money in Israel.”
In 2021, Qatar opened a free trade zone similar to one in the U.A.E. to trade in diamonds, jewelry and gold. The UAE, now the world’s largest diamond trading hub, saw about 120 million carats traded in the first half of 2024. Diamonds make up 5.5% of the UAE’s non-fossil fuel trade.
For Qatar to set up a diamond exchange, it needed to secure the approval of member states that are signatories of the Kimberley Process of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (KPCS). The Kimberley Process is a group dedicated to removing conflict diamonds from global trade. Israel, as a major diamond hub, is a founding member of the KPCS.
In 2017, Qatar tried to open a diamond exchange but was blocked by Israel with the help of the UAE, which was part of a boycott of Qatar over its support for Iran and Islamist groups.
In 2021, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain ended their three-year boycott of Qatar. However, most of the 13 demands of the boycotting countries, such as ceasing support for the Muslim Brotherhood and closing Al Jazeera, a news outlet partly funded by the government, were dropped.
Qatar continues to support Muslim Brotherhood groups, having hosted the leaders of Hamas up until November 2024, when the U.S. pressured it to remove them from the country.
In May 2024, Israel closed Al Jazeera’s local offices, accusing it of being a “mouthpiece for Hamas.”
Qatar also bears some responsibility for subversive trends on American college campuses.
In 2019, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, a U.S. group, revealed "that the foreign donations from Qatar, especially, have had a substantial impact on fomenting growing levels of antisemitic discourse and campus politics at U.S. universities, as well as growing support for anti-democratic values within these institutions of higher education.”
