Millions of shekels originating from Qatar have flowed to an Israeli nonprofit in Haifa through a British foundation, allowing the funds to be officially recorded in Israel as donations from England without Qatar appearing in the organization’s filings, according to an investigation by Shomrim published by Ynet.
The investigation found that the Arab Culture Association in Haifa received NIS 17.8 million in foreign donations between 2020 and 2025, accounting for more than 95% of its income. The overwhelming majority reportedly came from the London-based Galilee Foundation, whose own funding largely originates in Qatar.
At the center of the funding network are brothers Azmi and Marwan Bishara. Azmi Bishara, a former Israeli MK, has lived in Qatar since leaving Israel in 2007 amid an investigation into suspicions that he assisted Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War. He currently heads the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha.
That Doha-based center transfers money to the Galilee Foundation in Britain, where Marwan Bishara — an Al Jazeera commentator — is chairman of the board of trustees and one of its founders. The London foundation then distributes money to organizations in Israel, including the Arab Culture Association. The brothers’ late sister, Dr. Rawdat Bishara, was among the Israeli organization’s founders and directors.
The amount transferred from the Doha center to the British foundation increased dramatically after 2022. The foundation received $181,000 from the center that year, followed by $1.8 million in 2023, $2.1 million in 2024 and $1.6 million in 2025. The Doha institute also has financial connections to the Qatari government, including a graduate program funded primarily by Qatar.
The British foundation additionally receives interest from an investment fund donated by the Emir of Qatar. Its $2.5 million investment portfolio includes bonds issued by two Qatari entities controlled by the emirate, according to the report.
Despite the money trail, neither “Qatar” nor the Doha-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies appears in the Israeli nonprofit’s filings. Instead, the funds are reported as donations from the British foundation. The investigation noted that Israeli regulations require nonprofits to identify their direct donor, but not the donor’s underlying sources of funding, meaning the filings appear to technically comply with reporting requirements.
The Arab Culture Association had a NIS 3.3 million budget in 2025, with approximately 90% coming from foreign donations. Its activities include book fairs, performances, festivals, “Nakba tours” and scholarships for Arab-Israeli students. Scholarship recipients are required to attend workshops and lectures dealing with Palestinian identity and history and participate in volunteer activities.
According to the investigation, the organization also failed to report that one of its board members and authorized signatories, Dr. Mahmoud Muhareb, serves as a research fellow at Bishara’s Doha institute — the same institute transferring funds to the London foundation.
Neither the Galilee Foundation nor the Arab Culture Association provided a response to the report.
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