DUBAI BUSINESSMAN GIVES $1M TO U.S. COLLEGE TO HONOR ANTI-SEMITE

Dubai Businessman Gives $1M to College to Honor Antisemite (LGF)
Antisemitic ex-Congressman Paul Findley, a Saudi sycophant whose rabid articles were purged from the ArabNews web site, has a friend in Dubai who’s giving Illinois College $1 million to honor the old Jew-hater: Dubai exec’s donation honors critic of U.S. policy on Israel.

Notice how the Chicago Tribune soft-pedals Findley’s insane conspiracy-mongering bigotry.

Illinois College, a small liberal arts college in Jacksonville, is getting a contribution of nearly $1 million from a Dubai multibillionaire who wants to honor a former U.S. congressman.

The gift, which was announced in November but hasn’t been widely reported, will allow the college to house the papers, some personal effects and other memorabilia of Paul Findley.

The 86-year-old Findley was born in and still resides in Jacksonville. He graduated from the school and much later served on its board. Though he served in the U.S. House for 22 years, he is mostly known today for his extensive writings and speeches on the influence of the Israeli lobby on U.S. foreign policy and politics.

In a tribute to his friend Findley, Khalaf Al Habtoor, chairman of Al Habtoor Holding LLC, a Dubai construction, engineering, publishing and resorts firm, plans to give the college $975,000. The gift is to be used to construct, endow and pay for a part-time curator for a center on leadership that is to be housed within Crampton Hall, a 140-year-old former dormitory that is being restored and converted into an administration building. The center will be named after Al Habtoor but will serve as the repository for Findley’s papers and memorabilia.

When the gift was announced, Illinois College President Axel Steuer expressed gratitude to Al Habtoor “for his recognition of the high quality of the college’s educational program and for honoring our distinguished graduate Paul Findley in this special way.”

Findley represented the area in the U.S. House until his defeat in 1982 by Democrat Dick Durbin, now the senior U.S. senator from Illinois. Findley has claimed that the pro-Israeli lobby targeted him for that defeat because of his criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

Since then, he has written and spoken at many Middle East forums about what he sees as that lobby’s undue influence over U.S. foreign policy. He has said the United States would not have been attacked on 9/11 or invaded Iraq if not for its uncritical support of Israel.

He is founding chairman of the Council for the National Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based group that seeks to “reverse the U.S. government’s one-sided, one-way Middle East policies.”

Findley said he met Al Habtoor about 20 years ago. He said the Arab mogul helped to disseminate Findley’s 1985 book, “They Dare to Speak Out,” to U.S. libraries and invited him to speak a few years ago before a group in Abu Dhabi. Al Habtoor also has promoted Findley in his print and online publications. The mogul himself uses those organs to opine on Middle East issues and criticize U.S. policy in the region.

Findley said he had long planned to bequeath his papers and other effects to the college but “had almost zero hope that anyone would come up with the amount of cash needed” for a special campus setting for them. “But Al Habtoor did.”

DUBAI CO. USES HITLER TO SELL REAL ESTATE IN U.A.E.

"Conqueror - The world is yours" (Harry's Place)

This guy is unbelievable. A Dubai-based company Conqueror Real Estate is standing by a decision to use Adolf Hitler in a national newspaper campaign in the United Arab Emirates. The ad, which places a picture of the Nazi dictator next to the tagline "Conqueror - The world is yours", ran in the national newspaper Gulf News and provoked a string of complaints.

But David Dakak, general manager of Conqueror Real Estate, said the ad had produced the desired effect and was part of the company's marketing strategy to provoke a response.

Dakak said: "I'm making business, I don't have any political opinion. He's a famous person -- bad or good, I don't care -- and I want to attract the attention of readers. And yesterday we had a lot of response. We had complaints, but it was one of the busiest days of the year too, so it has an affect."

I'm not sure if this is a "Dubai" thing or just the case of one guy and a moral vacuum.

FORMER PRESIDENTS SHILL FOR ANTI-SEMITES OF DUBAI

How to sell anti-Semites: The legitimization of Dubai by Dick Morris (JWR)
The past few years have seen a concerted international PR campaign to promote Dubai as a tolerant new Mecca of Middle East moderation and amazing economic growth. And it's working. Corporate giant Halliburton is moving its headquarters there; the famed Louvre is opening a branch in the emirate. Tourists are flocking to Dubai's luxury hotels.

But don't be fooled. Dubai, which is one of the seven princedoms of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is anything but tolerant and progressive. To put it bluntly: They don't like Jews.

In fact, Dubai, like the rest of the UAE, is blatantly anti-Semitic. It bars all Israeli citizens from ever setting foot in the country. People from other nations whose passport have stamps indicating they've even visited Israel must notify Dubai immigration authorities of the stamp before entering. Dubai is also actively involved in the Arab boycott of Israel: It bans all products made in Israel and even ones with parts made in Israel.

But the emir of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, understands the value of using prominent Americans to legitimize his country and burnish its image in the American media. That's why former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have been the objects of Dubai largesse. Their Dubai friends have given millions to each of their presidential libraries. And Bill Clinton has raked in more than $1 million for speeches he's given in Dubai and the UAE.

Dubai's PR machine went into high gear after 9/11 - in part to distract attention from the extensive use the terrorists made of the emirate. More than half of the hijackers traveled to the United States via Dubai. The 9/11 Commission noted that $234,500 of the $300,000 wired to the hijackers and plot leaders in America came via Dubai banks.

Several months after 9/11, Dubai's newest best friend began his public association with the country. In January 2002, Bill Clinton gave his first Dubai speech (for $300,000). He' been legitimizing the country ever since. Clinton was the rainmaker who introduced the emir to his friend and employer, Ron Berkle, the owner of Yucaipa companies and a major fund-raiser for Bill and Hillary. Last year, Yucaipa and the emir formed a new company, DIGL, for their joint ventures. So Bill Clinton is now an adviser and member of the board of directors of a company that is in partnership with the anti-Israeli government of Dubai. The Clintons won't reveal how much the former president pocketed for setting up this deal, except to report on Hillary's Senate disclosure form: "more than $1,000." A lot more. According to San Francisco Examiner columnist P.J. Corkery, Clinton makes $10 million a year from Yucaipa.

Bill isn't alone in legitimizing Dubai. Other Clinton pals - including disgraced former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, ex-Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Al and Tipper Gore - have attended highly publicized events there. So have some Republicans - including former Bush Sr. Chief of Staff John Sununu, presidential brother Neal Bush and Rudy Guiliani. Republican ex-Sen. Bob Dole and Democratic ex-Rep. Tom Downey lobby for Dubai; so does The Glover Park Group, home of Hillary Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson and former President Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart.