UAE weaponised antisemitism in Washington in its feud with Saudi Arabia

The UAE sought to weaponise allegations of antisemitism in Washington as part of its escalating rivalry with Saudi Arabia, according to current and former US officials cited by Middle East Eye.

Officials said Abu Dhabi approached prominent American Jewish organisations and encouraged them to raise concerns about alleged antisemitic rhetoric in Saudi Arabia — a move seen as an attempt to influence how Riyadh is perceived in US policy circles.

Among the groups contacted was the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which maintains deep bipartisan ties in Washington and is led by former Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch. The AJC opened a satellite office in Abu Dhabi in 2021 following the Abraham Accords, formalising its relationship with the Emirati government.

While the AJC has not publicly intervened in the dispute, other pro-Israel advocacy organisations have taken a more vocal stance. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which partnered with the UAE in 2023 to establish the Al Manara Centre in Abu Dhabi, warned earlier this year of what it described as antisemitic language emerging from Saudi voices.

US officials characterised the Emirati outreach as part of a broader effort to elevate accusations of antisemitism within Washington’s political ecosystem. One official said the dispute had “taken on a religious dimension”, suggesting that framing the rivalry in those terms could carry particular weight in the US.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has moved to contain the fallout. A former US official described Riyadh’s subsequent meeting in Washington with pro-Israel organisations, including the AJC and ADL, as “damage control”.

Saudi officials met representatives from those groups during and after Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman’s recent visit to the US, seeking to push back against claims circulating in political circles

Once closely aligned, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are now competing across multiple arenas. In Yemen, Saudi Arabia has moved to reduce the influence of Emirati-backed factions. In Sudan, the two states support opposing sides in the civil war. Rivalries extend into the Horn of Africa, where each is consolidating separate alliances.

The revelations show how the UAE has turned its partnership with Israel into a strategic asset since the 2021 Abraham Accords. Despite the strain Israel’s genocide in Gaza has placed on regional relationships, Abu Dhabi has remained closely aligned with Tel Aviv.

Last month, a Saudi academic described the UAE as a “Zionist Trojan horse” in the Arab world, arguing that its strategic alliance with Israel serves to challenge Saudi Arabia’s influence and reshape regional dynamics. Dr Ahmed bin Othman Al-Tuwaijri characterised the Emirati-Israeli partnership as a calculated break with Arab unity, saying that Abu Dhabi has effectively “thrown itself into the arms of Zionism” in pursuit of its own ambitions.

His remarks reflect a widening policy gap between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Unlike the UAE, Saudi Arabia has conditioned any future normalisation with Israel on the establishment of a Palestinian state. The UAE, by contrast, continues to champion the Abraham Accords and deepen its ties with Tel Aviv — despite Israel’s continued expansion in the occupied West Bank, including moves towards de facto annexation, which Abu Dhabi had claimed it was halting when it justified normalisation five years ago.

The widening rift with Saudi Arabia is mirrored in the networks Abu Dhabi has chosen to engage in the West. The UAE has worked with and courted European far-right figures and networks known for anti-Muslim rhetoric. MEMO previously revealed details of the dark, Islamophobic world of a UAE “dirty smear campaign.”

Last month far-right British activist Tommy Robinson publicly defended the UAE in its dispute with Saudi Arabia over Yemen and Sudan. In a tweet that has been widely criticised, Robinson claimed that “Saudi Arabia threaten Israel’s security.”