MBS meets Jewish leaders during US visit

NEW YORK: Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, known as MBS, has met leaders from a number of right-wing Jewish organisations during his tour of the United States, Al Jazeera reported.

The groups, which have donated millions to illegal settlement building and the fight against BDS (the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, include officials from AIPAC, Stand Up for Israel (ADL) and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA).

According to a leaked copy of his itinerary, Haaretz reported that MBS also met with leaders from the Conference of Presidents, B’nai B’rith and the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

AIPAC, ADL and the JFNA have long targeted BDS, a non-violent movement that seeks to economically pressure Israel into providing equal rights and a right of return to Palestinians.

Some of the pro-Israel US groups have spent millions in lobbying for the Combating BDS Act, a bill that seeks to stifle BDS.

Meanwhile, JFNA gave almost $6m to illegal Israeli settlements between 2012 and 2015. JFNA supports a number of settlements over the Green Line (the border separating pre-1967 Israel from the Occupied Palestinian Territories), and helps families of Jews suspected or convicted of violence against Palestinians.