Qatar: Profile of Palestinian academic Azmi Bishara

Resident in Doha since 2007, ex-Knesset (Israeli parliament) member Dr Azmi Bishara has played a key role in developing the thinking of both Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and his son Emir Sheikh Tamim during and since the Arab Spring. Bishara has provided an link with Arab nationalist elements who, sources say, appeal to Tamim. Sources canvassed by GSN described Bishara as “very influential” or “Tamim’s prophet”. One compared him to Italian Renaissance diplomat and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli and his realpolitik manual The Prince.