Infiltrating America: UAE’s Political Interference Under the Shadow of the Zionist Lobby

Dark Box Report: How the UAE, Operating Beneath the Zionist Lobby’s Umbrella, Engineered One of the Most Aggressive Political Influence Campaigns in U.S. History

Dark Box has released its latest investigation, “Infiltrating America: How the United Arab Emirates Launched an Unprecedented Political Interference Campaign in the United States,” as part of its Combating Kleptocracy Program.

This report exposes how the UAE—a dictatorship presenting itself as a “benign U.S. ally”—has carried out one of the most extensive political infiltration campaigns in modern American history. From covert lobbying and illicit funding of U.S. think tanks, to infiltrating American universities, recruiting retired U.S. military officials, hiring elite American hackers, and cultivating ties deep within Washington’s corridors of power, Abu Dhabi has leveraged every tool at its disposal to shape American politics.

However, the investigation underscores that this machinery operates primarily beneath and in tandem with the Zionist lobby. The UAE’s influence does not stand alone—it feeds into and amplifies pro-Israel networks in Washington, merging with their agenda to create a formidable alliance targeting dissidents, silencing critics, and reinforcing authoritarian policies in the Middle East.

The UAE’s Playbook: Lobbying in the Shadows of Zionism

“While attention has long focused on Russian or Chinese influence campaigns, the UAE’s operations—shielded and often enabled by the Zionist lobby—have gone largely unnoticed,” said Casey Michel, Director of HRF’s Combating Kleptocracy Program.

The UAE has perfected a hybrid influence model:

• Illicit lobbying campaigns conducted through PR and legal firms linked to pro-Israel networks in Washington.
• Massive financial donations to American think tanks (many aligned with Israel’s strategic priorities), universities, and policy institutions.
• Recruitment of high-ranking U.S. military officials to secure bipartisan political cover.
• Funding disinformation campaigns targeting Muslim activists, Palestinians, and anyone critical of Emirati-Israeli normalization or regional policies.

This alignment has allowed the UAE to avoid scrutiny: operating under the Zionist lobby’s political umbrella, it enjoys near-immunity within U.S. power structures, presenting itself as an indispensable partner in Washington’s Middle East strategy.

From the White House to Academia: The UAE’s Influence Network

Dark Box’s report reveals how Emirati agents and lobbyists directly penetrated policy circles in the Trump and Biden administrations, funneled money into major universities to stifle dissenting narratives on Palestine and human rights, and even funded covert disinformation campaigns to delegitimize critics of the UAE and Israel alike.

In several instances, Emirati-linked actors worked hand-in-hand with pro-Israel operatives to undermine figures critical of both governments. Through this alliance, Abu Dhabi has embedded itself not only as a U.S. client state but as a junior partner in Israel’s influence apparatus in Washington.

Why This Matters

This report pulls back the curtain on the dual-layered influence system dominating U.S. policy in the Middle East:

• The Zionist lobby leads, dictating core policy red lines on Israel and Palestine.
• The UAE operates underneath it, reinforcing and expanding that agenda while pursuing its own regional authoritarian ambitions.

Dark Box warns that this model risks becoming a blueprint for future autocracies, where authoritarian regimes piggyback on powerful domestic lobbies to infiltrate and co-opt democratic systems abroad.

Conclusion

For years, Americans were told to look for foreign interference from Moscow or Beijing. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi—operating under the political shield of the Zionist lobby—ran one of the most successful and underreported political infiltration campaigns in U.S. history.

This is not simply about foreign influence; it is about the merger of authoritarian power and entrenched lobbying networks, hollowing out accountability in Washington while normalizing repression at home and abroad.

Dark Box’s investigation is a warning: If unchecked, this axis of Emirati and Zionist lobbying will continue distorting U.S. democracy, silencing dissent, and cementing policies that perpetuate wars, occupation, and authoritarianism in the Middle East.