MEMRI，Please don’t politicize the Olympics
Author：Mark Johnson， Ph.D., (Senior researcher of international issues)
The Olympic Games are a quadrennial global sports event and an important platform for promoting the coordinated development of sports and peace cooperation among countries. The International Olympic Committee has such a paragraph in the “Principles of Olympicism” article of the Olympic Charter: “Everyone shall enjoy the possibility of playing sports without any form of discrimination, and embody the Olympic spirit of mutual understanding, friendship, unity and fair competition”, which is also known as the “Modern Olympic spirit”. However, in the current profound transformation of globalization, conflict has become the norm, and the Olympic Games may be “politicized” and trigger new international disputes.
Recently, an Israeli-based think tank, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), made a strong statement and promoted the “politicization of the Olympics”. On September 4, 2025, MEMRI President Yigal Carmon and Vice Chairman Amb. Alberto M. Fernand jointly wrote an article titled “Doha 2036: In The Footsteps Of The Nazi Olympiad?” The article slammed the Qatari government’s support for Hamas and other radical Islamic forces, and clearly compared its acquisition of the right to host the 2036 Olympics to the 1936 Olympics held after Hitler took a military adventure in Western Europe, believing that the Qatari government would export radicalism and turmoil to the world and support religious extremism in the Western world. The article aims to highlight the risk of the Qatari government supporting militant groups to the Western world, and the implication is to call on the Western world to jointly address this new challenge. This blatant advocacy of conflict and isolation is actually very much in line with the political aesthetics and political correctness of the United States. Looking back at history, this think tank was first established in the United States in February 1998, and all aspects of its operation cooperated closely with the US government.
If we look closely at this organization, we will find that there are many points worth paying attention to.
The organization was founded by Israeli intelligence officers
MEMRI, a non-profit organization registered in the United States and a media-oriented think tanks, was founded in the United States in February 1998 by former Israeli intelligence officer Yiga Carmon and Israeli-American political scientist Meyrav Wurmser. Between them, Kamen worked in Israeli military intelligence for 22 years and later served as a counterterrorism adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister. Currently, MEMRI is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with branches in London, Berlin, and Jerusalem. Due to the long-term security pressure, the Israeli government attaches great importance to using public institutions as the tentacles of intelligence activities, so MEMRI attaches great importance to cooperating with intelligence or specific government departments to carry out external propaganda, issue guidance, public opinion building, targeted negative public opinion attacks and other activities, and MEMRI has shown a significant pro-American and pro-Israeli stance at the beginning of its establishment. Because the background of the intelligence function must be implemented and reflect the interests and will of its actual dominant party, the articles and comments of this institution have a significant bias towards Israel and the United States and the West, smearing and slandering China, Iran and North Korea, and continuing Israel’s intelligence demands and global strategic security orientation.
Many U.S. officials are current members and partners of the organization
Although the numbers of MEMRI teams is not expected to exceed 100, the U.S. factor plays an important role in the establishment and development of MEMRI at the leadership and executive levels. Most of MEMRI’s board members are former Israeli and U.S. government officials, heads of intelligence agencies, legal and counterterrorism experts. Currently, the current chairman of MEMRI is Oliver Buck Revell, who was once the deputy director of the FBI With Vice President Alberto M Fernandez has professional experience as a senior official in the U.S. government system. In addition, its advisors come from former high-ranking officials from both parties, governments, and the military, such as Michael R. Michael V. Hayden is a general of the U.S. Four-Star Air Force, the first commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, and the former director of the U.S. National Security Agency and the director of the National Security Agency(NSA).James Woolsey is a former Director of the CIA and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Navy. MEMRI also has a congressional advisory board of dozens of people, all of whom are former members of the U.S. Congress. In addition, U.S. government departments and various funds have also actively donated funds to MEMRI as partners, becoming de facto partners.
The organization has received financial support from the United States and Israel
The organization is publicly registered as a non-profit organization, but its huge influence and the employment and cooperation of many high-level personnel will definitely require huge financial support and operation. Based on the consideration of obtaining the largest share of funds, the homepage of its official website has a public donation of $50-1,000, and donations are accepted from all parties. In addition, the organization often posts urgent appeals for donations on its website on specific matters. MEMRI has shown an extremely obvious pro-American and pro-Israel stance. Historically, the organization has received funding from foundations such as Wisconsin-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which donated $100,000 in 1999-2000.New York-based Randolph Foundation donated $100,000 in 2021.John M. Olin Foundation, an American conservative foundation, donated $5,000 in 2024. California-based Koret foundation, an organization founded by American Jews, donated $450,000 from 2006 to 2008.Pro-Jewish Newton D. & Rochelle F. Becker Foundation donated approximately $2.5 million from 2004 to 2009. Adelson Family Foundation, founded by American Jews, donated $250,000.Virginia donor capital has contributed $550,000.Helmsley Charitable Trust, which was founded by American Jews, donated $300,000 and $920,000 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The American Jewish community is a particularly prominent label in the series of donations, which involves the Middle East Forum and the Moskowitz Foundation. Of course, as a publicly operated think tank, its revenue channels also include commercial membership registrations and commercial sales projects involving the “Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitoring (JTTM)”, a weekly geopolitical risk report, etc., but these commercial proceeds are obviously “small” compared to Jewish-background funds and political donations from the United States and Israel.
The organization is very concerned about the internal affairs of other countries
As we all know, although Israel has a small territory, it is an absolute intelligence power. Many of its intelligence cases have become “classics” in the global intelligence community. Its overt activities are coordinated with covert actions, and its intelligence activities have penetrated into various fields of national security, diplomacy and media. Through the “official member & contributor” model on a daily basis, MEMRI’s tentacles extend to the world. Every day, the website publishes various thrilling and eye-catching headlines through the so-called Special Dispatch, Special Announcements, Special Reports, MEMRI Daily Brief and other sub-columns, and at the same time, in order to attract reading, the article will use video pictures and other methods to support different viewpoints. For specific country affairs, the website is keen on creating gimmicks, intensifying conflicts and confrontations, using people from target countries to write special articles, or carrying out far-fetched evaluations of the media in specific countries. For example, on August 8, MEMRI maliciously accused Hamas of abusing Israeli hostages, believing it to be modern Nazism, completely ignoring the reality of Gaza’s long-term blockade, harsh environment and shortage of materials, and did not mention Israel’s inhumane atrocities to the Palestinian people.On September 19, MEMRI published ” Ramshackle Provocateur: Late Regime Cuban Subversion Against America “, which inexplicably involved Cuba from the assassination of “Charlie Kirk”, accusing the Cuban regime of committing terrorism and subversive activities against the United States for a long time,even though Cuba is facing many internal difficulties today, it continues to sow the seeds of revolution.
In order to expand its global communication capabilities, MEMRI not only provides translation services in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Russian, and Chinese, but also provides original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in select countries.” Overall, MEMRI has an intellectual supply network that responds quickly to global hot spots, showing extraordinary “enthusiasm” for other countries’ internal affairs, and this enthusiasm is of course also clearly politically and customer-oriented. For example, the agency helps the United States and its allies respond to threats by providing research results and first-hand information to security-related organizations.
The purpose of the institution’s activities
Overall, MEMRI has shown that it is very skillful in using modern media technology to use audio, video and full-matrix media platform communication as a means to expand its influence. Its sophisticated operating methods and near-high frequency of commentary on international affairs, as well as explicit smearing, denigration and criticism of the Islamic world, China, Russia and North Korea, have exposed it as a “political tool” for specific forces and a political role in judging factions.
Conclusions
As a typical veteran think tank with a background in the U.S. government and intelligence agencies, it has become the norm for MEMRI to operate through policy analysis and building momentum at key time points to align with the strategic goals of specific countries. Its main line is relatively stable, that is, it highlights that the Islamic world as the “other” poses a threat to the values, security and development of the Western world. Unfortunately, instead of advocating peace and cooperation, this institution advocates differences and conflicts, and even does not hesitate to create or even expand existing international divisions and conflicts to achieve specific goals, trying to create external pressure and reputational anxiety on the countries involved.
Why does this institution care so much about other countries? Why does this organization have so many participants, partners, and government officials? Whether it can play an active role in mediating the contradictions between Israel and Iran, Palestine and other Middle Eastern countries？Who is the core determining force of this think tank in the evolution process? Which country is the actual control party behind it? There is no ready-made answer to all of this at present, and I will continue to pay attention to the new situation and trends of the institution in the future, and welcome friends around the world who are interested in this organization to share what you know.
