Billionaire Americans form WhatsApp network to reconceptualize Israel's public image
Straight-up Chat:
Billionaire moguls and CEOs of significant American businesses secretly conspired to manipulate public sentiment towards Israel's conflict in Gaza. This exclusive WhatsApp group, titled "Israel Current Events," featured heavyweights like Howard Schultz of Starbucks, Michael Dell of Dell, and Joshua Kushner.
The covert group, established in early October, aimed to shift the narrative about Israel and raise awareness about the "atrocities committed by Hamas." The existence of this group was unveiled by the Washington Post on a Thursday, with sources being anonymous individuals with direct access to the chat.
During a Zoom call with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, several chat members, including billionaire Len Blavatnik, discussed potential political donations and urged Adams to persuade Columbia University's president and trustees to allow city police onto campus. Some even offered to hire private investigators to assist the police during protests.
According to the Washington Post, a member of the group claimed that Adams had accepted the offer for private investigators, but New York's police denied utilizing such investigators during the protests.
The illusion of secret Jewish plotting to maneuver government operations is a regurgitated antisemitic trope, Fabien Levy, New York's deputy mayor, argued. This accusation, Levy suggested, is an age-old, harmful stereotype that the Washington Post should be ashamed to even entertain.
On May 1st, numerous students were arrested as New York police officers in riot gear stormed the main campus and disbanded the encampment. Police used an armored vehicle with a bridging mechanism to gain entry into Hamilton Hall, which students had renamed Hind's Hall – after a five-year-old Palestinian girl who tragically met her end along with several family members and two paramedics, apparently struck by Israeli tank fire.
Deputy Mayor Levy asserted that police entered Columbia University in response to specific written requests from the university. He emphasized that any implication of other motivating factors in the decision-making process was wholly unfounded.
The WhatsApp group boasted over 100 members and was orchestrated by real estate tycoon Barry Sternlicht. Sternlicht himself was not a direct part of the chat but was kept in the loop through a staffer. The staffer explained that the group's goal was to help "win the war" of public opinion in the US while Israel pursued "winning the physical war."
The group, formed primarily of billionaires, included thirteen members on Forbes's annual billionaire list, as reported by the Washington Post. Prior to the group's disbandment this month, its members attended private meetings with former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, war cabinet member Benny Gantz, and Michael Herzog, Israel's ambassador to the US. The group also collaborated with the Israeli government to screen an Israeli military-compiled film illustrating Hamas's infamous October attack, which left around 1,200 Israelis dead.
In November, Sternlicht apparently launched a $50m media campaign against Hamas, with assistance from media and business magnates.
- The revelation of the covert WhatsApp group, "Israel Current Events," consisting of influential American business leaders like Howard Schultz and Michael Dell, brought forth discussions on news analysis, opinion, and politics regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
- The group aimed to influence the general public's perception about Israel, particularly focusing on presenting Hamas's alleged atrocities as a key issue in war-and-conflicts news coverage.
- The group's strategy involved potential political donations and private investigators, as revealed during a Zoom call with New York City Mayor Eric Adams. This sparked concerns about the intersection of media, business, and politics.
- The arrests of several students at Columbia University on May 1st, following a police raid on the campus, raised questions about the role of media, politics, and war-and-conflicts in influence-peddling situations, with the renaming of Hamilton Hall as a poignant symbol.
- In a subsequent move, billionaire Barry Sternlicht, who orchestrated the WhatsApp group, initiated a $50m media campaign against Hamas with the support of other media and business magnates, further highlighting the intersection and influence of media, business, and politics in shaping public opinion.
