In a recent revelation, a group of influential figures, including billionaires, financiers, and executives, reportedly used a private WhatsApp group to influence public sentiment on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Some members of this group even held a Zoom call with New York Mayor Eric Adams, urging him to deploy police to handle protests at Columbia University.
According to The Washington Post, a faction of this pro-Israel group held a video call with Mayor Adams on April 26. The discussion revolved around deploying New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers to the Ivy League campus in Manhattan, which was the site of a prominent pro-Gaza encampment. The group's members included Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of Kind snack company, hedge fund executive Daniel Loeb, billionaire Len Blavatnik, and real estate investor Joseph Sitt.
The meeting occurred a week after the NYPD's first significant operation at Columbia, where numerous students were arrested. Participants allegedly deliberated on how they could persuade Columbia's leadership to request the mayor to send the NYPD back to the campus for another round of arrests. Subsequently, at the university's request, NYPD riot police returned to the campus in response to the occupation of a campus building, leading to hundreds of arrests.
During the Zoom call, participants also reportedly discussed donating to the mayor and hiring private investigators to assist the NYPD in managing protesters. A member of the chat group suggested that Mayor Adams accepted this offer.
The April meeting was part of broader efforts by the WhatsApp group members, which included high-profile business figures such as former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and investor Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trumps son-in-law and a former Trump administration official.
When questioned about the alleged meeting and the discussions therein, the mayors office responded with a statement from deputy mayor Fabien Levy. He clarified that the NYPD entered Columbia Universitys campus twice, on April 18th and April 30th, in response to specific written requests from the university. Levy dismissed any insinuations that Jewish donors secretly plotted to influence government operations as an antisemitic trope.
A spokesperson for Mr. Blavatnik confirmed his attendance at the Zoom meeting, during which participants expressed a variety of opinions and ideas. Mr. Blavatnik, a Columbia alum, attended the session to understand the mayor's perspective on the Columbia protests and donated $2,100 to the mayors reelection campaign in April.
The NYPD clarified to The Post that it has not and is not using private investigators to manage the protests.
The group chat also reportedly interacted with government officials. Following the outbreak of the conflict on October 7, members sat for briefings with former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Herzog, and Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz.
The WhatsApp group, reportedly titled Israel Current Events, was established to "change the narrative" around the conflict to be more favorable to Israel by highlighting "the atrocities committed by Hamas to all Americans," according to the Post story. The chat reportedly shut down earlier this month after seven months.
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