• Billionaire Jeff Yass has had a significant influence on the abhorrent indoctrination of Israelis regarding Islam and Muslims.
• He has also had a strong sway on International relations in the Middle East.
According to an investigation by Responsible Statecraft, Jeff Yass, a prominent Republican contributor and investor in TikTok, has ties to more than $16 million in funding anti-Muslim and pro-Israel organisations. These groups have actively advocated for reprehensible propaganda campaigns that indoctrinate Israelis, they propel odious Islamophobic narratives and militaristic policies in the Middle East, including a potential US conflict with Iran.
The billionaire co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, a trading and technology firm, has garnered attention for his significant influence within the Republican Party. He currently stands as the foremost political contributor in the 2024 election cycle, having donated over $46 million to date.
Yass has also risen as the primary financier of a faction aiming at representative Summer Lee during her primary contest, indicating a vested interest in shaping Democratic primary results, rather than solely bolstering Republican candidates.
However, scant attention has been given to his lethal contributions that fund organisations (promoting a pro-Israel stance) in advocating for assertive U.S. strategies in the Middle East. In addition, they endorse figures whom experts have characterised as radical Fascist, terrorists and anti-Muslim figures.
Yass has contributed a whopping $7.9 million in donations to Jerusalem Online University.
An investigative report by ‘The Jewish Daily Forward’ in 2011, revealed that the University presents itself as an educational resource on the Middle East and Israel. However, upon closer inspection the Forward discovered that website and content from the Online University was found to be ‘non-academic’, egregiously racist and bigoted, with overt biases meticulously engineered to indoctrinate Israelis against Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians.
Reported by Haaretz Yass contributed another $3.48m to Jerusalem Online University’s parent organisation, Imagination Productions.
The Claws Foundation, where Yass was a Director, also allocated a $10,000 grant to Friends of the Israel Defence Forces in 2011 and provided $35,000 in grants between 2010 and 2011 to the Centre for Security Policy.
This organisation, founded by Frank Gaffney, is known for promoting vile anti-Muslim sentiments and hate-mongering conspiracy theories regarding Islam and Muslims. Gaffney has been labelled by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes,” and the Anti-Defamation League has identified him as a primary advocate of the conspiracy theory alleging that the US government has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood and that several political figures have ties to the group. Clare Lopez, the vice-president of the Centre for Security Policy, has been quoted saying, “When Muslims follow their doctrine, they become jihadists.”
Between 2013 and 2014, the Claws Foundation allocated $250,000 to the David Horowitz Freedom Center, known for its advocacy of anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. David Horowitz, the organisation’s president and namesake, expressed his views during a Brooklyn College event in 2011, lamenting that Muslims were a “protected species in this country” and waiting for the day when “the good Muslims step forward.”
“The fact Yass is donating to Gaffney and Horowitz’s organisations shows how extreme his politics are,” asserted Tommy Vietor, former national security council spokesperson under President Obama. “They are beyond Trump. They are OG conspiracy theorists. Gaffney in particular.”
In 2014, the Claws Foundation also contributed $100,000 to the Central Fund of Israel, an organisation described by The New York Times as a hub for settlement development in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In 2015, QXZ Inc donated $1.5 million to Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, Aipac’s advocacy group that opposes the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA is an agreement between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany and Iran, aimed at imposing restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for some relief from nuclear-related sanctions.
The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure its military does not take actions that violate the Genocide Convention.
A UNICEF report published this week reported the following findings:
• As of 15 April, at least 33,843 Palestinians were reported killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of hostilities.
• More than 76,575 Palestinians were reported injured, including at least 12,104 children.
• As of April 17, there were 244 aid workers killed including 176 UNRWA staff. Seven World Central Kitchen staff were killed on 1 April.
• UNRWA reports as of 7 April, that at least 409 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been killed in their facilities, with at least a further 1,409 injured.
• According to OCHA, since 7 October, at least 2,900 Palestinians including more than 1,300 children have been displaced, mainly in Area C and East Jerusalem, due to settler violence and access restrictions, home demolitions, and destruction of residences during military law enforcement operations.
Furthermore, Islamophobic attacks in the UK have recently surged by 600%, as reported by both the Metropolitan Police and the charity Tell Mamma.
