In the face of widespread international demonstrations in favor of the Palestinian people, a billionaire real estate mogul in the United States is raising money for a high-profile advertising campaign to improve Israel's public image and demonize the Hamas armed organization.
According to an email obtained by news outlet Semafor, a media campaign dubbed "Facts for Peace" is soliciting contributions of one million dollars from dozens of the world's most prominent figures in media, banking, and technology.
The target list includes more than 50 people, such as Dell CEO Michael Dell, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and investor Michael Milken. They are worth almost $500 billion together, as per the report.
Investor Bill Ackman is one of the people who has openly threatened to blacklist pro-Palestinian students who are critical of Israel. On October 10, Ackman made a post on X (previously Twitter) in which he and other corporate leaders called for the identities of students whose organizations had signed open letters criticizing Israeli practices in Gaza to be made public by Ivy League campuses.
'Facts for Peace' Media Campaign
Initiator and American tycoon Barry Sternlicht said the effort would enable Israel to get ahead of the narrative in response to international backlash at Israel's heavy assault on the Gaza Strip.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have repeatedly bombed the troubled Gaza Strip, killing at least 11,078 Palestinians (4,500 of whom were children), forcing 1.5 million to flee their homes, and destroying most of the territory's infrastructure.
Official estimates put the death toll from Hamas' surprise strike on Israeli soil on October 7 at about 1,200.
Al Jazeera reported that the goal of Sternlicht's media campaign is to portray Hamas as a "terrorist organization" that is "not just the enemy of Israel, but of the United States," as he put it. The objective is to garner $50 million in individual contributions, aligned with a matching amount from a Jewish charity.
Reportedly, the campaign has collected several million dollars so far. It is unknown whose personalities have given.
It is being advised by Josh Vlasto, a communications strategist who has worked for US Senator Chuck Schumer and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
US-Israel Ties Amid Conflict
When it comes to diplomatic support and financial assistance, the US is Israel's most reliable ally worldwide. The US Congress earlier approved emergency military assistance to Israel in the amount of $14.3 billion.
A recent survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, however, found that almost half of US Democrats disapprove of President Joe Biden's handling of the crisis.
It has been claimed that Instagram, X, YouTube, and TikTok, among other popular platforms, have engaged in shadowbanning to silence pro-Palestine views.
