Leaked emails reveal Paramount owner David Ellison’s role in an Israeli plan to spy on US activists

According to leaked emails, Paramount’s new owner David Ellison and pro-Israel American billionaires participated in a plan run by the Israeli government to surveil and suppress pro-Palestine activists in the US.

According to a report in Grayzone, the plan, dubbed “12 Tribes” in reference to a dozen Jewish billionaires initially called upon to finance the operation, sought American frontmen to fund surveillance companies run by Israeli intelligence veterans on behalf of Tel Aviv, targeting American citizens involved in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The emails documenting the foreign influence campaign against BDS were leaked in 2024 by the hacker group Handala and were first identified by journalist Jack Poulson.

The files show that former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was tasked with recruiting wealthy Westerners to provide funds for surveillance companies operated by Israeli intelligence veterans who tracked and harassed individuals suspected by the Israeli government of being pro-Palestine sympathizers.

In the emails, Hollywood talent agency executive Adam Berkowitz describes Ellison as someone “very interested” in “helping to [weaken] the BDS movement.”

Berkowitz introduces Ellison to the Israeli general in a group email. “Benny, meet David. David, meet Benny,” Berkowitz wrote on December 23, 2015, adding, “I briefly explained to David the 12 tribes idea [from Gantz], you can explain it to him in more detail, he seemed very interested.”

Two days later, Ellison replied, “Mr. Gantz, it is a pleasure to meet you via email. I very much look forward to discussing everything you are working on and in the meantime hope you enjoy the holiday season. I will be back in Los Angeles on January 3rd and look forward to connecting in the New Year.”

A planning spreadsheet names other Zionist billionaires sought for Israel’s efforts. These include David’s father, Oracle founder and Friends of the IDF board member Larry Ellison; Israeli-American billionaire and top Democratic Party supporter Haim Saban; and Google founder Sergey Brin, whose “Israel support” was still “unclear.”

One of those named, Canadian bookstore chain owner Heather Reissman, had “already agreed” to donate.

The document lists other hyper-wealthy Zionist activists as potential 12 Tribes members, along with the following descriptions:

• Eli Broad ($5.7 billion, real estate magnate, philanthropist supporting pro-Israel causes)
• Selmo Nissenbaum (Art collector, partner at Personale Investimentos Ltda since 2008. Director of Uhf Incorporated; financially supports the Weizmann Institute)
• Dorothea Steinbruch ($5.8 billion, steel industry)
• Safra family
• Kevin Bermeister (Technology innovator, real estate investor, philanthropist, founding investor of Skype)
• Frank Lowy (Co-founder of Westfield Group, operator of over 100 shopping centers in Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK, with a net worth of $4.60 billion)
• Anthony Pratt (Net worth of approximately $7.1 billion US, packaging industry)
• Édouard Cukierman (French-Israeli businessman)
• Rothschild family (Banking dynasty)
• Lord Stanley Fink (Net worth of $180 million, former hedge fund manager, pro-Israel philanthropist)
• Sir Ronald Cohen (British businessman and political figure, known as the “father of British venture capital”)
• Lord George Weidenfeld (British publisher, philanthropist, newspaper columnist; pro-Israel supporter)
• Poju Zabludowicz (Finnish-born, London-based businessman, investor, art collector, and pro-Israel philanthropist, one of the main supporters of the pro-Israel group BICOM in the UK)

Those honored with the selection to donate $1 million to the official Israeli propaganda fund would be considered one of Israel’s “12 Tribes,” directly guided by the Israeli government, according to the promotional document.

The document states, “The funding for this initiative will be provided by a special group of twelve of the most influential Jewish philanthropists, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel; the Israeli government will act as the thirteenth tribe, facilitating this initiative.”

Internal planning documents from the Institute for National Security Studies, a seemingly “independent” think tank that serves as an extension of the Israeli military, reveal how the 12 Tribes saw itself: “Strategically, we want to be a non-hierarchical mothership, working for the people and state of Israel.”

On the other hand, the masterminds of this initiative placed great importance on presenting an appearance of independence from Tel Aviv. “Government funding is also a political constraint,” said one organizer, adding that “independence is essential to reach all target audiences.”

Another planner agreed that the plan would be more effective if it appeared autonomous, stating, “We need more guerrillas and less IDF in the forests.”

A third planner added, “This will not be a secret project, but the connection with the state and the government must be very tightly controlled.”

With the funding from the 12 Tribes, Israel would use “the latest cyber technology as a soft weapon” through companies like Black Cube.

Black Cube is a notorious Israeli intelligence firm known for tracking the accusers of infamous Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Black Cube also acts as an “attack dog” for the creators of the highly invasive Pegasus spyware, produced by Israel’s NSO Group.

As former President Barack Obama neared a nuclear deal with Iran, Black Cube again dispatched agents with false identities to investigate administration officials involved in the negotiations.

Black Cube’s internal documents boast that the Israeli company has “developed several unique methods, especially social engineering, to move freely in limited-access environments,” while also collecting data from the dark web.