Alan MacLeod at Mintpress: Revealed: The Israel Lobbyists Writing America’s News
A MintPress News investigation has found hundreds of former employees of Israel lobbying groups such as AIPAC, StandWithUs and CAMERA working in top newsrooms across the country, writing and producing America’s news – including on Israel-Palestine. These outlets include MSNBC, The New York Times, CNN and Fox News.
Some of these former lobbyists are responsible for producing content on Israel and Palestine – a gigantic and undisclosed conflict of interest. Many key U.S. newsroom staff were also formerly Israeli spies or intelligence agents, standing in stark contrast to journalists with pro-Palestine sentiments, who have been purged en masse since October 7, 2023.
This investigation is part of a series detailing Israel’s influence on American media. A previous report exposed the former Israeli spies and military intelligence officials working in U.S. newsrooms.
The fight for control over the Israel-Palestine narrative has been as intense as the war on the ground itself. U.S. media have been widely criticized for displaying a distinct bias towards the Israeli perspective. However, a new investigation from MintPress News reveals that not only is the press skewed in favor of Israel, but it is also written and produced by Israeli lobbyists themselves. This investigation unearths a network of hundreds of former members of the Israel lobby working at some of America’s most influential news organizations, helping to shape the public’s understanding of events in the Middle East. In the process, it helps whitewash Israeli crimes and manufacture consent for continued U.S. participation in what a wide range of international organizations have described as a genocide.
Advocacy to Journalism: Israel’s Influence at NBCUniversal
“Hi! My name is Kayla Steinberg…The summer before my first year of college, I attended the AIPAC New England Leadership Dinner and absolutely loved it. After going to Saban, I knew I had to get involved in [AIPAC] and go back to Israel…I dream of being a journalist someday, and I hope to write about Israel or Judaism. WIPAC and AIPAC have taught me so much about how important it is for the U.S. to be Israel’s greatest friend, and I know now why I am proudly pro-Israel.”
So wrote Kayla Steinberg in 2018, while she was working for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, widely considered the centerpiece of the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. AIPAC has been one of the most generous political donors this election cycle, doling out $100 million to hundreds of political candidates.
Steinberg did indeed become a journalist. Since 2022, she has been a producer at NBC News, pitching, scripting, producing and editing stories across NBCUniversal’s news channels, including MSNBC, CNBC and NBC News. Steinberg, who once stated publicly that “pro-Israel advocacy” was a key interest of hers, produced the NBC documentary, “Epidemic of Hate: Antisemitism in America,” which equated U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s criticism of AIPAC with the white supremacist marchers at the infamous Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, VA.
Steinberg is one of many former Israel lobbyists hired by NBCUniversal, a conglomerate that owns over a dozen channels, including CNBC, NBC News and MSNBC. Emma Goss, for instance, began her career in media by traveling to Israel to make a documentary for Write on For Israel. This Zionist group aims to educate young Jewish students to “make a difference on college campuses” by learning about Jewish identity and anti-Semitism in American universities.
While in college, she was a reporter for the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC). The ICC states its mission is to “inspire American college students to see Israel as a source of pride and empower them to stand up for Israel on campus” and to “unite the many pro-Israel organizations that operate on campuses across the United States” through coordination and sharing research and resources.
Even before graduating, Goss had already begun to work for MSNBC, helping to produce “Morning Joe,” one of their flagship news shows. She went on to work for NBCUniversal for four years, helping produce, pitch, research, edit and book guests for The Today Show, MSNBC and NBC Nightly News. In 2018, she left to work in local media and, as of 2023, works as a reporter at NBC Bay Area.
CNBC lead work reporter Gili Malinsky has an even closer relationship with Israel and its lobby. Until 2011, she was a commander in the Israeli Defense Forces, specifically in their public relations department. Malinsky (who has dual American and Israeli citizenship) led a unit dedicated to communicating the IDF’s story with the outside world, overseeing the military’s social media presence, as well as sending IDF officers abroad on public relations trips and organizing tours for foreign dignitaries to see the Israeli military in action.
In 2011, she moved seamlessly into working for Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF), becoming their marketing coordinator. FIDF is an American group that raises money for supplies and support for Israeli soldiers, as well as encouraging Americans to enlist in the Israeli military. Its stated goal is to “champion the courageous men and women of the IDF and care for their needs through transformational opportunities and support as they protect the State of Israel and her people.”
After working for the FIDF, Malinsky embarked upon a career in journalism, becoming a staff writer at CBS and contributing to The New York Times, Vice, The Daily Beast, NBC News and others. Since 2020, she has worked at CNBC. Although a business reporter, in the wake of the October 7 assault, Malinsky contributed to the network’s coverage of Israel-Palestine. For example, she co-wrote one article detailing the trauma suffered by the families of the Israeli festivalgoers killed by Hamas, a group she matter-of-factly identified as a terrorist organization.
Noga Even, an NBCUniversal manager, is also a former Israel lobbyist. Between 2017 and 2018, she worked for StandWithUs, a conservative group that coordinates closely with the Israeli government to push a pro-Israel message on campuses globally. StandWithUs’ mission statement notes that its purpose is to “support Israel and fight antisemitism around the world.” In 2017, she organized an IDF soldier speaking tour in Texas with the intent of “putting a human face” on the Israeli military. The soldiers in question told hundreds of high schoolers in attendance about the supposed “strict IDF moral code while fighting an enemy that hides behind its civilians.”
Even later went on to work for the Israeli Embassy in the United States before, in 2023, being hired by NBCUniversal.
CNBC’s markets and investing reporter Samantha Subin began her career working for various Israel lobby groups. In 2016, she interned at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israel think tank created by the research director of AIPAC as a front group. One former AIPAC employee involved in its creation noted, “There was no question that WINEP was to be AIPAC’s cutout. It was funded by AIPAC donors, staffed by AIPAC employees, and located one door away, down the hall, from AIPAC Headquarters.” In their book, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” authors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt describe WINEP as a core part of the lobby, “funded and run by individuals who are deeply committed to advancing Israel’s agenda.”
Subin went on to work for the TAMID group, which describes itself as “seek[ing] to forge a strong connection to Israel for the next generation of business leaders.” While still at TAMID, she managed to get her foot in the door at CNBC, and has worked as a reporter there since 2021.
Another former TAMID employee working at CNBC is Benji Stawski. In 2016, Stawski co-founded a TAMID chapter at his local Bentley University. He later moved to CNN and, since 2022, has been an editor at CNBC.
For Israel and its lobby, having these sorts of advocates in newsrooms across America is a dream. With dozens—if not hundreds—of individuals fact-checking pro-Palestine arguments, booking pro-Israel guests, pitching stories that cast Israel in a positive light and its adversaries negatively, and weaving Zionist narratives into reporting, it’s no surprise that U.S. corporate media shows a pronounced bias in favor of Israel and its perspectives.
Older Americans who still rely on cable news and newspapers support the Israeli attack on its neighbors, while younger people who use social media as their primary source of information side with the Palestinians.
The connections to pro-Israel organizations extend to the leadership of NBCUniversal as well. Danny Bittker, the company’s vice president of production and operations, worked for many years for BBYO, eventually becoming its regional director. BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth Organization) is a group that sends young Jewish teens to Israel. It is far from a politically neutral body, however. A measure of this can be seen on its homepage, where visitors are currently greeted with a gigantic banner reading, “We Support Israel and Stand By Its Right to Defend Itself.”
Brandon Glantz, NBCUniversal’s senior director of global privacy operations, previously worked for Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world. Some at Hillel might object to being called part of the Zionist Lobby in America. Helpfully, then, on his own LinkedIn page, Glantz described his role at Hillel as “conduct[ing] all Israel advocacy on the University of Florida campus.”
Yelena Kutikova, a director and vice president of learning and development at NBCUniversal until May of this year, was previously a director for the United Jewish Appeal — Federation of New York. Kutikova worked for over three years at UJA-NY, a group that raises money to build illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine and coaches American politicians and pundits on how to best advocate for Israel. Earlier this year, leaked documents showed sessions convened by the UJA advised U.S. officials to spread highly questionable claims about mass rapes on October 7 as a way to deflect criticism away from Israel’s slaughter in Gaza.
Other former Israel lobbyists who have gone on to work for the network include longtime MSNBC producer Alana Heller, a former intern at AIPAC; Sara Bernstein, formerly of Hillel International, who went on to work for Paramount, the Discovery Channel and NBCUniversal; and Sarah Poss, a former intern at the Anti-Defamation League, who, since 2019, has worked in various roles at NBC News and MSNBC.
NBCUniversal does not appear to view these individuals’ backgrounds as conflicts of interest or red flags. In fact, their history of lobbying for Israel may be seen as an asset, especially given that MSNBC’s executive producer, Moshe Arenstein, was an IDF intelligence commander for many years. Arenstein joined MSNBC in 2003 and has since produced news on a broad range of political topics, including coverage of Israel and Palestine.
It seems likely that the enormous overlap between the Israel lobby and MSNBC at least played a part in the network’s decision to, in the wake of the October 7 attacks, suspend its only three Muslim anchors. MSNBC quietly and without explanation pulled Ayman Mohieddine, Ali Velshi and Mehdi Hasan from the air. Employees immediately understood this as a message to the rest of the staff. “The mood is very similar to what had happened post 9/11 with the whole you are either with us or against us argument,” one employee told Arab News. Hasan, a vocal critic of Israel, left the network and has never addressed speculation about his departure, only adding to the evidence that he was pushed out due to his political views.
Fox News and the Pro-Israel Pipeline
At the other end of the American elite political spectrum lies Fox News. And yet, on the issue of Israel, the network’s coverage has been markedly similar to MSNBC’s. Like MSNBC, Fox News employs a wide range of former Israeli lobbyists in key positions within its company.
Before becoming a journalist, Rachel Wolf worked for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA), a right-wing pressure group that tries to minimize or silence criticism of Israel in the press. While still at CAMERA, Wolf interned at the Zionist Organization of America, compiling dossiers on pro-Palestine figures and authoring memos full of talking points against anti-Zionist speakers appearing on campuses. She left CAMERA to work at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. and soon became a speechwriter for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, where she worked aiding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wolf then moved to Israel to join the IDF, where she served as a spokesperson for the military, producing press releases, running their social media campaigns, and developing, in her own words, “innovative” strategies to humanize the group. Only one year after leaving the IDF, she joined the “Hannity” program on Fox News and is now the company’s homepage and social media editor.
Wolf’s colleague at Fox News, Olivia Johnson, was formerly Director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), an organization that aims to build and strengthen the military bond between the United States and Israel. A recent JINSA report calls for the United States to support Israel in a war against Iran. After leaving JINSA, Johnson worked for CBS News and, since 2011, has been a broadcast associate at Fox.
Nicole Cooper worked for AIPAC between 2019 and 2020, helping to organize conferences and other events. Soon after leaving the lobby group, she was offered the executive assistant position to the Fox News network President.
Finally, Sarah Schornstein’s career has seen her run the gamut of pro-Israel groups, including seven months with AIPAC, an internship with Hillel and JINSA, and a position with CAMERA, where she, in her own words, was charged with “monitor[ing] any anti-Semitic/anti-Zionist activity on my campus” – a statement that suggests she sees the two as one and the same. In 2021, she also worked for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, where she policed NGOs being invited to the forum to ensure they do not “have a harmful impact on Israeli interests.” In 2022, she worked at the Abraham Accords Peace Institute, a group dedicated to promoting the normalization of Israel in the Arab world. Since 2021, she has been at Fox News, producing some of its most influential shows, including “Cavuto Live!”
Host Neil Cavuto regularly invites Israeli advocates and officials onto his show, throwing them softball questions and allowing them to present a pro-Israel narrative unchallenged. In October, for example, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon appeared on the show, claiming that his country was responding to Iranian aggression by launching “retaliatory” strikes against a rogue state.
