Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in on the row over Epstein files, when on Friday he shared an article which claimed that the recently revealed text messages from the late convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein suggested he had once worked to meddle in Israel’s elections.The article also suggested that Epstein had consulted former Prime Minister Ehud Barak during the 2019 parliamentary election, raising questions about the extent of his involvement in Israeli politics and his ties to Israeli intelligence services.
Barak and Netanyahu are longtime foes, and the former prime minister has increasingly criticized the Israeli leader, calling him a threat to democracy, The Times of Israel reportedNetanyahu posted the article on X, offering no comment alongside it.The article, titled “Jeffrey Epstein Claimed to Have Meddled in Israel’s Elections”, was authored by Branko Marcetic, who had previously penned a Jacobin piece titled “Israel’s Gaza War Is One of History’s Worst Crimes”. The latest article focused on recently leaked text messages from Epstein, in which he claimed to have advised former Prime Minister Ehud Barak during the 2019 Israeli parliamentary election. It suggested that Epstein and Barak were closer than publicly acknowledged, raising questions about the late financier’s political entanglements.
What the Jacobin article has in it
The article delves into Epstein’s alleged involvement in Israeli politics, particularly through his ties to Barak. Many disclosures came in the wake of Barak’s 2019 political comeback, which Epstein appeared to support. In June 2019, after years of publicly criticising Netanyahu’s increasingly extreme and corruption-embroiled leadership, Barak — a former defence minister and military chief of staff — emerged from retirement to form a new party aimed at challenging Netanyahu. Epstein allegedly suggested in a chat with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon that he had influenced Barak’s move, sharing a report from Israeli outlet Ynet Global about the announcement.The Oversight Committee’s release of emails provides further insight into Epstein’s connections with Israel, primarily through Barak. Although Barak has insisted that he only met Epstein “on occasion” and never in the presence of women or girls, the newly released tranche of emails adds to prior disclosures showing that the two men were far closer than publicly acknowledged. Jacobin also speculates about Epstein’s links to Israeli intelligence, citing “long-standing claims and rumors” that he may have acted as an asset or quietly carried out work on behalf of the Israeli government, though there is no concrete substantial evidence and such claims have long circulated, largely based on his Jewish heritage, visits to Israel, and association with Barak.Jacobin, a US-based socialist publication, is openly critical of Israel and has previously described Israeli military actions in Gaza as genocide and accused the state of apartheid. By sharing the article, Netanyahu inadvertently lent visibility and, indirectly, legitimacy to a platform and author long accused of publishing anti-Israel narratives.Netanyahu’s motives for amplifying the story remain unclear. Critics argued that sharing a link from a publication with a history of anti-Israel reporting risks legitimising conspiracy theories and undermining Israel’s international standing. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the move, saying the post “gives a huge boost and legitimacy to a magazine full of accusations against Israel of genocide, apartheid and war crimes.”The episode unfolds as the US Congress moves to release Department of Justice files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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