Several sources have recently reported that Arthur Dantchik and possibly Jeffrey Yass, billionaire co-founders of the Susquehanna Group in Bala Cynwyd – are among the most significant contributors to the Kohelet Policy Forum (Kohelet). On January 25, 2023, Debra Shushan wrote on the J-Street website that “American donors are playing a major role in that fight by financially underwriting a network of right-wing organizations that are quietly driving the Netanyahu government’s plan to reshape Israel’s judiciary. The Kohelet Policy Forum is the most active of these organizations.”
According to Akela Lacy, writing for The Intercept on February 16, 2023, “Pennsylvania billionaire and Republican megadonor Jeffrey Yass is a key benefactor behind both the Moderate PAC, which fights progressive primary challengers in the United States, and the Kohelet Policy Forum, which is working to reshape the political system in Israel.”
Zur Shapira, writing for The Hill on March 16, 2023, compared the effort of American billionaires “who are working to change Israel’s culture and society” to the villains portrayed in the 1958 novel, ‘The Ugly American,’ a book that Shapira says “described the failed attempt of the U.S. to help South Eastern Asian countries by changing several aspects of their culture to be more like the United States.”
NY Times Says Yass Not Involved
On March 16, 2023, the New York Times gave Dantchik full credit for his participation with Kohelet, but reported that, “people familiar with giving by both men say that Mr. Yass has never been a Kohelet donor. “
Eugene Kontorovich, a law professor at George Mason University and a scholar at the Kohelet Policy Forum wrote in a January 22, 2023 Wall Street Journal article – those still troubled should be reassured that the reforms can be immediately reversed by a new government, further refuting claims that they would constitute an end to democracy. The reformers understand that their government shouldn’t have the last word on the structure of the political system. Their opponents, on the other hand, seem to believe that a system created by a small elite is unalterable holy writ.
Yass Cracks The Forbes Top 50 Billionaires List
On Thursday (April 6), the Inquirer reported that Jeff Yass, with a net worth of $28.5 billion is now the 48th richest person in the world.