RIYADH (Dispatches) – An investment firm headed by Jared Kushner and backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is the largest shareholder in an Israeli company which in turn holds shares in businesses accused by the United Nations of operating in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Affinity Partners has received several billion dollars in funding from the Persian Gulf states’ sovereign wealth funds since it was launched by Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son in law and former Middle East advisor, in 2021.
In January, just weeks after securing further funding from the Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) and an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, Affinity completed the purchase of a near-10 percent stake in Phoenix Financial.
Phoenix, formerly known as Phoenix Holdings, is an Israeli financial services group that offers insurance and asset management services, and holds shares in other Israeli companies in its own name and through a subsidiary, Phoenix Investment House.
An investigation by Middle East Eye has established that these include 11 public companies and one private company currently named in a database of businesses with links to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Al-Quds and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, compiled by the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The businesses include banks and companies involved in telecommunications, transport, energy, engineering, and retail.
According to Tel Aviv Stock Exchange data reviewed by MEE on March 12, Phoenix’s total holdings in the 11 public companies are currently valued at
Kushner, who is considered to be close to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was a key architect during Trump’s first term of the so-called Abraham Accords which established diplomatic ties between the Zionist regime and several Arab states including the UAE.
He has spoken openly of his support for, and desire to invest in the Israeli-occupied territories, describing Affinity last year as “long-term bullish” on the regime, and his hopes for a future normalization deal between the occupying regime and Saudi Arabia.