A major conflict of interest looms over the Rose Garden, whether it spells the end of the Trump administration, has yet to be determined.

by Ira Greenstein

The Trump administration along with Jared Kushner employed in the White House, a lawyer by the name of Ira Greenstein from Newark, New Jersey, who was by all accounts still acting as President and/or in the interest of his energy corporation when the U.S. bombed Syria.*

Genie Energy.

An energy corporation operating privately in Syrian territory — the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration are inherently subjugated by this paradigm of interests. When commencing with hostile military action against Syria, they did so while having a direct conflict of interest, primarily related to business ties with this corporation. This, along with seemingly ulterior political dealings with the Israeli government, has gone part and parcel to the destabilization of Syria. While benefiting Genie Energy, its backers and involved officials.

Officials such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This essentially represents extortion against Syria, as part of a behind-the-scenes deal between parties, with Greenstein’s boss, the founder of Genie Energy and top Netanyahu donor Howard Jonas having made billions through a telecommunications deal made possible under the watch of both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Kushner-directed White House Office of American Innovation (OAI) — for which to benefit said parties for their actions.

* The U.S. has since attacked Syria’s government a number of times, furthering the risk of nuclear war or a widened conflict in the Middle East. Ira Greenstein left the White House on March 30th, 2018 following earlier reporting by this author.

On April 6th, 2017, the U.S. launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syria. Targeting Shayrat Airbase (FAA LID: OS65), numerous aircraft were destroyed, primarily Mikoyan Mig-23ML and Sukhoi Su-22M3 models. These being the same parent models which had been involved in operations over Daraa, which is a choke point near the Golan Heights, it remains as of this posting as being under the control of hostile actors such as Islamic State (ISIS).*

* Syria has since made strides in retaking this key area.

On April 14th, 2018, about a year later, this act was repeated with U.S.-led military strikes against a large number of targets within Syria — both France and the U.K. participated in this escalation despite the associated risks.

Troop deployments had preceded the airstrikes, with a permanent presence with or without ISIS being touted in 2017, setting U.S. involvement in Syria at an ever increasing rate. Continued or further involvement in Syria by the Trump administration or other U.S.-led actors, as shown below in this article, is illegal.

Congratulations to our great military men and women for representing the United States, and the world, so well in the Syria attack.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2017

James Mattis claimed at the time that approximately 20% of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) was destroyed; impacting Syria’s military capabilities, this would then continue with further bombings on Syria by the Israeli Air Force. Israel would find herself losing an F-16 this year after Syrian Air Defenses retaliated in self-defense due to these bombings.

More recently, activity has included an increasing amount of U.S. military action against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) or its pro-government forces, despite inherent conflicts of interest present within the Trump administration.

This type of behavior sits in stark contrast to Iran and Russia having been formally invited by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to participate in Syria‘s affairs militarily.

To get to the very heart of the matter, we have to go back to the presidential transition period, when Newark lawyer Ira Greenstein was a member of ex-Congressman John Sweeney’s “Tiger Team.” While he was still Genie Energy’s acting President.

This made Greenstein an official presidential transition team member for the incoming Trump administration, as some may recall, Jared Kushner was a member of this team as well.

Times Union:

Sweeney is conducting interviews alongside three transition team members, lawyers all: Martin Silverstein, U.S. ambassador to Uruguay under President George W. Bush; Ira Greenstein, president of Genie Energy Ltd.; and financier Anthony Scaramucci, founder and co-managing partner of the hedge fund SkyBridge Capital.

On the presidential transition team at Trump Tower in New York, he directly oversaw government applications including for senior ambassadorial, intelligence and national security positions. Here he interviewed candidates.

Fueled by coffee and chicken salad sandwiches from the Trump Tower’s cafe, Sweeney and three other high-powered Trump partisans have completed more than 300 interviews thus far. They’re conducting 30- to 60-minute interviews of applicants for jobs including senior national security and intelligence positions, ambassadors, undersecretaries and top-ranking officials in nearly every federal agency. They conduct interviews by phone or in person and rank finalists 1 through 5. The final hiring is done by senior Trump aides following background checks.

This also included U.S. State Department and U.N. positions — illuminating Nikki Haley’s position as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. more clearly to the public eye.

“The last two weeks we did a lot of work on State Department and United Nations positions and the pool of applicants is impressive beyond belief,” Sweeney said. “We did 15 phone interviews with ambassadors around the world yesterday, including six current ambassadors looking for extensions.”

As noted, final hiring was done by Trump’s senior aides, which would undoubtedly include Jared Kushner within the Office of the Chief of Staff. This gave an American-Israeli energy corporation a prime directorate in deciding on who to put into power, who would oversee national security policies and ultimately be in a position to pick favorable people to pursue their objectives. This represents a rather grave conflict of interest, as Ira Greenstein was by all accounts also still the President of Genie Energy* when the U.S. attacked Syria and given his role within the White House as a Deputy Assistant and high-level Strategist akin to former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon may have directly contributed to pushing for military action himself.

The White House would’ve been aware of this issue, yet as numerous members of the Trump administration were cut, employment of this individual continued. Why?

Moreover, Greenstein’s position is itself a conflict of interest by default, per 18 U.S.C. § 208. This is in regards to ‘Employees Entering Government,’ because incurred losses in Syria by U.S. military action inherently benefits Genie Energy or its larger parent company IDT Corporation, as only the legal Syrian government can or will dissent to the corporation’s Israeli-backed but nonetheless private activities in occupied Syrian territory. This key issue is also escalated due to Greenstein overseeing national security or other positions with Kushner directly, which invariably affected the decision making process, of whether to attack Syria or not. His relationship through Kushner to Trump must also be taken into consideration.

This subsequently means that future activities by the U.S. military in Syria are also compromised by these personal business interests, with pushes for regime change definitively being tied to them, rather than official reasons.

Operations in conjunction with Israel against Syria also fall under this light.

* Search “Bloomberg Ira Greenstein” due to malfunctioning URL.

Greenstein’s notable placement in the upper echelon of the Trump administration seems to demonstrate a deep level of collusion with the Israeli government in domestic as well as international matters and raises many questions regarding the actual intent behind U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2015–2016 campaign run. It should also clarify Jared Kushner’s longtime issue with his ‘security clearance.’

For one, Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the presidential inauguration, around the time Greenstein had filed his 278e with the OGE after receiving a one week extension. Here Netanyahu had asked Trump to recognize the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory, all while the Trump administration has conflicts of interest with Israel’s government through Greenstein’s employment.

This meeting also took place a few weeks before the airstrikes.

Through Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, it was also discovered that General Michael Flynn had sought to benefit Israel at the U.N. by influencing Russia or other nations, during the presidential transition. Russia refused to help them with their scheme at the time — instead voting normally in line with U.S. policy regarding Israeli settlements.

This was done at the behest of Kushner after Netanyahu reached out.

Combined with bringing Greenstein into the White House, this brings into question — for very serious reasons — Kushner’s responsibility overseeing the Middle East, let alone dealing with relations between Israel and Palestine.

Greenstein is or was also President and Treasurer of American Friends of Mosaic United. Mosaic United is an organization spearheaded by the Israeli government’s Naftali Bennett, with it being the flagship project of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry of Israel, Bennett previously called for the world to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory and for a population boom to take place there through new settlements. Bennett also compared the Golan Heights to the West Bank and stated that it is land that must not be given to enemies.

Who do they want us to give the Golan to? To Assad? Today, it’s clear that if we listened to the world we would give up the Golan and ISIS would be swimming in the Sea of Galilee. Enough with the hypocrisy.

Mosaic United, a reincarnation of the Government of Israel World Jewry Initiative, had attracted attention last year when it created a database of Jewish students to micro-target Hasbara toward abroad — before it was suspended.

Bennett has been the Minister of Diaspora Affairs since 2013, more recently a bill proposed by him while Minister of Education has been passed through its first reading, which criminalizes criticism of the Israeli military.

Direct ties to Israel’s own affairs such as these is tantamount to Greenstein essentially working for the Israeli government himself, especially as it relates to their geopolitical goals, such as controlling the Golan Heights. Like Kushner, whose name was removed from the Friends of the IDF (FIDF) website where he was a board member, it is not clear what Greenstein’s continued role in Israeli organizations like Mosaic United still is.

Bennett also stated during Trump’s victory in 2016, that it essentially meant the end of the Palestinian state, which again is an objective reflected in the Trump administration such as recognizing Jerusalem or moving the embassy.

Earlier, a key ally in Netanyahu’s center-right coalition, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, said Tump’s victory means that “the era of a Palestinian state is over.” The Palestinians want a state in lands Israel captured in 1967…

Greenstein is or was also a Director of Regal Bank in Livingston, New Jersey, where Kushner had listed $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 in corporate stock, which he had indicated on his form as still being in the process of being divested.

As well, apparent efforts have been made by the White House to obscure Greenstein’s employment being an issue, with a more recent investigation into the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) filings showing discrepancies.

McClatchy DC:

A year into Donald Trump’s presidency, records show five of his top staffers still have not secured final approval of their financial reports — disclosures that are required by law to assure Americans that these senior officials aren’t personally benefiting from their White House jobs.

Greenstein is one of five staffers that have not been adequately approved.

The delay is likely due to Trump staffers either refusing to disclose mandated information to OGE, failing to resolve a conflict of interest or violating an ethics law or regulation, according to two ethics experts familiar with the long-standing process. But delays can also occur when White House ethics officials don’t force staffers to comply or because OGE is behind on paperwork.

With his employment being a conflict of interest this raises yet more red flags.

Five forms had been certified by the White House counsel’s office but not OGE, according to OGE. They include those from Gorka who left in August; lawyer Ira Greenstein; Keith Kellogg Jr., NSC chief of staff and executive secretary; Daniel Scavino Jr., director of social media; and Amy Swonger, who heads up the White House’s Senate legislative affairs team. Three of the five started in January 2017, one in February and another in March.

Greenstein had been certified internally by the White House Counsel but not the OGE, in conjunction with his being obscured and the fact he was employed or even involved at all — definitively demonstrates underlying intent.

Genie Energy, in stark contrast to Ohr Pharmaceutical, did not issue a press release stating that Greenstein had officially departed the corporation. This contradicts his OGE file where he stated that he had left in January of 2017.

As of this posting the corporation’s management page remains void of an acting President and there are no SEC filings announcing Greenstein’s departure.

Greenstein has been consistently employed in the White House, having attended the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) Gala hosted by Morton Klein, where “Kushner confidant” Greenstein was present alongside former White House personnel such as Sebastian Gorka and Steve Bannon.

Flitting about.

Jack Posobiec was also at the ZOA Gala, where he was dining at the same table as Bannon and Gorka were. A source and Trump insider close to this research project disclosed that Posobiec had allegedly met with Greenstein here.

The Daily Beast:

The president spent the weekend in Asia, but a VIP attendee list reviewed by The Daily Beast included Bannon, Spicer, and Gorka, who flitted about with Kushner confidant Ira Greenstein, as well as Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a former deputy to disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Some current administration officials, such as Bannon-era White House holdout Julia Hahn, were also present.

Following U.S. military action on Syria, it was then alluded to that Steve Bannon had lost out to Jared Kushner or others involved in the decision making process, on whether to attack or not. Though given Kushner’s lawyer, Greenstein, having been quite friendly with Bannon at the Gala — his alleged stance must be criticized or questioned.

Greenstein was in contact with Breitbart following conflict with Bannon.

Vanity Fair:

Bannon’s camp had been in touch with Trump Jr. and White House official Ira Greenstein throughout the morning, and they were told the president was preparing for war if Bannon didn’t recant.

No doubt, Greenstein’s direct presence in the White House causes numerous issues with the official story justifying military action, that being a chemical attack on Khan Shaykhun — at the time controlled by an offshoot of al-Nusra Front. This primarily applies to the extent that there are underlying or even ulterior reasons for attacking Syria’s government to benefit private business interests in Israel.

Kushner’s wife, Ivanka [Yael] Trump, reportedly had “convinced” her father to order the attack on Syria along with former Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell. Powell, like former National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, is a heavy hitter from Goldman Sachs — one of the primary instigators of the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

Greenstein’s son, Jonathan Greenstein, is also a lawyer for Goldman Sachs.

Like Bannon, this line of reasoning about alleged causation or factions at the time must be taken with a grain of salt, notably in regards to Michael Wolff’s adjective-laden book “Fire And Fury.”

Heartbroken and outraged by the images coming out of Syria following the atrocious chemical attack yesterday.

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) April 5, 2017

A disturbing issue arises regarding this situation due to the Golan Heights being — as noted — Syrian territory occupied by Israel, wherein there is precedent that drilling new wells or extorting new resources, which Genie Energy has done after approval from the Israeli government — is against international law. Singapore successfully sued Japan following WWII for this very reason, opening up Israel and the U.S. to future liability.

This means that Greenstein and subsequently Kushner are involved in a still ongoing criminal conspiracy. By extension, U.S. Presidential Donald Trump and his overtly compromised administration are also in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 (S/RES/242).

This also means they would have been risking American lives, while killing numerous Syrians, to further or protect personal business interests which are criminal in nature.

The first airstrikes were said to be justified through the Authorization For Use of Military Force (AUMF), signed on September 14th, 2001 by former U.S. President George Bush immediately following 9/11. This has come under scrutiny, with its use for attacking Syria’s government being deemed unconstitutional.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) has since raised this issue but is also pushing for a new AUMF.

At the time of the airstrikes, the attack had been solely ordered by Trump, rather than by receiving approval through U.S. Congress. Despite this, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) still backed up the airstrikes, as has the GOP.

Historically, the Obama administration also struggled with presenting valid legal arguments for attacking Syria.

To reiterate, this means that Trump attacked Syria while lacking clear legal justification, while having direct; major conflicts of interest in the White House and while violating laws on multiple levels.

Further U.S.-led military action in February of 2018 at the Battle of Khasham would also lead to the death of Russian private military contractors from Wagner, as well as Syrian forces, who suffered a hundred losses.

Ira Greenstein is a rather close associate of the Kushners, described as a longtime family friend, especially to Charles Kushner.

Politico:

Charlie Kushner might be keeping the Trump administration at arm’s length, but he has some old pals working in government under his son with whom he also stays in touch. One example: Ira Greenstein, a former Newark-based executive and longtime Kushner family friend, who quit his job as chairman of IDT Corp. and now works out of the Old Executive Office Building on Kushner’s team as a lawyer working primarily under Liddell and Cordish.

As some will recall, top Democratic donor Kushner was previously sentenced to federal prison for the crimes of “tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal campaign donations.”

Democratic influence doesn’t end with the Kushners though, as Genie Energy’s “mission” is apolitically-based, much of their progress rests on the work of Democrats — such as former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

Landrieu was key in leading a groundbreaking U.S. energy mission to Israel.

Like former Deputy Assistant Sebastian Gorka, Ira Greenstein is on the high end of the spectrum when it comes to salaries, earning $155,000 at the White House in 2017.

Greenstein does not appear on the 2018 White House Staff Salary report.

Greenstein was also a past President of IDT Corporation, which funneled significant amounts of funds totaling millions of dollars to the Central Fund of Israel (CFI) through the IDT Charitable Foundation, an organization which has supported individuals that advocate for the killing of non-Jewish (Gentile) children on the basis of race.

The Electronic Intifada:

As reported by Akiva Eldar in Haaretz, the CFI supports a yeshiva whose leader, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, has tried to justify the killing of gentile babies because of “the future danger that will arise if they are allowed to grow into evil people like their parents.”

IDT, along with its founder’s foundation, donated around $2,000,000 or more over the years.

The IDT Charitable Foundation contributed $870,000 to the CFI since 2005 and the Jonas Foundation — a foundation run by Howard Jonas, the founder and chair of IDT — contributed $1.12 million.

The Central Fund of Israel is involved in development of settlements in occupied territories.

Ira Greenstein held around 100,000 shares in Genie Energy while assuming his position in the administration.

Another issue is the timing regarding donations to Trump’s campaign, Greenstein donated $10,000 to Make America Great Again, in late August of 2015. This could fall under 18 U.S.C. § 211 since he later rose to hold key positions in the presidential transition team and then in the White House itself. Positions which affected foreign policy at the root.

Donations occurred just a few weeks after substantial oil was discovered at the Ness-3 drilling site, in the Golan Heights. This followed earlier findings at Ness-5, in May of 2015, a little over two years into the initial three year exploratory license granted to Afek Oil And Gas.

Genie Energy also exploits other resources in occupied Syrian territory, like water, through its drilling services company Atid Drilling Ltd. — which launched in January of 2017.

The surrounding area supplies a third of water to Israel.

Ira Greenstein previously communicated with Wall Street attorney Jay Clayton, before he was appointed Chairman of the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC).

Reuters:

Clayton also disclosed in his written responses that he communicated with others, including Rebekah Mercer, a Trump donor whose father, Robert Mercer, founded the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies; Genie Energy Ltd President Ira Greenstein; venture capitalist Darren Blanton; Martin Silverstein, a lawyer who is senior counsel with the law firm Greenberg Taurig and who was ambassador to Uruguay for four years under President George W. Bush; Trump’s current chief strategist Steve Bannon; and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, the documents show.

More recently, it has been reported that after meeting with Joshua Harris from Apollo Global Management (AGM), one of two companies that gave Jared Kushner a loan — a SEC investigation targeted at AGM was dropped. This transpired after Greenstein had communicated with the future SEC Chairman, with Greenstein — as noted — working under both Chris Liddell and Reed Cordish overseeing infrastructure policy.

Greenstein appears to provide the missing link to this incident.

A further connection between parties is found through David Blitzer, who is involved with Hillel International, which had partnered with Mosaic United, in projects involving millions spearheading activities for the Israeli government. Blitzer previously made a deal with Harris in a major acquisition of the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center arena in Newark. As noted, Greenstein is also the President of Mosaic United and from Newark.

Greenstein is or was also Counsel to Global Risk Advisors(GRA), founded by former U.S. diplomat Kevin Chalker, it is a multi-tiered corporation which had gone to Doha, the capital of Qatar, to register a branch last year. GRA Quantum is involved in cyber-security and has on its Advisory Board members such as Matthew Waxman — Columbia Law School alumni like Greenstein — who is also a member of the Council On Foreign Relations (CFR). GRA Maven is involved in training government, military and police for clandestine operations.

Greenstein provides a direct line from this group to the White House.

The New York-based private security firm Global Risk Advisors (GRA) registered a new subsidiary in Qatar in October. The new entity will handle missions in the Middle East. GRA, which was founded by Kevin Chalker, will be represented in Doha by David Powell, a former member of the Ministry of…

Martin Silverstein, one of the other lawyers that was on the presidential transition team, is an old friend of both the Kushner and Trump families. He had also met with Clayton at the time.

Renaissance Technologies, whose CEO Robert Mercer funds Breitbart with tens of millions of dollars as a major stakeholder, also owns part of Genie Energy as a significant shareholder.

Breitbart has previously defended Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun, in regards to U.K. Labour politician Caroline Kolek’s Tweets about Genie Energy and Murdoch’s involvement in it — calling her Tweets “anti-Semitic.”

Jason Greenblatt, another senior White House staffer who was Donald Trump’s lawyer at the Trump Organization as Chief Legal Officer, also has investments in Genie Energy. Greenblatt is Trump’s adviser on Israel, currently serving as an Assistant to the President and as Special Representative For International Negotiations. Like Greenstein, his position in handling affairs abroad directly comes into question due to these shares and his employment represents a secondary conflict of interest.

Where this conflict of interest is most apparent or blatant, is Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt hovering behind Nikki Haley at the U.N. — with her rhetoric about Syria as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. being directly contrasted by her being vetted by Ira Greenstein.

Haley, nor her fellow aides, can be trusted by the public to be impartial.

The CEO as well as Chairman of one of Genie Energy’s largest shareholders, BlackRock, visited the White House just a few days after the airstrikes (April 11th). Laurence Fink and the monolithic firm that he represents — as well as proximal involvement by Goldman Sachs — stand to gain from both lobbying and utilizing the U.S. military for their own self-interest(s). Subsequently, BlackRock’s former [pre-1995] parent company Blackstone and its CEO Stephen Schwarzman also met on the same day.

Schwarzman was also an adviser to then President-elect Donald Trump.

BlackRock is also one of the largest shareholders of Raytheon, the defense contractor that manufactures Tomahawk cruise missiles. The U.S. Navy has requested Raytheon to replace these under a modified contract.

Greenstein also owns shares in Axalta Coating Systems, which paints components and vehicles for Raytheon.

Like the Kushner’s $250,000,000 credit line for Cadre through Soros Fund Management, they have also received funds from Blackstone, for real estate.

Lord Jacob Rothschild sits on the International Advisory Board of Blackstone.

Another point of inherent subjugation within the Trump administration is IDT Corporation’s Michael Glassner, Chief Strategist, including for reelection (2020).

Ballotpedia:

Lewis Eisenberg advisor
From 1998 to 2001, while still informally advising the retired Dole, Glassner moved to New Jersey to work under Lewis Eisenberg, chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Glassner was Eisenberg’s chief of staff. In 2001, near the end of Glassner’s time at the Port Authority, he was involved in the deal that privatized the lease of the World Trade Center to the Silverstein Group. In July 2001, Glassner left the staff of the Port Authority to work for IDT Corporation, a global telecommunications company. According to ABC News, “At IDT, Glassner was chief of staff to the company’s CEO, handling external communications as well as government and investor relations.”

With IDT Corporation being the parent company of Genie Energy, as well as being composed of the very same executives or individuals, it presents another angle by which this group retains control of the White House.

This includes influence over future executive actions and policy-making.

In 2014, Glassner joined the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a group that works to strengthen American ties to Israel.

Glassner also joined AIPAC in 2014.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) previously met with Genie Energy’s chief scientist, Harold Vinegar, on behalf of the American Israel Educational Foundation — referred to as the “charitable arm of AIPAC.”

Jewish Insider:

Meeting with Dr. Harold Vinegar, chief scientist of Israeli Energy Initiatives at Genie Energy, and Binyamin Zomer of Noble Energy, to discuss the importance of energy to the economies of Israel, the United States, and West Virginia.

Manchin would later be the only Democrat to vote in favor of Jeff Sessions and Steven Mnuchin as well as other key figures.

Genie Energy’s founder, Howard Jonas, donated to U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) just a few days before attacking Syria — as well as only a few days after tightening sanctions on Iran.

Founder of Apollo Global Management Leon Black donated within 24 hours of the airstrikes.

Menendez would later approve of the strikes having been conducted.

This pattern continued with both Manchin and Menendez in turn also voting in favor of U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. Friedman has a number of underlying interests in Israel.

Jonas has also donated to the campaigns of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the past, noted as his #2, the telecommunications mogul is heavily intertwined with the affairs of the Israeli government and Netanyahu.

Haaretz:

According to material collected by the State Comptroller’s Office, one of the names, which Netanyahu had ranked “№2,” was of someone with whom the public may not have been familiar until recently: “Howard Jonas, IDT Corporation, New Jersey.” Jonas, who has donated to Netanyahu’s primary campaigns in the past, is the founder and owner of Israel Energy Initiatives, a company established in 2008 to develop oil shale in Israel.

Furthermore, Jonas is a significant contributor to NORPAC, which primarily supports foreign aid to Israel, American-Israeli energy projects, settlement development and tighter sanctions on Iran.

NORPAC July 2016 Newsletter

Consequently, they happen to donate to politicians which support Genie Energy’s mission and objectives. Politicians such as Richard Burr, who has also received donations from Jonas.

Jonas continues to donate for the 2018 cycle.

Yeshiva University has also seen Howard Jonas sit on its board in the past, where Jason Greenblatt taught, who as mentioned holds shares in Genie Energy despite being responsible for international negotiations.

Deal: Straight Path Communications Inc. (SPCI)

Intriguingly, Howard Jonas made a major acquisition of shares in one of his corporations, Straight Path Communications Inc. (SPCI) — on the date of the airstrikes. This corporation held a monopoly on licenses for future wireless spectrum to be utilized in Internet infra-structure (5G), was embroiled in a suit due to securities fraud and was released from this point of contention during the incoming Trump administration.

Ajit Pai was appointed Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in January of 2017, after holding various positions there, before later having his term extended by another five years in March of 2017 by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The timing seemingly points to a deal between those involved, for which Jared Kushner will later be paid by Jonas, in exchange for helping Israel politically or even militarily by attacking Syria and also by later recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or moving the U.S. embassy there to consolidate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political influence.

Jonas then sold the corporation to Verizon Communications for $3.1 billion, which gave them a definitive advantage, due to not having any restrictions placed on their acquisition — which netted them 30% of all available licenses.

Straight Path Communications Inc. (SPCI):

Straight Path Communications is a forward thinking communications asset company. We specialize in maximizing the value of assets such as millimeterbandwidth licenses for 5G networks (Spectrum).

Essentially, the purpose of SPCI was to increase the value of the corporation itself for shareholders, of which its sole function was holding licenses for wireless spectrum.

Straight Path is the largest commercial holder of 39 GHz spectrum, with about 95 percent of the total licenses commercially available, as well as a significant holder of 28 GHz in major markets, including New York and San Francisco. These licenses allow us to continue as a leader in the next frontier of telecommunications. Straight Path Communications holds an average of 620 MHz in the top 30 U.S. markets and covers the entire nation with 39 GHz spectrum.

Holding around 95% of 39 GHz wireless spectrum licenses, which represents a monopoly, SPCI was involved in a securities fraud suit due to filing false claims with the FCC midway through its lifetime. This was in regards to the holding corporation squatting on these licenses, claiming it had created physical infrastructure to use the frequencies, yet had merely lied.

SPCI seeks to create shareholder value from its two classes of communications assets: extensive holdings of 28 and 39 GHz fixed and mobile wireless spectrum licenses held in its Straight Path Spectrum, Inc. (SPS) subsidiary; and two patent portfolios held in its Straight Path IP Group, Inc. (SPIPG) subsidiary.

Verizon Communications completed acquisition of SPCI this January.

Where worlds collide is that Jonas also has an underlying relationship with the Kushners, having previously done business with them in 2000 and through the Jonas family’s support of Charles Kushner during his criminal trial.

Here a letter was penned with Martin Silverstein.

The connections continue to present day: Jonas also sits on the “American Committee” National Board of the Seryl And Charles Kushner Campus Shaare Zedek Medical Center In Jerusalem.

Ira Greenstein, who held close to $1,000,000 in shares before the bidding war commenced, was also significantly benefited by this telecommunications deal. Reed Cordish, who Greenstein worked under in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) with Chris Liddell, heads Intragovernmental And Technology Initiatives as a Special Assistant. This again places Greenstein in positions with conflicts of interest that go far beyond the pale, having himself also profited, due to holding these shares before the approximately 600% increase in value.

Cordish has since stated that he is leaving his position at the White House.

Importantly, Jared Kushner’s Office of American Innovation (OAI), where Cordish and Liddell worked — was responsible for upgrading $82.0 billion worth of information technology for the federal government.

The Trump administration also proposed a federal takeover of 5G, which is worth noting, as the same line of reasoning for China and national security was used by IDT Corporation in 2003 in an attempt to acquire Global Crossing.

Axios:

Trump national security officials are considering an unprecedented federal takeover of a portion of the nation’s mobile network to guard against China, according to sensitive documents obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: We’ve got our hands on a PowerPoint deck and a memo — both produced by a senior National Security Council official — which were presented recently to senior officials at other agencies in the Trump administration.

The main points: The documents say America needs a centralized nationwide 5G network within three years. There’ll be a fierce debate inside the Trump administration — and an outcry from the industry — over the next 6–8 months over how such a network is built and paid for.

The proposal, whether considered or not, is also an issue by default because Greenstein is directly involved in wireless spectrum through SPCI and as noted had also vetted government applicants during the presidential transition. Which — once again — included intelligence and national security positions.

SPCI is headed by CEO and President Davidi Jonas. Son of Howard Jonas.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Jonas has used the White House to do his bidding, back in the early 1990s he strong-armed AT&T and the FCC due to personal connections he had with the Bush administration.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA):

Jonas and his wife give away more than 20 percent of their income to charity, favoring causes that help the impoverished. Yet he is an ardent supporter of President George W. Bush and the Republican Party, whose tax cuts and other policies often are seen as favoring the wealthiest Americans and widening the gap between rich and poor.

In the early 1990s, AT&T petitioned the Federal Communications Commission demanding that IDT’s callback service be declared illegal and turned off immediately. But Jonas prevailed, thanks in part to connections with the Bush White House.

That lunch was not Jonas’ first meeting with the president. Photos of Jonas with Bush, and one with Vice President Dick Cheney, adorn IDT’s executive suite. Jonas is an ardent Republican, and he will be one of 12 vice chairs of this summer’s Republican National Convention in New York City.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently pardoned Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney’s former aide, who was convicted of lying to the FBI in 2007.

The OAI and Verizon have since come under fire with U.S. Senator Catherine Masto (D-NV) having lobbied against the OAI due to its conflicts of interest and non-compliance with FOIA. Verizon was charged $614 million in penalties following the SPCI merger.

Genie Energy Ltd.

Genie Energy Ltd. (GNE) is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, it is a holding company comprised of Genie Retail Energy (GRE) as well as Genie Oil And Gas (GOGAS). Their Israeli subsidiary, as mentioned, is Afek Oil And Gas.

Per Genie Energy’s website, the President of Genie Oil And Gas is Efraim Eitam, who is spearheading exploitation of resources in the Golan Heights. A Brigadier General in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Reserves, he has previously called all Arabs in Israel a “cancer.” He’s also in the video above.

The Trump administration’s connection to these corporate activities, through Jared Kushner’s continued placement of Ira Greenstein in the White House, would seem to indicate a direct relationship to Israel’s agenda of expanding and exploiting resources such as oil or water in Syrian territory.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met* with Eitam in September of 2017, while Zinke was overseeing energy development on public land, such as gas and oil.

* This article’s reporting was presumably based on or inspired by this project.

Eitam is also involved in settlement development like Greenstein and Kushner.

The Electronic Intifada:

Shortly thereafter, Eitam resigned from the army, but his career flourished. Elected to the Knesset in February 2003, he helped form the National Religious Party and the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party. In 2002–04 he held several cabinet-level portfolios in the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, including minister of housing and construction, a post he used to accelerate settlement in the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Investment into the energy corporation primarily began just before the Syrian Civil War was beginning to heat up, with equity stakes initially being purchased, which is primarily how activities have been funded. Genie Energy alleges that the amount of oil in the Golan Heights is substantial.

They have been met with dissent from environmentalists a number of times regarding their ‘clandestine activities,’ particularly due to utilizing a unique drilling process invented by Harold Vinegar, which extracts tight shale with heat called In Situ Thermal Recovery — an experimental technique akin to fracking.

Genie Energy’s foundation lay in its overtly heavy Strategic Advisory Board (SAB). It includes a number of colorful characters such as former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, former CIA Director James Woolsey, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and even Lord Jacob Rothschild.

Membership (Current):

Bill Richardson

Governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. Mr. Richardson has served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1997–1998), Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration (1998–2001), Chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and as Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

Jacob Rothschild

Chairman of the J. Rothschild group of companies and of RIT Capital Partners plc. Chairman of Five Arrows Limited. Lord Rothschild is a noted philanthropist and Chairman of the Rothschild Foundation.

James Woolsey

Director of Central Intelligence from 1993 to 1995 and as Under Secretary of the Navy from 1977 to 1979. Mr. Woolsey is co-founder of the United States Energy Security Council and is Chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Lawrence Summers

Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University. Dr. Summers served as the 71st Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton and as Director of the National Economic Council for President Obama.

Mary Landrieu

United States Senator from Louisiana from 1996 to 2014. Senator Landrieu served as chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. In her capacity as chair, she sponsored and passed the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Bill. The bill fosters partnerships focused on developing resources such as natural gas and alternative fuels, on the academic, business and governmental levels.

Michael Steinhardt (SAB Chairman)

Noted Wall Street investor and Principal Manager, Steinhardt Management LLC. Founder Steinhardt, Fine, Berkowitz & Co., and noted philanthropist.

Richard Cheney

46th Vice President of the United States. Vice President Cheney also served as President and CEO of Halliburton Company and U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1989 to 1993.

Rupert Murdoch

Founder and Executive Chairman of News Corporation, one of the world’s largest diversified media companies. News Corporation’s holdings include Fox Entertainment, Dow Jones and Company, the New York Post, HarperCollins and significant media assets on six continents.

Membership (Historically):

Alan Burnham

Chief Technology Officer, American Shale Oil, LLC. Formerly research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Allan Sass

Former President and CEO of Occidental Oil Shale, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum.

Eugene Renna

Former President and Chief Operating Officer of Mobil Corporation and Sr. Vice President, Exxon Mobil.

Harold Vinegar

Chief Technology Officer of IEI. Adjunct Professor, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Formerly Chief Scientist — Royal Dutch Shell.

Jim Courter

Vice Chairman and formerly CEO of IDT, Chairman of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, and Member of Congress.

Kevin Kauffman

Founder, Chairman, CEO and President of K.P. Kauffman Company, Inc., a leading independent oil and gas exploration and production Company operating in the Rocky Mountain states.

Shelley Berkley

Former Member of Congress and member of House Committee on Ways and Means.

Stephen Trauber

Head of Global Energy Investment Banking at Citigroup.

Wes Perry

Chairman, Genie Energy. Founder and CEO of E.G.L. Resources, an energy exploration and development company.

Biographies parsed from current and web archives of Genie Energy’s website.

https://youtu.be/g6_95XxK50g

Genie Energy suspended exploratory drilling almost immediately preceding U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as well as an increase in Israeli military activity in the Golan Heights perimeter, after an Iranian drone allegedly entered “Israeli airspace.”

With the suspension of drilling operations, Genie Energy Ltd., plans to sharpen its strategic focus on its retail energy supply business. The company recently announced a joint venture to expand operations to the UK, and gained a foothold in the commercial energy marketplace through the acquisition of a Florida-based commercial natural gas supplier.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is another one of Genie Energy’s connections to the Trump administration, through U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who with wife Ivanka Trump have a longtime and close relationship to Murdoch.

Murdoch had stated in 2010 that Genie would spur a “global, geopolitical paradigm shift.”

Both Murdoch and Rothschild-owned papers gaslight regarding the issue of conflict with Syria’s government — while simultaneously promoting it.

Nobody wants invasion of Syria by US, but what will a few Tomahawks achieve? Where are our Stealth bombers if we need them?

— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) September 1, 2013

Board member Murdoch has previously advocated for Tomahawk cruise missile strikes on Syria back in 2013, during a tense period between Russia and the U.S. which ultimately led to a brief standoff in waters off the coast of Syria.

He has, in line with the stated policies of either AIPAC or NORPAC, also been against the Iran Deal. Mentioning Syria as a problem in direct relation to it.

Murdoch also supports migration into Europe from conflict zones such as Syria — while himself having a direct hand in their current state of affairs. Here he specifically mentions this in relation to skilled migrants.

This is of note because relocating the skilled populace further destabilizes a target country.

Steinhardt (Pictured), an infamous Wall St. hedge fund manager involved in Israeli real estate, was presumably behindgetting Sheldon Adelson in touch with then-Republican candidate Donald Trump through founding editor of The Forward Seth Lipsky. Lipsky stated at the time that his biggest problem with Trump was his “opposition to the Iraq war.”

Following airstrikes on Syria, Steinhardt was invited to light the torch for Israel’s Independence Day, alongside Rabbi Marvin Hier — who had taken part in Trump’s presidential inauguration.

James Woolsey, who was a member of Project For The New American Century (PNAC), was another one of Genie Energy’s direct connections to the Trump administration, as a former senior adviser.

Woolsey has made remarks in support of U.S.-led regime change in Syria, most recently while speaking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News, excusing such efforts past and present as for Democracy or “in the interest of the system.”

Board member Bill Richardson also continues this paradigm, with the Clinton administration’s former Energy Secretary also being the ‘unofficial troubleshooter’ on North Korea for the U.S., with recent attempts to tie North Korea to Syria to justify further or wider conflict it should no doubt raise many eyebrows.

Board members also share overlap with the Atlantic Council, sitting on its Board of Directors and International Advisory Board (IAB).

This includes Lawrence Summers, James Woolsey and Rupert Murdoch.

The Atlantic Council projects the very same interests of those involved in the affairs of Genie Energy or IDT Corporation, such as regime change and continued U.S. occupation of Syria.

Woolsey also became Chairman of the Foundation For The Defense of Democracies (FDD) during the Obama administration, an organization which mirrors similar interests and is pursuing a military conflict with Iran.

Israel Anti-Boycott Act

The Israel Anti-Boycott Act (H.R.1697/S.720) is backed by the same paradigm of interests behind Genie Energy, with many co-sponsors of S.720 having also received donations from Howard Jonas or NORPAC, representing underlying congressional influence. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a co-sponsor, has previously received donations from Genie Energy’s Michael Stein.

Stein, the CEO of Genie Energy, is also a trustee of the Etzion Foundation, a pro-settlement organization which has received donations from the Kushner family in the past.

S.720 was introduced into U.S. Congress on March 23rd, 2017.

As the name entails, the bill is designed to oppose or prevent boycotting or criticism of Israel for political reasons by groups such as Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), while primarily targeting the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Yatar CTU

The Trump administration is tied to Jerusalem’s private security contractors through this energy corporation. Genie Energy’s Vice Chairman, Geoffrey Rochwarger, heads an organization called Yatar CTU, which works with the Israeli government to enforce both the ‘Old City’ of Jerusalem and territories bordering occupied settlements.

Rochwarger, like Ira Greenstein and Jason Greenblatt — holds a number of shares in Genie Energy. As with its founder, Howard Jonas, Rochwarger also attended Yeshiva University.

Rochwarger (Pictured), is the President of Yatar CTU, which is primarily funded privately or through donations but works directly with Israeli commando, military or police units and is a division of the Israel Police Force. As noted, they are actively involved in patrolling borders along territories occupied by Israel, with members themselves being former military or police. Some former units (Mista’arvim) were involved in assassinations.

Yatar CTU:

YATAR CTU, a division of the Israel Police Force, was established to work hand in hand with the various Special Commando Forces to combat terrorism.

The majority of our volunteers who come to YATAR from all walks of life, are specially trained by the Israel Police Force. Additionally, YATAR counts amongst it ranks quite a number of individuals who were trained and served in elite units of the police force and army.

The group possesses a combat unit.

Atlanta Jewish Times:

After six months of training, special forces volunteers and Israel Defense Forces soldiers are recruited by Yatar’s combat unit, which possesses the same rights as Israeli police but lacks the paychecks, to patrol Israel’s border and prevent conflicts related to war.

Their Facebook page also contains heavily political or violent content, such as videos of Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinians, or statements by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley regarding Iran.

@YatarIsrael With @ErickStakelbeck Touring the old city & discussing security challenges. New#TheWatchman episode coming soon on TBN #CUFI pic.twitter.com/2xJNY4FouA

— Yatar Israel (@YatarIsrael) February 9, 2017

Conclusion