Billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wants you to know he has spent “decades” supporting the Palestinian people.
asserted
he → want → people
Days after pressuring pop singer Ed Sheeran to drop rapper Macklemore from his tour over the latter’s “Free Palestine” remarks, Kraft claimed in a statement posted to social media that “for decades” he has “supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians,” such as initiatives to “to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships” between Israelis and Palestinians.
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that → pressure → Israelis
The claims were made as a part of Kraft’s pledge to give $2 million to “aid in the region.”
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claims → make → region
Kraft did not disclose which organizations would receive his money.
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organizations → disclose → money
Nor did he mention his long history of donating to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, an organization that collects money on behalf of Israeli soldiers, and the United Democracy Project, the super PAC of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which lobbies to tilt American politics in favor of Israel.
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which → mention → Israel
Kraft has also given money to a host of pro-Israel advocacy groups that attack critics of Israel, spread content that critics warn is Islamophobic, and have steadfastly defended Israel against mounting evidence of its ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
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critics → give → Gaza
The Intercept’s analysis of tax forms since 2006 show that Kraft’s charity group, the Kraft Family Foundation, has donated $196,000 to the Friends of the IDF and an additional $123,000 to other organizations — Brothers for Life and Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans — that directly benefit Israeli military soldiers.
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that → show → soldiers
In his seven separate donations to the Friends of the IDF, Kraft earmarked the money to “Promote education for young Jewish soldiers.”
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Kraft → earmark → soldiers
Since 2020, Friends of the IDF has poured more than $20 million into its lone soldier program, which supports young Jewish Americans, and Israelis who have no familial support, to serve in the Israeli military’s reserve soldier program, according to an investigation by The Intercept.
uncertain
who → pour → Intercept
The program has continued throughout Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
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program → continue → Gaza
Kraft has organized trips to Israel for former and current NFL players, including a 2017 trip in which he led a delegation of former players on a visit to an Israeli Air Force base, organized by the Friends of the IDF.
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he → organize → IDF
In 2019, Kraft gave $20 million to found a new organization, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, now known as the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate.
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Kraft → give → Hate
Upon its founding, Kraft pledged the organization would oppose the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, claiming the Palestinian rights movement “and other efforts to delegitimize and undermine the State of Israel are the most disconcerting times for the country I love so much.”
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I → pledge → country
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reciprocated the love when Kraft announced the new group while accepting an award for his Israel advocacy, declaring, “Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft.”
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Israel → reciprocate → Kraft
Over the years, Kraft’s foundation has also given $63,500 to the right-wing media watchdog group Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, or CAMERA, which has run pressure campaigns against news outlets, journalists, students, and scholars it deems anti-Israel and has routinely denied Israel’s genocide in Gaza, dismissing such evidence as “the Gaza GenoLie.”
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it → give → GenoLie
When Kraft gave $36,000 to CAMERA in 2018, the donation included a memo, “fighting antisemitism.”
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donation → give → antisemitism
In 2011 and 2012, Kraft’s foundation donated $50,000 to boost the Investigative Project on Terrorism, which the Council on American-Islamic Relations considers a core part of what it refers to as the “U.S. Islamophobia Network.”
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it → donate → Network
As Kraft gave to the think tank, it launched campaigns targeting U.S.-based groups decrying Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians, such as attacking human rights groups Students for Justice in Palestine and American Muslims for Palestine as having ties to “extremist groups” and claiming they were a part of a “web of Hamas support.”
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they → give → support
The group has more recently dismissed protests against Israel’s genocide as Hamas propaganda.
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group → dismiss → propaganda
In addition, Kraft’s foundation donated $150,000 from 2008 to 2018 to the pro-Israel organization, Middle East Media Research Institute, co-founded by a former Israeli intelligence officer and counterrorism adviser to several Israeli presidents.
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foundation → donate → presidents
The group’s website says it exists to “bridge the language gap between the West and the Middle East and South Asia” by translating Arab language media into English.
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it → say → English
However, journalists and experts have noted selective translations of Arab articles and statements to misrepresent policies of Arab governments as extremist or violent.
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journalists → note → governments
Through his limited liability company, the Kraft Group, Kraft has given $3 million to the super PAC since its founding in 2022, including $1 million in donations this midterm cycle.
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Kraft → give → donations
During this midterm election cycle, AIPAC has flooded races to oppose candidates who criticize Israel’s genocide in Gaza and U.S. military support for Israel, helping make several primaries among the most expensive on record.
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primaries → flood → record
It’s not clear whether these entities were the ones Kraft claims have created jobs and spurred dialogues between Palestinians and Israelis.
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Kraft → ’ → Palestinians
Kraft and the groups mentioned in this story did not respond to The Intercept’s request for comment.
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Kraft → mention → comment
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
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WE → ’ → ?
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
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seeing → see → government
Court orders are being ignored.
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orders → ignore → ?
MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies.
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loyalists → put → military
The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse.
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Department → strip → purse
News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
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that → challenge → investigation
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
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many → cover → power
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world.
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Intercept → cover → world
We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
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we → understand → democracy
We’re independent of corporate interests.
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We → ’re → interests
Will you help us?
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you → help → us
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press.
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president → have → press
Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America.
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outlets → cower → America
Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
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billionaires → pounce → liking
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
