CNN published an investigation earlier this week detailing how an investment fund operated by Jared Kushner, who has acted as a key Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiator and leader on Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace,” also holds the largest stake in an Israeli financial institution that backs arms manufacturers involved in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza—one of many financial entanglements author Casey Michel highlighted in a Mother Jones cover story in July.
asserted
Michel → publish → July
In a rare move, Kushner took to social media Friday to characterize CNN’s reporting as “deeply misleading.”
asserted
Kushner → take → reporting
The CNN reporters did acknowledge that they “found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat” directly affected his investment portfolio.
asserted
actions → acknowledge → portfolio
But they laid out how Kushner’s private equity company ended up with a 7.4 percent stake in an Israeli firm linked to nine different weapons contractors.
asserted
company → lay → contractors
Kushner’s company, Affinity Partners, doubled its stake in the firm, Phoenix Financial, last year—just before Donald Trump returned to office.
asserted
Trump → double → office
As Michel wrote for Mother Jones, “Phoenix is a bulwark for Israeli expansion in the Palestinian territories and Syria, enabling more building, construction, and imperialism.”
asserted
Phoenix → write → building
CNN’s report digs into the details of Phoenix’s investments in Israeli weapons-makers.
asserted
report → dig → makers
Most notably, Phoenix has hundreds of millions of dollars in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest military equipment provider, known for unmanned aerial vehicles that are deployed extensively for surveillance and bombardment in Gaza.
asserted
that → have → Gaza
Phoenix also, according to CNN, has holdings in Israeli jet-engine maker Bet Shemesh, drone-camera maker Next Vision, munitions company Reshef Technologies, and Boeing, which supplies Israel’s military with F-15s and bunker-buster bombs.
uncertain
which → accord → F-15s
In his post, Kushner protested, “Phoenix is not a defense company.
asserted
Phoenix → protest → post
It is one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions, highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments.”
asserted
It → trade → investments
Nonetheless, Phoenix manages large investments in weapons companies close to the conflict, even as Kushner touts a $2.4 billion dollar “recovery plan” for Gaza geared toward turning the area into a tourist hub.
asserted
Kushner → manage → hub
Israel continues to bomb Gaza—despite having agreed to a ceasefire 11 months ago—killing more than 1,300 people since that agreement was signed.
asserted
agreement → continue → people
Kushner has responded to past reporting on his conflicts of interest by saying, essentially, that putting himself in a position to make money off his diplomatic work doesn’t count as a conflict of interest unless he actually makes money.
asserted
he → respond → money
But while serving as a diplomat, he has indeed been making money; in September 2025, Forbes declared Kushner a billionaire, noting that his fortune had grown by about $100 million from a year earlier.
asserted
fortune → serve → million
Israel represents just one of Kushner’s numerous global conflicts of interest.
asserted
Israel → represent → interest
While engaged in attempts to negotiate peace with Iran, he was also soliciting investments from officials of Persian Gulf states with a stake in the outcome.
asserted
he → engage → outcome
Kushner was also tapped to negotiate an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine, despite his ties to prominent Russian officials.
asserted
Kushner → tap → officials
And as the lead story in today’s New York Times revealed, the Trump administration’s talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine now involve “a multibillion-dollar oil deal that would benefit Middle Eastern business executives with ties to the two main U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.”
asserted
that → reveal → negotiators
In 2025, CBS’ “60 Minutes” asked Kushner and Witkoff, his fellow “special envoy,” whether their “billions and billions of dollars worth of business” deals with the Gulf States, some of which they’d negotiated while brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Qatar, might constitute conflicts of interest.
uncertain
they → ask → interest
Kushner seemed to think he was in the clear.
asserted
he → seem → clear
“We’re here to do good,” Kushner responded.
asserted
Kushner → ’re → good
He stated that he would not be personally involved in deciding who does business in Gaza after the ceasefire deal is signed.
asserted
deal → state → Gaza
“What people call conflicts of interest,” Kushner said, “Steve and I call experience.”
asserted
Steve → call → interest
The Aporia
