From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Qatari lobbyist reportedly used WhatsApp group to coordinate with Netanyahu aides
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAfter Israeli businessman Gil Birger revealed that Qatari lobbyist Jay Footlik had asked him to pay Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein for his work on behalf of Qatar, Feldstein insisted that the funds were actually for his work for the Prime Minister’s Office.
However, Channel 12 reveals the existence of a WhatsApp group between Footlik, Feldstein and Yisrael Einhorn — Urich’s partner at a PR firm who also served as a campaign adviser for Netanyahu.
The group was used by Footlik to coordinate Feldstein and Einhorn’s PR work to boost Qatar’s image, the network says.
This would appear to contradict Feldstein’s claim that his only connection to foreign agents for Qatar was payment for his work in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The revelation also calls into question claims that Footlik did not know that Feldstein, Urich, and Einhorn worked for the Prime Minister’s Office, when the three of them — of all possible PR agents — were chosen for this job to boost Qatar’s image.
Channel 12 says it is not clear how intense the communication between Footlik and Netanyahu’s aides was.
Kan reports that police are in contact with Footlik about reaching him in the US in order to question him regarding his role in Qatargate. Footlik has agreed to be questioned and the interrogation is expected to take place soon, Kan says.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem Post editor Zvika Klein was released to a five-day house arrest following his interrogation today. Klein is suspected of illicit ties with a foreign agent.
According to Channel 12, Klein told investigators that his ties to Qatari officials were forged through his work at the Jerusalem Post. The paper hosted a conference to which a Qatari diplomat was invited. Subsequently, he flew to Qatar in order to interview Qatari officials as part of his journalistic work, Klein told interrogators.
The Times of Israel Community.