Israel’sMinistry of Diaspora Affairs has signed a 142-million-shekel ($46 million) contract with a non-profit company called Gen Truth Collective, created to lead the government's campaign against antisemitism and the boycott movement against Israel (BDS).. The deal is already drawing scrutiny: the company was only registered in late May and weeks after the contract's approval, still had not held its first founding meeting.  A source familiar with  the agreement told Shomrim that “no organization would invest tens of millions in this group, certainly not at the current point in time.”

Over the past decade, Israel has spent tens of millions of shekels on projects meant to combat antisemitism and BDS abroad.  Despite this investment, the return has been poor, a shortfall the ministry's own director general acknowledged to Shomrim in 2024  The government-backed “Voices of Israel” project, for example, was shut down amid heavy criticism and acrimony after funding a string of controversial programs.

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Why did the ministry move on from the Maccabi World Union, its most recent partner,  to a new, untested body?

After that failure, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry decided to go in a different direction and – as Shomrim first reported– it signed an agreement with the Maccabi World Union, the global Jewish sport organization. Under that contract, signed in late 2024, the government would invest around 15 million shekels ($5 million) a year in the fight against antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel, on condition that Maccabi match the sum.

According to another source familiar with the details, the partnership between Maccabi and the ministry started smoothly, but differences soon emerged – in part over the ministry’s desire to increase the budget and scope of the project. Under the Ministry's own legal guidelines, such ventures require 50 percent matching funds from the civil society entity working with the ministry. Maccabi became concerned about the financial exposure this created, and about the reputational damage it could face if the joint fundraising effort fell short. 

Ministry officials concluded they needed an entirely new vehicle to keep the campaign going and moved quickly to build one. In June, the ministry's tenders committee approved a contract with a newly formed company that had not yet begun operating: Gen Truth Collective Ltd.

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Who is behind the untested company now managing a budget of $46 million?

According to Gen Truth Collective’s official incorporation documents, the goal of the company is to operate “on the international stage to promote an effective and ongoing struggle against all perpetrators and manifestations of antisemitism, including incitement against, boycott and delegitimization of Jews and the State of Israel,” as well as strengthening the standing, legitimacy and recognition of Israel as the national home of the Jewish people. This language mirrors, almost word for word, the ministry's own contract-approval protocol.The contract that has been approved is for 142 million shekels ($46 million) and covers a two-year pilot scheme. Of this money, up to 100 million shekels will be allocated to the operation of the non-profit company (50 million shekels each from the ministry and the company’s sources), and up to an additional 42 million shekels ($14 million) will be allocated to continue existing activities under Maccabi World Union, which will operate under the new umbrella.

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How did a company with no history qualify for a contract this large?

Records from Israel's Registrar of Companies paint an unusual picture. Gen Truth Collective was only registered on May 28 – a month before the tenders committee approved the contract. Moreover, the founders of the company who spoke to Shomrim admitted that their non-profit has yet to even start operating. Ezra Haidu, one of the shareholders, is a relationship counselor, mediator and personal coach by profession. “We still have not held the founding meeting,” he said.  “so I can’t tell you very much. Things are still up in the air.”

When asked about the contract with the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, Haidu responded: “We haven’t held our founding meeting yet, so there’s not a lot to say… As soon as we sit down and see the whole picture, everything will be a lot easier.” A second shareholder told Shomrim he joined as a personal favor to the director general of the ministry. “He’s a close friend of mine and he asked me to be part of it… I didn’t go into the details and I do not plan on being very involved,” he said.

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Who else is tied to the new organization, and how close is it to the ministry itself?

The list of officials in the non-profit company raises questions about its independence. The company’s registered address is that of Dr. Avraham Weber, an attorney who, according to his own public biography, has worked as an advisor on antisemitism to the ministry since 2023. He is the sole director of the company and did not respond to Shomrim’s request for comment. Also involved in the project isAyala Yosef, a former senior official with the ministry who joined the Maccabi World Union last year to run the joint project.

The lack of sources of funding raises questions about the new non-profit’s ability to meet its matching target of 50 percent. The same senior source who is very familiar with the world of fundraising for Jewish organizations, is skeptical. “There are very large gaps between the talk of tens of millions and reality, because there is no Jewish organization that would invest tens of millions in this group, certainly not at the current point in time.”

According to the source, the purpose of establishing the non-profit was to do so quickly. “It’s to establish facts on the ground and create the infrastructure. I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked for a partner with 500,000 shekels ($166,000) so they could say there is a million shekels inside the public-benefit company, that there’s an office and a secretary – and then they can move on to looking for the big money.”

Cohen-Scali, the Director-General of the Ministry, did not respond to Shomrim’s questions on the matter. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli also declined to answer questions, making do with the following statement: “This is the framework for our activities with civil society organizations.”

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