Israel’s ex-PM Ehud Barak and Epstein had close relationship, emails reveal

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An Israeli drone company, malaria investigating technology, and the projected merchantability of an American billionaire’s lipid and state empire are among the galore antecedently chartless concern ventures that erstwhile Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak discussed with the precocious enactment offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, leaked emails reveal.

Epstein served arsenic a trusted fiscal adviser, fixer, concierge, sounding board, and adjacent person to the ex-Israeli person during a long-running narration that blurred nonrecreational and idiosyncratic boundaries, the emails suggest.

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While Barak has antecedently acknowledged having a concern narration with Epstein via the Israeli exigency services startup Reporty, the communications suggest that the person coordinated with the disgraced financier connected respective antecedently chartless concern proposals, relying heavy connected his proposal and connections.

Barak, who led Israel from 1999 to 2001 and served arsenic the country’s defence curate from 2007 to March 2013, besides sought Epstein’s input connected drafts of paper op-eds and utilized an flat successful New York City arranged by the financier to constitute his autobiography.

The two men also exchanged vacation greetings, and Epstein sent his condolences to Barak when his parent passed distant successful 2013.

Like galore almighty figures successful Epstein’s orbit, Barak, who said helium archetypal met the precocious financier successful 2003, continued his relation with Epstein for years aft helium became a convicted enactment offender pursuing a arguable plea woody successful 2008.

The emails, which span 2013 to 2016, were published successful August by the whistleblower tract Distributed Denial of Secrets after being stolen by the hacktivist group Handala, which the authorities of Canada has linked to Iran’s quality agencies.

Barak did not respond to requests for comment sent to his idiosyncratic email code and those of his lawyers and publisher.

Barak’s prospective concern partners successful the assorted deals helium discussed with Epstein besides did not respond to requests for comment.

Just months aft Barak ended his tenure arsenic Israel’s defence main successful 2013, Epstein promised to marque the person hundreds of millions of dollars successful an email flexing his skills arsenic a fiscal adviser.

“We some cognize that with my engagement astatine a elder level you volition beryllium capable to achieve, not truthful galore but astatine slightest fewer 100 cardinal much than without my help. To day you person not made a existent proposal, and though I americium blessed to determination guardant I would request a steadfast superior connection to bash so,” Epstein wrote to Barak successful the email dated September 20, 2013.

epstein

That November, it appears that Epstein sought to renegotiate the presumption of an agreement for his fiscal services following a delayed payment.

“I deliberation champion that aft this is received we look to signifier a caller statement that meets some of our needs,” Epstein wrote.

Epstein, who indicated successful their correspondence that helium had already been paid astatine slightest $5m, projected that helium person a $2m yearly retainer positive a percent of profits.

It is unclear what terms, if any, the 2 men ultimately agreed upon.

Among the projects that Barak appears to person sought Epstein’s proposal connected was a projected concern successful Israeli startup Light & Strong, which successful 2014 was moving connected solar-powered, high-altitude, agelong endurance (HALE) drones successful an inaugural dubbed “Project Sun Spark”.

Founded successful Israel successful 2007, Light & Strong produced subject and aerospace components for the Israeli authorities and defence industry.

Two Israeli businessmen, Ofer Amir and Gal Erez, bought the institution from a liquidator successful 2014 after a previous owner went bankrupt.

Amir and Erez hoped that Light & Strong could rival Google and Facebook with solar-powered drones susceptible of boosting mobile telephone and broadband coverage, according to a institution prospectus. The drones besides offered a secondary usage for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, the emails show.

“They would like me to articulation arsenic Chairman and to consider invest up to $1M based connected $13M pre money arsenic portion of a circular that volition raise $3.0M ($16M station wealth valuation),” Barak wrote to Epstein successful October 2014 after he was approached by Amir.

Epstein and his lawyer reviewed the company’s fiscal statements over a flurry of email exchanges with Barak over the next fewer weeks before Epstein issued a hard “no” connected the investment.

“this is crazy. the radical penning this person nary fiscal knowledge. they constitute for ex that this cashflow does not see depreciation.???? of people not. deprecitation has thing to bash with cashflow nothing. STAY AWAY,” Epstein wrote successful a typically error-strewn email connected November 27, 2014.

Light & Strong was aboriginal acquired by an Indian aerospace conglomerate, according to Israeli media.

Epstein’s proposal took a akin tone when Barak asked astir a potential woody with the late Denver, Colorado-based oil tycoon Jack Grynberg.

Barak’s emails indicate that he felt a personal affinity for Grynberg, who had shared his experience of surviving the Holocaust arsenic a child before making a multibillion-dollar luck successful lipid and gas.

A justice aboriginal recovered that Grynberg, who died in 2021 aged 89, “suffered from insane delusions and failed to marque rational decisions” in the waning years of his life as helium tried to support his luck retired of the hands of his family.

Grynberg engaged Barak successful 2014 to assistance broker the merchantability of 1 of his lipid and state companies, Gadeco LLC.

The lipid tycoon proposed offloading a 25 percent stake in the company for $400m, or a 100 percent involvement for $1.6bn.

Barak agreed to assistance broker the woody for a 5 percent committee – to beryllium divided among himself and concern associates – and suggested 2 “Chinese and Russian candidates”.

Barak’s emails amusement that successful October 2014, helium approached China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the Israeli-Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, and Hong Kong entrepreneur Joachim Chao, who was representing a “consortium of Chinese backstage companies”.

The emails besides suggest that Epstein helped Barak approach the unit of Leon Black, the billionaire cofounder of backstage equity steadfast Apollo Global Management, astir the sale.

Barak asked for Epstein’s advice in precocious October successful a bid of emails with the taxable enactment “JG Co. Sale”.

“Hi Jeff Thx for your support. Pl stock with maine your content from the JG Co. Materials erstwhile you’ve looked done them. Do not hesitate to close oregon nonstop maine on the way. I don’t person capable clip to larn from my ain mistakes,” Barak wrote.

‘Total discarded of your time’

Epstein told him to debar the merchantability astatine each costs a fewer hours later.

“This is full 100 percent BULLSHIT. I told you connected the telephone earlier sending oregon asking anyone astir it you should bash your ain homework, You cannot beryllium seen to beryllium selling garbage ,frauds. Bad things and oregon trouble,” Epstein wrote.

“This is simply a full discarded of your time. Call maine erstwhile awake.”

Two days later, Barak emailed Epstein to convey him for his proposal and pass him helium had “softly killed the GADECO story”.

In aboriginal November, Barak informed Grynberg he could nary longer assistance with the sale, but by the mediate of the month, negotiations with Chao were back on, according to the emails.

Negotiations with Chao appeared to fizzle retired by December, and the merchantability did not proceed.

Grynberg later mislaid power of his concern empire successful 2019 pursuing a palmy suit by his family.

Epstein played a supporting role for Barak in different ways, including by offering his Manhattan home to big concern meetings.

Those meetings included a September 2013 brushwood betwixt Barak and Boris Nikolic, a biotech task capitalist and then-chief advisor for subject and exertion astatine the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

At the time, Barak sat connected the advisory committee of the Israeli biotech startup Parasight, which was processing a level to trial humor for malaria and parasites.

Barak solicited Nikolic’s feedback connected the technology, which was undergoing objective trials successful India, successful the hopes that the Gates Foundation mightiness put successful Parasight, aboriginal renamed Sight Diagnostics.

Nikolic aboriginal passed on the opportunity, telling Parasight that the Gates Foundation was avoiding “machine-based technology” due to the trouble of deploying it in distant parts of Africa.

Epstein often steered Barak to scope retired to high-profile individuals spanning politics, business, academia and entertainment, oregon successful galore cases offered to link Barak himself.

The database included then-president of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen; erstwhile French President Nicolas Sarkozy; outgoing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; erstwhile Harvard President Larry Summers; billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel; nationalist intelligence Noam Chomsky; and movie manager Woody Allen.

It is unclear however galore of these meetings took place.

In this excavation photograph distributed by the Russian authorities bureau Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a unpaid organisations forum successful Moscow connected December 3, 2025. (Photo by Alexander SHCHERBAK / POOL / AFP)

One lawsuit that did spell forward, however, was a gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin successful 2013 portion Barak was successful Moscow.

“I deliberation you should fto Putin cognize you volition beryllium successful Moscow. See if helium wants backstage time,” Epstein wrote to Barak successful May of that year.

Epstein and Barak both hoped to person Putin to wantonness his enactment for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and assistance bring an extremity to the Syrian civilian war, according to an probe by Drop Site News that reviewed the aforesaid trove of emails.

Acting arsenic a backchannel for the Israeli government, Barak met with Putin successful June 2013, but helium failed to sway him.

Another important transportation for Barak was the billionaire French banker Ariane de Rothschild, whose narration with Epstein was besides reported connected by Drop Site news.

Epstein advised Barak connected however to attack the banker, the emails show.

De Rothschild had antecedently told Epstein that Barak would request to “build a relationship” with her if helium wanted “to marque superior money”, according to Epstein’s relationship of the conversation.

“I’m ready. But I request your counsel re HOW? ( ladies is your forté),” Barak wrote to Epstein connected November 21, 2013, successful notation to De Rothschild.

“time. attention. stable. recurring., PREDICTABLE where what when,” Epstein replied a fewer hours later.

Epstein besides suggested successful a June 2014 email to Barak that De Rothschild’s instauration had unspecified problems with the Israeli authorities that the politician should beryllium briefed on.

Around this time, Epstein was pursuing Rothschild to money Israeli “offensive cyber” startups, according to Drop Site News.

Barak shared akin interests, including successful the Israeli unreality information startup Guardicore. He suggested successful August 2014 that Epstein walk a one-page backgrounder connected Guardicore to PayPal.

It is unclear whether Epstein followed his advice, and Guardicore was aboriginal acquired by unreality work supplier Akamai Technology.

Barak’s correspondence with Epstein at times pointed to a deep personal friendship.

“[t]here are very fewer people that i enjoy spending time with, you are unique,” Epstein wrote to Barak on September 21, 2013.

“Thx. The same. EB,” Barak wrote back.

Epstein gave Barak access to an apartment in New York, and connected 1 occasion, arranged for the transportation of a piano to the property.

“We are in the apartment. So cute. And your squad prepared it with truthful overmuch attraction to details. Thank you precise much. It is truthful adjuvant for this task of writing a book,” Barak wrote on July 25, 2015.

Epstein besides invited Barak and his wife, Nili Priel, to sojourn his private island, Little Saint John, successful the Caribbean.

Barak shared a imaginable question itinerary with Epstein to sojourn his land successful January 2014, but that travel appears to person been cancelled.

In December of that year, Barak’s woman shared a caller question itinerary to question to St Thomas, an land adjacent to Little St James, with Epstein.

“we can get to St. Thomas Friday, December 12 from NY astatine 12:55 PM with AA 1275 And permission connected Monday, December 15 astatine 2 PM to NY with AA 1275. Does this suit you?” she wrote successful an email forwarded to Barak.

The pursuing week, Barak thanked Epstein for his “hospitality” and complimented him connected his “Great, awesome island”.

Barak referred to the sojourn again successful a February 2015 email to Epstein that mentioned a bodyguard who joined the erstwhile Israeli person successful “LSJ connected the 2nd day”.

After Epstein was arrested connected enactment trafficking charges successful 2019, Barak announced that helium had “cut each ties” with his erstwhile concern partner.

In a 2023 interrogation with The Wall Street Journal, Barak adamantly denied attending immoderate of Epstein’s “parties oregon activities involving girls and women”.

The leaked emails amusement that Barak had been approached years earlier for remark astir his cognition of Epstein’s activities.

In 2015, The Mirror paper contacted Barak to springiness him a accidental to remark connected whether helium was alert that his concern spouse was “paying underage girls for sex”.

In a missive sent done his lawyers, Barak denied immoderate cognition of criminality by Epstein.

“As to your question astir my consciousness of Mr. Epstein’s activity, you are assuming allegations arsenic information and, adjacent if the allegations crook retired to beryllium true, I was ne'er alert that Mr. Epstein, to punctuation you, ‘was paying underage girls for sex.'”

The Mirror yet did not people an nonfiction astir Barak’s ties to Epstein pursuing its correspondence with the politician.

While Barak’s narration with Epstein opened up a satellite of elite connections and concern opportunities, it overshadowed his aspirations for a governmental comeback successful Israel.

At the clip of Epstein’s apprehension successful July 2019, Barak was seeking to situation Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu successful upcoming elections nether the banner of the recently formed Democratic Union, an confederation of left-leaning parties.

One period later, Epstein died successful a Manhattan jailhouse compartment successful what was aboriginal ruled a suicide.

That September, Barak failed to triumph a spot successful the Knesset – Israel’s legislature – erstwhile his confederation underperformed successful the polls amid renewed scrutiny of his ties to Epstein.

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