by Kit Klarenberg
Part 2 - 'Nothing Wrong’
In response to the exposures of Fang and Poulson, CyberWell – which had hitherto operated with a reasonable degree of transparency – went scurrying underground. Many sections of its website were pruned of incriminating information or deleted outright. This included a highly illuminating section on the individuals running and advising the outfit. Now, visitors to CyberWell’s website are offered no indication of who or what is behind the initiative, which promises to deliver “more data, less hate” by tackling “antisemitism” online using artificial intelligence.
In a comment released to Fang and Poulson, CyberWell claimed they were “forced to remove the ‘Our Team’ page for safety reasons” due to the pair’s reporting “generating false and misleading information.” The statement further alleged: “Following the publication of your story, our analysts were attacked and identified by name on X. Users shared your article and our employees’ names with a wider network and we became concerned for our staff’s safety.”
In a comment released to Fang and Poulson, CyberWell claimed they were “forced to remove the ‘Our Team’ page for safety reasons” due to the pair’s reporting “generating false and misleading information.” The statement further alleged: “Following the publication of your story, our analysts were attacked and identified by name on X. Users shared your article and our employees’ names with a wider network and we became concerned for our staff’s safety.”
A review of the now-purged resumes of CyberWell’s founders and staff points to a somewhat different rationale. Many members of the non-profit’s “dynamic team” of “academics, retired generals, intelligence alumni and innovative tech professionals” have extensive Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) backgrounds and Israeli government ties. U.S.-born founder Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor emigrated to Tel Aviv as a teenager and volunteered to serve in the IOF as a “lone soldier.” She then entered the intelligence sphere via Israeli firm Argyle Consulting, which provides private spying services to international companies and “other entities.”
She served under Zohar Gorgel, “a decorated IDF intelligence officer with over a decade of experience in various cyber and technology roles.” Together, they struck upon the idea of “driving enforcement and improvement of community standards and hate speech policies across the digital landscape to fight against online antisemitism,” so they launched CyberWell, “encouraged by colleagues and mentors.” Elsewhere, the organization employs Yonathan Hezroni, “a former analyst and analyst team leader” in the IOF’s military intelligence research department.
Dina Porat, chief historian of the Zionist entity-funded Yad Vashem, who heavily influenced the IHRA working definition, is named as a CyberWell advisor. So too is Major General Amos Yadlin, a 40-year high-ranking IDF veteran who once led the IDF’s spying wing and was previously defense attaché to the U.S.. Alongside them is Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, a longtime IDF spokesperson. His position raises grave questions about the non-profit’s denials of any connection to Voices of Israel.
She served under Zohar Gorgel, “a decorated IDF intelligence officer with over a decade of experience in various cyber and technology roles.” Together, they struck upon the idea of “driving enforcement and improvement of community standards and hate speech policies across the digital landscape to fight against online antisemitism,” so they launched CyberWell, “encouraged by colleagues and mentors.” Elsewhere, the organization employs Yonathan Hezroni, “a former analyst and analyst team leader” in the IOF’s military intelligence research department.
Dina Porat, chief historian of the Zionist entity-funded Yad Vashem, who heavily influenced the IHRA working definition, is named as a CyberWell advisor. So too is Major General Amos Yadlin, a 40-year high-ranking IDF veteran who once led the IDF’s spying wing and was previously defense attaché to the U.S.. Alongside them is Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, a longtime IDF spokesperson. His position raises grave questions about the non-profit’s denials of any connection to Voices of Israel.
Israeli corporate records list Lerner as a shareholder and director of Keshet David. As Voices of Israel chair and founder Micah Lakin Avni explained in a December 2018 Times of Israel interview, Keshet David—initially called Israel Cyber Shield—is the research and intelligence arm of his Israeli government-funded organization, then known as Concert. It was headed by Yossi Kuperwasser, former Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs director general and lead IDF military intelligence researcher.
Israel Cyber Shield attracted significant public controversy in May of that year after it was revealed to have compiled and circulated a “dirty dossier” on prominent BDS activist Linda Sarsour in a bid to discredit her and encourage universities and other organizations not to feature her as a speaker. As Avni acknowledged in his interview, creating a hostile environment for Palestine solidarity activists and events was precisely the unit’s founding purpose:
If a person puts up a post, a public post on Facebook, and says I’m a big supporter of this or that anti-Israel organization, not only that but I’m organizing a demonstration on my campus tomorrow – if they put that public post out for the whole world to know, that’s public information, so there’s nothing wrong with being aware of that post and making sure that the Jewish students on their campus are aware of it…Concert funds Keshet David and we get all the information.
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