ISRAEL LOBBY FINANCIER Adam Mil-
stein has been identified as the funder of
Canary Mission, the anonymous website
that aims to tarnish the reputations of U.S.
supporters of Palestinian rights.
Milstein is named as the financier of Ca-
nary Mission by Eric Gallagher, a former
employee of The Israel Project, in Al
Jazeera’s censored investigative film, “The
Lobby—USA.”
The Electronic Intifadareleased seg-
ments it obtained of the film: one shows
Gallagher telling an undercover Al Jazeera
reporter about Milstein’s role and the other
shows Milstein talking about the need to
“investigate” and “expose” critics of Israel,
who Milstein believes are not only anti-
Semites, but also “anti-Christian” and
“anti-freedom” activists who “terrorize us.”
The film also reveals that Israel lobby
operatives who rely on information provided by Canary Mission
“coordinate” their activities with the Israeli government.
The revelation could help explain more recent reports that Ca-
nary Mission profiles are being used by Israeli border officials to
deny Palestinian Americans entry to their homeland.
As a broadcaster licensed in the UK, Al Jazeera operates ac-
cording to the code set by the regulator Ofcom.
These rules require that Milstein and other pro-Israel figures
featured in the film be given an opportunity to reply to allega-
tions. Neither Milstein, Gallagher nor dozens of other pro-Israel
figures who appear in the film responded to Al Jazeera’s “right
to reply” letters, the film states.
Despite intense efforts to find out who is behind Canary Mis-
sion, it is only Al Jazeera’s investigative unit that has been able
to identify Milstein as the website’s driving force.
Last week The Grayzone Projectreported that Howard Ster-
ling, a wealthy lawyer and fervent supporter of Israel, owns the
internet domain name used by the Canary Mission website. But
Sterling, unlike Milstein, is relatively unknown.MCCARTHYISM FOR ISRAEL
Alongside his associate Sheldon Adelson, Milstein is a high-profile
figure in the Israel lobby. Milstein’s foundation funds such anti-
Palestinian organizations as the Israel on Campus Coalition,
StandWithUs, CAMERA, the AMCHA Initiative and the Founda-
tion for Defense of Democracies. Milstein also funds the Israeli-
American Council, a lobby group whose board he chairs.
An Israeli-born real estate mogul based in California, Milstein
served time in federal prison for a 2009 conviction for tax evasion.
Canary Mission has targeted some 1,900 students and acad-
emics in its profiles since 2015, smearing them as “racist,” “anti-
American” and “anti-Semitic.”
In the film, a Milstein associate states regarding Canary Mis-
sion: “Adam Milstein, he’s the guy who funds it.” The admission
was made by Eric Gallagher, who was then in charge of fundrais-
ing at The Israel Project, one of the organizations bankrolled by
Milstein. Prior to that, Gallagher worked at the Israel lobby giant
the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Gallagher spoke to “Tony,” the Al Jazeera reporter who went
undercover as an intern with The Israel Project. Gallagher
stopped working for The Israel Project after pro-Israel groups
learned about Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation.
“So Adam Milstein funds The Israel Project and he’s funding
the Canary Mission website?” Tony asks in the film.
Gallagher replies: “Yeah, which is interesting because it makesThe Israel on Campus Coalition’s Ian Hersh (l) and Jacob Baime explain to an undercover
reporter how their blacklisting sites work.SCREENSHOT COURTESY THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADAAliAbunimahisco-founderoftheelectrionicintifadaandauthorof
the battle for Justice in palestineandOne country: a bold pro-
posal to end the israeli-palestinian impasse.AsaWinstanleyisa
UK-basedinvestigativejournalistwiththeelectronicintifada.Copy-
right©2000-2018ElectronicIntifada.net.Reprintedwithpermission.31Censored Film Names Adam Milstein as
Canary Mission Funder
By Asa Winstanley and Ali AbunimahSpecial Report
OctOber2018 WashingtOn repOrt On Middle east affairsabunimah_31-32.qxp_Special Report 8/30/18 5:29 PM Page 31