WhatsApp founder Jan Koum talking at a convention in Spain in 2014. Picture by Getty Pictures

This text initially appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted right here with permission. Join right here to get Haaretz’s free Each day Temporary publication delivered to your inbox.

Jan Koum, the Ukrainian-born Jewish inventor of WhatsApp, donated a record-high $2 million to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s marketing campaign on the Democratic primaries in June.

Koum, whose internet value is estimated at between $9.eight billion and $13.7 billion, is taken into account among the many richest individuals on this planet. His present doubles the earlier excessive donations to AIPAC’s United Democracy Undertaking Tremendous PAC from mega-donors Haim Saban, Paul Singer and Bernard Marcus.

The 46-year-old retired entrepreneur, who offered his messaging app to Fb for $19 billion in 2014, was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 16-years-old. His household basis has quietly however actively elevated its giving to Jewish and Israel-related causes over the previous a number of years, report the Jewish Telegraph Company and journalist Teddy Schleifer.

From 2019 to 2020, Koum has donated $140 million in presents to about 70 Jewish charities working in the USA, Japanese Europe and Israel. As JTA notes, “that’s on par with the speed of giving by the largest and best-known donors within the Jewish world.”

Amongst Koum’s donations embody $6 million to Pals of Ir David, the U.S. fundraising arm of Elad, a right-wing NGO targeted on settling Jews in Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and working vacationer and excavation websites. He has additionally donated $600,000 to the Maccabee Activity Power Basis, a gaggle based by Sheldon Adelson aiming to fight anti-Israel sentiment on school campuses. Koum equally donated $175,000 to The Central Fund of Israel, a company that serves as a funnel between the U.S. and non-profits in Israel, a lot of which function within the settlements.

Koum’s solely earlier political donations have been to Derrick Anderson’s 2022 Republican major bid for a Virginia Congressional district through WinRed, a Republican Nationwide Committee-endorsed fundraising platform.

United Democracy Undertaking has now spent almost $21 million, completely on Democratic primaries, with $12.1 million of these funds being spent on assault adverts. It just lately efficiently invested a record-high $6 million in a Maryland Congressional major geared toward defeating former Rep. Donna Edwards, whom it dismissed as “anti-Israel.” The tremendous PAC has come beneath criticism for receiving vital donations from main Republican donors whereas solely involving itself in Democratic primaries.

“When voters have a alternative between a pro-Israel candidate and an anti-Israel candidate,” UDP Spokesperson Patrick Dorton mentioned. “They’re persistently selecting the pro-Israel choice. It’s a reality that almost all of progressive Democrats in America are pro-Israel. We’re exercising our democratic and first modification rights by being lively in these elections.”