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WhatsApp founder donates record $2 million to AIPAC’s bid to elect pro-Israel Democrats

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Megadonor Jan Koum has also given millions to Zionist and pro-Judea and Samaria causes. 

By Debbie Reiss, World Israel News

Whatsapp founder Jan Koum has donated $2 million to AIPAC’s efforts to get pro-Israel candidates elected in the upcoming Democratic primaries, marking the largest single donation to the pro-Israel lobby’s super PAC.

Since stepping down as CEO of the instant messaging giant in 2018, the media-shy Koum has become one of the largest donors in Jewish philanthropy, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. His multi-billion-dollar charitable foundation, called the Koum Family Foundation, gave $140 million to around 70 Jewish groups between 2019 and 2020.

He has donated tens of millions to Jewish groups in eastern Europe since Russia invaded the country of his birth nearly six months ago.

The pro-Israel megadonor has also awarded large sums of money to the U.S. Friends of the IDF; Campus Coalition, which fights anti-Zionist sentiment on college campuses; and the Maccabee Task Force, which promotes Israel advocacy on campuses.

He has also donated $6 million to Zionist NGOs including Elad, which builds homes for Jews in eastern Jerusalem, and $175,000 to the Central Fund of Israel, an umbrella group that distributes monies to right-wing groups including Im Tirzu, Honenu, and Women in Green.

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Koum has amassed  $10 billion in personal wealth since he sold Whatsapp to Facebook in 2014.

His donation to AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, is double that of Haim Saban, Paul Singer and Bernard Marcus, who donated $1 million apiece.

The United Democracy Project makes no mention of either Israel or AIPAC in its official mission statement. Its webpage says that its goal is “to elect candidates that share our vision of Americans coming together to support our mutual interests and belief in democracy.”