By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation
Tim Pool met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night to express “concerns about increased antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the pro-Trump podcasting space,” according to Jewish Insider.
From Jewish Insider, “Netanyahu pushes back on anti-Israel trends in meeting with podcasters”:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to push back against anti-Israel trends in the right-wing media world by holding a briefing in the Blair House for podcasters and other media figures, sources in the meeting told Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
Among those in attendance were podcasters including Dave Rubin, Tim Pool and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, writers Bethany Mandel and David J. Harris Jr., influencer Jessica Kraus, Commentary senior editor Seth Mandel and Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway.
In addition to Netanyahu, his diplomatic advisor Ophir Falk and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter were present on the Israeli side.
Pool expressed concerns about increased antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the pro-Trump podcasting space, according to sources in the room. Pool famously had Kanye West on his podcast, and the rapper walked out mid-interview after Pool pushed back against antisemitic comments.
Responding to Pool, Netanyahu said that is the reason he invited the group to meet with him.
Pool argued that there is a Qatari “op” to manipulate social media algorithms to make antisemitic and anti-Israel episodes appear to receive far more views than, say, tips for picking up women, in order to incentivize podcasters and YouTubers to produce more antisemitic content.
Netanyahu, however, was noncommittal in his response, saying only that “it’s possible.”
When asked about Jewish Insider’s report on X, Pool responded, “Fake and gay.”
“The story mischaracterizes what I said and how the conversation with Netanyahu went,” Pool said in a follow-up post. “I will discuss tonight on Timcast IRL.”
I reached out to every podcaster reported to have taken part in the meeting with Netanyahu for comment.
Interestingly, Tim Pool is the only one disclosing on X that the meeting even took place.
The idea that opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza is a Qatari op is an Israeli op that was popularized by Israel’s Diaspora Ministry last year.
If JI’s report is true, it means that while conservatives like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson and other right-wingers like Dan Bilzerian and Andrew Tate are putting their careers on the line to speak out against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Tim Pool was holding a private meeting with Netanyahu discussing how to shut it all down.
UPDATE: Tim Pool on his show Tuesday night confirmed he took part in what was supposed to be a “private roundtable meeting” with Benjamin Netanyahu and other influencers.
“It was under Chatham House Rules, which means you cannot reveal anybody who attended, nor attribute anything [said] to any one individual,” Pool said.
Tim Pool said Jewish Insider’s report was “close to reality” but insisted it was still “fake news.”
He said he expressed to Netanyahu that “there are clearly bots that are anti-Israel, anti-Semitic” on social media but was merely asking about a report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (a pro-Israel lobbying group) on Qatar being behind them.
Pool lamented that Netanyahu and the Israelis he met with in private were “clueless” to the fact their support among Americans is imploding.
“They are clueless to this issue [of Israel’s falling public support],” Pool said.
“There’s no message conveyed to young people why they should support Israel,” he added. “And I’m not saying that I do– I’m asking them, what are you paying attention to?”
Pool went on to speak with self-described “raging Zionist” Cam Higby about his stalwart support for the Jewish state.
Higby’s defense of the US-Israel relationship went on for multiple (boring) minutes.
[This post has been updated with Pool’s responses and additional information. This post has also been corrected to note the roundtable meeting occurred on Monday night, not Tuesday.]