A new investigative report by CNN has uncovered significant financial ties between former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner’s private investment firm, Affinity Partners, and a network of Israeli defense contractors that have supplied weapons and munitions for ongoing military operations across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. The revelations raise serious ethical questions about potential personal profit from regional conflicts that Kushner has been officially tasked with mediating, as well as surprising financial links between Gulf Arab states and the Israeli defense sector.
According to CNN’s reporting, the connection between Kushner’s investment vehicle and Israeli defense interests dates back to 2024, when Affinity Partners injected $128.5 million into Phoenix Financial, one of Israel’s largest diversified financial groups with holdings across insurance, pension management, and asset allocation. Just five days before the inauguration of the second Trump administration in January 2025, Kushner oversaw a doubling of Affinity’s stake in Phoenix, cementing the firm as Phoenix’s single largest shareholder. Kushner has previously referred to the Phoenix holding as Affinity’s “best investment.”
Further investigation by CNN traced at least $456 million in Phoenix investments to nine separate firms directly connected to Israel’s defense industry. The largest of these holdings is a $265.1 million stake in Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest domestic arms manufacturer. Over the past 12 months alone, Elbit has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts from Israel’s Ministry of Defense, including a $200 million deal for advanced airborne munitions and a $48 million contract to supply thousands of 155mm artillery shells. Multiple independent outlets including Middle East Eye have previously documented that Elbit’s weapon systems have been used in attacks that have resulted in Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza.
Phoenix’s defense sector investments extend well beyond Elbit Systems. The Israeli financial group holds an estimated $68 million stake in Next Vision, a manufacturer of optical cameras for military drones; $55 million in Bet Shemesh, a producer of aircraft engines for Israeli military warplanes; and $40 million in Reshef Technologies, which manufactures electronic fuses for artillery rounds. Reshef reported $165 million in new orders from the Israeli military in the period following the start of the current Gaza conflict. Phoenix also holds positions in other firms tied to Israeli military activity, including U.S.-based Caterpillar, whose heavy equipment has been linked to the demolition of Palestinian civilian infrastructure in Gaza and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as Israeli Shipyards and aerospace giant Boeing.
In January 2025, Affinity Partners sold off one-third of its stake in Phoenix, generating a payout of $340 million for the firm. Even after the sale, Affinity remains Phoenix’s largest shareholder, holding a 7.4% stake valued at more than $1 billion, per CNN’s calculations.
Kushner’s legal team has argued that he never directed Phoenix on how to allocate its investment capital. However, comments Kushner made to Forbes in September 2025 contradict that claim: he stated he maintained “a very active dialogue” with Phoenix’s leadership and met with the group’s executives on a regular basis.
Beyond the ethical implications of the stake itself, the report reveals an unexpected flow of capital from Arab Gulf states into Israeli defense companies via Kushner’s firm. As of April 2026, Affinity Partners reports holding more than $6.1 billion in total assets, 99% of which come from non-U.S. investors. All publicly identified investors in the fund are Gulf Arab states: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund injected $2 billion into Affinity shortly after the end of the first Trump administration, while Qatar and the United Arab Emirates added a combined $1.5 billion in new capital in 2024.
The connection between Kushner’s personal financial interests and his official diplomatic work is particularly striking given his long-standing role in Middle East peace negotiations. Kushner was the primary architect of the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and three Arab states: Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAE. He has long framed cross-border investment as a core tool to “incentivize” Arab and Muslim countries to normalize ties with Israel. Today, Kushner holds a seat on Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” the body tasked with mediating a ceasefire in the Gaza war and overseeing post-conflict reconstruction of the enclave. He also developed the controversial “Gaza Riviera” plan, which proposes to redevelop Gaza as a global tourist hub after the conflict ends.
Since Kushner holds no official public office in the second Trump administration, he is not legally required to disclose his personal financial holdings, leaving the full extent of his ties to Israeli defense firms outside of public scrutiny.