On January 28, the New York Times reported that a “super PAC” that calls itself “Democratic Majority for Israel” was airing attack ads in Iowa against a frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. DMFI was launched last year to counter the progress activists have made within the Democratic Party in challenging U.S. support for Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian civilians.

But the Times didn’t tell readers anything about where DMFI gets its money for these attack ads.



The Times article extensively quoted Mark Mellman, who was identified as “the president of Democratic Majority for Israel and a longtime Democratic pollster.” But previous reporting and its own website strongly suggest that Wall Street oligarch Todd Richman, “co-chair” of DMFI, is a key money man behind this effort to combat human rights advocates in the Democratic Party.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency describes Richman as "a J.P. Morgan executive who is also a major donor to the party”, and his J.P. Morgan bio says he specializes in managing money for “high-net-worth individuals”. On his bio on his blog at the Times of Israel defending AIPAC from criticism for hosting Trump, Richman is described as “a financial advisor and managing director with a firm based in New York City … active in several pro-Israel and Jewish organizations most notably AIPAC … He previously worked as a non-profit executive for such organizations as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the American Jewish Congress." His bio at DMFI describes him as "a top Democratic fundraiser raising money for several Members of the House leadership and several US Senators including; Sherrod Brown, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Manchin, and Jeanne Shaheen… Richman has served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and was a John Kerry Trustee in his 2004 bid for the Presidency. He has also led and participated in several missions to Israel with elected officials."

At a time when big money interests are attempting to buy our democracy, readers deserve to know who is funding the efforts to sway public opinion. Urge the New York Times to tell its readers where “Democratic Majority for Israel” gets its money for attack ads in Iowa by signing our petition.