Nir Kalron
Israeli former special forces soldier; founder of the private intelligence firm Maisha Group
| Nir Kalron
| |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Founder of Maisha Group |
| Known for | Anti-poaching security consultancy in Africa; private intelligence |
Nir Kalron is an Israeli former soldier who in 2011 founded Maisha Consulting, now Maisha Group, a private intelligence and risk consultancy.[1] The firm began in anti-poaching work in Africa. Leaked documents show it bidding in 2025 for a proposed Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs project, run through the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), to produce "incrimination reports" on people and organisations abroad.[2]
Career
In a 2016 statement to a Vermont Senate committee, Kalron described himself as a "former Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) combatant for special air operations". He said that "In 2011 I founded Maisha Consulting Ltd., which specializes in strategic anti-poaching and counter-trafficking initiatives and infrastructure", and that the firm worked with "the governments of over 20 African countries".[1] Smithsonian magazine profiled him in 2016 as a 37-year-old former Israeli commando who had grown up in Yavne. It reported on Maisha's work training rangers in the Dzanga-Sangha reserve in the Central African Republic.[3]
Diaspora Ministry "soft power" project
Emails and documents attributed to INSS were released by the hacking group Handala, which is believed to have ties to Iranian intelligence, and published by Distributed Denial of Secrets. The material has not been independently verified and may have been altered.[2][4] According to these documents:
- Maisha sent a price quote on 17 August 2025, headed (in Hebrew) "thwarting the soft campaign of the Shi'ite axis led by Iran". It offered "specific incrimination reports (person/company/NGO reports)" for NIS 200,000 plus VAT.[2]
- On 15 September 2025 a Ministry of Diaspora Affairs official forwarded the INSS–ministry "soft power" project correspondence to Kalron.[4]
The outcome of the ministry's approval process does not appear in the material. See Maisha Group for details.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nir Kalron, Statement on Vermont H.297 Before Vermont Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Vermont Legislature, 30 March 2016, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Distributed Denial of Secrets, Raz Zimmt emails DDoSecrets, 13 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Joshua Hammer, The Fight Against Elephant Poachers Is Going Commando Smithsonian Magazine, June 2016, accessed 22 October 2026. Journalistic.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Distributed Denial of Secrets, Tamir Hayman emails DDoSecrets, 13 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.