Melody Sucharewicz
German-born Israeli political communications and strategy consultant; former adviser and business partner of Benny Gantz, named in leaked emails on the 2015–16 "12 Tribes" anti-BDS initiative
| Melody Sucharewicz
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Sucharewicz on the WDR programme hart aber fair, 14 May 2018 (photo: Superbass, CC BY-SA 4.0) |
| Born | 1980 Munich, Germany |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Political communications and strategy consultant |
| Known for | Winning the Israeli reality show The Ambassador (2006); adviser to Benny Gantz |
| Education | Tel Aviv University (BA, MSc); King's College London (PhD, War Studies) |
| Website | melody.info |
Melody Sucharewicz (born 1980) is a German-born Israeli political communications and strategy consultant. Her own website says she "gained prominence in 2006 by winning Israel's reality TV show 'The Ambassador'", which led to a year as a goodwill ambassador for Israel, and that she works on "strengthening Israeli-European relations".[1] Jack Poulson has described her as Benny Gantz's "spokesperson-turned-business-partner".[2]
According to leaked emails published by Distributed Denial of Secrets, Sucharewicz worked with Gantz and the journalist Yoav Limor in 2015 on a "Counter-BDS Initiative" that became the "12 Tribes" project. The emails were released by Handala, a hacking group that DDoSecrets says is "believed to have ties to Iranian intelligence" and that security researchers link to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Their authenticity has not been independently verified.[3][4]
Career
Sucharewicz's website says she was born in Munich in 1980 and moved to Israel at 19. It says she holds a BA in sociology and anthropology and an MSc in management from Tel Aviv University, and a PhD in War Studies from King's College London, with research on "deradicalization processes of former Islamist extremists". It lists her expertise as including "Public Diplomacy", "Public Opinion Building" and "Strategic Communications", and her company as M.S. Communication and Strategy Ltd.[1] The site describes her as a "former Gantz foreign policy advisor" in a video about her joining the advisory board of All Israel News, an outlet aimed at evangelical Christians.[1] She appears as a commentator on German and Israeli television, including i24NEWS and ARD's Anne Will.[1]
The "12 Tribes" initiative
Jack Poulson reported in September 2025 that an initial list of potential billionaire donors to the counter-BDS initiative was attached to "a purported July 18, 2015 email in the archive from Sucharewicz". He said it listed Larry Ellison and Sergey Brin among four possible American backers.[2] He also quoted a "putative" email of 20 July 2015 from Yoav Limor to Sucharewicz asking whether "the Schwartz family from Canada" knew "how much money is being asked from each donor".[2] In the leaked emails Gantz wrote on 20 July 2015, "I was thinking a million from each one" (translated from Hebrew).[5]
The initiative later went to the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, whose planned public-benefit company became Kela Shlomo and Concert. See Benny Gantz and Kela Shlomo. Poulson said Sucharewicz was among the people named in the emails who did not respond to his requests for comment.[2]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Melody Sucharewicz, Dr. Melody Sucharewicz: Communication. Strategy. Bridging. melody.info, accessed 21 October 2026. Sucharewicz-side.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Jack Poulson, Leak indicates billionaire funders of Israeli cyber campaign targeting anti-apartheid activists All-Source Intelligence (Substack), 17 September 2025, updated 27 September 2025. Critical.
- ↑ Distributed Denial of Secrets, Benny Gantz emails ddosecrets.org, 27 August 2025, accessed 21 October 2026. DDoSecrets says the emails "were released by Handala, a hacking group that is believed to have ties to Iranian intelligence", and applies its "Cyberwar" disclaimer.
- ↑ Check Point Research, "Handala Hack" – Unveiling Group's Modus Operandi Check Point Research, 12 March 2026, accessed 21 October 2026. Security research.
- ↑ Benny Gantz emails (released by Handala, published by Distributed Denial of Secrets), "CBI / potential donors" email thread, June–August 2015 (Hebrew and English), archive paths
benny@bgprime.co.il/Sent!1/1 (401).htmlandbenny@bgprime.co.il/Inbox!3/1 (235).html, dataset page ddosecrets.org, accessed 21 October 2026. Leaked emails; authenticity not independently verified.