A top executive linked to the planned $14 billion takeover of TikTok’s US operations once argued that American culture must be shaped to embed pro-Israel sentiment.
An email from former Oracle CEO Safra Catz to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was revealed in a hack of Barak’s email account and first reported by Responsible Statecraft.
"We have all been horrified by the growth of the BDS movement in college campuses and have concluded that we have to fight this battle before the kids even get to college. We believe that we have to embed the love and respect for Israel in the American culture. That means getting the message to the American people in a way they can consume it," Catz wrote in February 2015.
She was referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a Palestinian-led campaign applying economic and political pressure on Israel, modelled on the movement that helped end apartheid in South Africa.
Oracle’s role in TikTok deal
Catz transitioned from Oracle CEO to executive vice chair in September, and is believed to have played a significant role in negotiations leading to the near-complete deal transferring TikTok’s US operations to a US-majority consortium.
Oracle is set to serve as TikTok’s security provider, with oversight of user data and content systems.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that "American investors will actually control the algorithm" once the deal is complete.
A US official earlier confirmed that TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm will be copied, inspected and retrained by the security provider using US data.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Oracle would act as TikTok’s "trusted security provider", independently monitoring safety and data security.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted the deal’s strategic importance during an event with social media influencers last week.
"We have to fight with the weapons that apply to the battlefields on which we are engaged. And the most important ones are on social media. And the most important purchase that is going on right now is, class? TikTok," Netanyahu said.
"TikTok, number one. Number one. And I hope it goes through, because it can be consequential."
