Meet the discreet Netanyahu backer behind two propaganda initiatives

The name Avi Gross may not be the most immediately recognizable name among Benjamin Netanyahu's supporters. Yet he is the businessman behind at least two propaganda initiatives to disseminate the Likud's messages during election campaigns, a Haaretz investigation reveals. Gross, who had been invited as a guest of honor to a Netanyahu speech before the U.S. Congress in 2024, is the man behind the content production company New Vision Production, located in Petah Tikva, central Israel. Establishing the studios with their advanced equipment had cost millions of shekels, sources confirmed to Haaretz. Gross himself declined to respond to Haaretz's inquiries. Founded about a year ago, NVP operates along two separate but tangential tracks. One is to provide paid content services for the Likud campaign (which the party confirmed, stating that it was done legally). The second, as revealed by Haaretz, is the distribution of viral videos taken from podcasts that the company produces for Netanyahu-supporting media personalities. The Likud stated that the party has no connection to these podcasts, which leaves the question: who actually funds them? There is also another track, perhaps only semi-official, where the company's premises serve as a kind of production house for ostensibly private videos that align with the campaign's messages (the party denies any connection). An analysis of these reveals that at least seven "content creators" filmed independent videos that, whether by chance or not, promoted the Likud campaign's messages and attacked Netanyahu's rivals and the media. Close Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026. Credit: AFP/RONEN ZVULUN Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026. Credit: AFP/RONEN ZVULUN Some of the videos were produced even before the party contracted with the company. The list of creators includes, among others, Channel 14 reporter Tamir Schneid, panelist Noam Fathi, Likud spokesman Guy Levy, and Adi Shamai Hacohen – who was behind the "coming out" video "Mom, Dad, I'm a Bibist ." Since these are ostensibly private creators, "they are not subject to legal restrictions," a legal source involved in election law told Haaretz. But when everything is done in a single complex, the dots almost connect themselves: Welcome to the propaganda studios. Related Articles Army Radio interviews Netanyahu in studios of Likud-employed production company Bar Peleg Delaware firm behind Israeli Instagram page pushing pro-Netanyahu content Bar Peleg Right-wing Israeli think tank hires lobbyists to push U.S. withdrawal from UN Nettanel Slyomovics The current project is not the first time Gross has acted on Netanyahu's behalf in an election campaign. In 2021, he established Lychee Productions, which was behind "The Trial," a propaganda film distributed about a week before the November 2022 election that cast aspersions on the law enforcement system, "Case 4000" against Netanyahu, and the media. Over the years, Gross also published numerous posts on his social media accounts expressing support for Netanyahu and echoing his government's messages. Gross, a 66-year-old resident of Mikhmoret, made his fortune in textiles, got into technology companies as a partner and founded the Panda mattresses company which he recently sold to Hollandia, in which he now holds 9 percent. He had been linked to the possible acquisition of the Maccabi Netanya soccer team but no deal ensued. Gross is not officially connected to NVP. According to the Registrar of Companies, it was founded in July 2025 as "Neve Hadar Productions" by Neve Pinchas (who is defined as the company's CEO and, sources say, is responsible for content production). Until recently, the company had not been publicly credited with any product. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Avi Gross (@avigross) A post against the President of the Supreme Court of Israel, Yitzhak Amit, published by Gross. But this May, things moved quickly: its name was changed to NVP, it moved to Petah Tikva, it got a website and a month later, 90 percent of its shares were transferred to an American company whose owners' identity is unknown. The company, Great Production 2026 LLC, was incorporated in April in Delaware, which does not require shareholders to be divulged. Although Gross does not appear in the company's documents at all, two sources well-versed in the details confirmed to Haaretz that he is the businessman behind the establishment of the media initiative in Petah Tikva. Service vendors Possibly, the word "initiative" does not adequately reflect the project's scale and scope of influence, especially how little the time it has been operating. In just five weeks, the company published dozens of short videos with pro-Netanyahu content, some of which garnered thousands of likes and tens of thousands of views. The sources of the videos are four new podcasts with at least 15 episodes. The hosts include Netanyahu's brother Ido Netanyahu as well as personalities associated with media outlets such as Channel 14 and Galey Israel Radio, including Efi Mordechai – who brought us the "Ulpanometer," a venture to measure leftist presence on screen. It doesn't end there. NVP also began providing services to Gadi Taub and his podcast group "Gatekeeper," featuring among others Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. A new podcast called "The Nationalists," hosted by Alon Malik and Bat-El Benyamin, was recently added to the gallery of locally produced podcasts. However, the studio recordings, all edited professionally, also include less regulated initiatives, where the only thing that seems orderly is the messages: a suspicious resemblance to the Likud campaign, and primarily – an attack on the mainstream media. For example, Channel 14 personality Noam Fathi filmed a propaganda video in the podcast studio against Channel 12 News (following a libel suit filed against him by the channel and Guy Peleg over his remarks regarding the Sde Teiman affair). "Active Info" investigators, in collaboration with Haaretz, managed to verify by by means of geolocation and image comparison that additional propaganda videos were filmed in the Petah Tikva studio complex in recent months. For example, two government-supporting content creators, Yishai Gvirtzman and Dana Cohen, popularly dubbed "Dana Banana," filmed a video attacking the media from the complex's inner courtyard, which is only accessible after a security check and by invitation from someone working there. Two other people who appear on the list of creators working there are spokesman Guy Levy and Tamir Schneid, Channel 14's "special affairs" reporter (going by the footage, it appears that at least one of the affairs is a clash over Case 4000). Both filmed in and outside the studios. At least in Levy's case, who echoed a message that Gadi Eisenkot – Netanyahu's main rival in the upcoming election – sought to end the war, the timing is key. He did so before July 27 but also after that date, and in the 90 days preceding the elections, election laws become critical. The advent of NVP also changed the working method of Shamai Hacohen (from the "coming out" video). In June, even before the Likud began working with NVP, he switched his usual filming location from home to the studio in Petah Tikva. From there, for example, he launched an attack against Ronen Tzur, who called for Channel 14 to be shut down, or against media outlets that did not sufficiently sing Netanyahu's praises after the day of battle with Iran about two months ago. Close The videos from NVP's podcasts that are shared on its Instagram page. Credit: NVP's Instagram page The videos from NVP's podcasts that are shared on its Instagram page. Credit: NVP's Instagram page Beyond the unofficial recordings, NVP is also responsible for official video content in the Likud campaign. So far, it has published about 20 videos in that context, mostly against Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, incorporating two messages: "It's them or a broad national government" and "Eisenkot is not Yashar, he's left-wing." NVP is also responsible for the AI video showing Eisenkot running with outstretched arms toward a young man resembling his son who was killed in Gaza, but at the last moment he ignores him and embraces United Arab List chairman Mansour Abbas. The creator of this video is none other than Neve Pinchas, the company's founder, who still holds 10 percent of its shares. "Something smells off," the legal source cognizant of election law told Haaretz. But asked if it goes beyond stink, he says it's a gray area, very much so. According to him, Israel's election laws are outdated and not suitable for 2026 and the social media era. Additionally, the fact that the videos aren't published by the party itself makes it hard to show connection between it and the distribution process. Ultimately, he says, it will be a challenge to prove that the law had been broken. All will depend on the interpretation of the Central Elections Committee chairman, Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Solberg, and the evidence presented to him. "Part of the problem with current legislation is that the law doesn't apply to unofficial campaigns," he stresses. Thus they can bypass the law. "This is not the first time this has been done, but in the past, it was much more minor and subtle," he says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Avi Gross (@avigross) A post against Israeli journalist Danny Kushmaro published by Gross. On July 19, the members of the Likud Constitution, Law and Justice Committee received an invitation signed by Minister Haim Katz, to a special meeting to discuss the reserved slots the prime minister wanted on the party's Knesset slate. The location chosen for the gathering was NVP's offices in Petah Tikva. Ultimately the meeting was moved, but this does not mean the complex was erased from the Likud's map; on the contrary. Haaretz learned that in recent weeks, the studios have become a coveted destination for the prime minister himself. In August alone, Netanyahu was documented there three times: once as a guest on Taub's podcast, a second time to film a video in which he announced a reserved slot for Oren Dobronsky on the Likud slate, and a third time for the strange story of the Army Radio program; last week, the military station published an episode of the podcast "King of Creating Life," featuring the prime minister, and for some reason, it was not filmed at the station's Jaffa base but in the Petah Tikva studios. The station explained that Netanyahu's office told them that the filming had to be moved due to security considerations. A security source told Haaretz that the Dignitary Protection Unit had not made any such demand. Either way, according to several testimonies, Netanyahu's frequent visits to the studios cause difficulty and inconveniences for employees in the building. They receive no prior notice and before every visit, the Dignitary Protection Unit prevents employees from leaving their offices until filming is complete. A trailer for "The Trial." Getting credit Another name arising in several contexts is attorney Ophir Falk, who became the prime minister's political adviser in 2023. The year before that, he partnered in the creation of Netanyahu's book "My Story," which was part of the election campaign that year and distributed in the week preceding it, and according to a source who spoke with Haaretz, he was paid for it from Sela Meir publishing house. The second – he was a partner in Lychee Productions (and held 30 percent of its shares until it was dissolved), and joined Gross in creating "The Trial." This film, which was promoted exclusively and primarily on the Walla website and social media – and also by Netanyahu himself – reached millions of views; all this just a few days before the elections. Yinon Magal, host of "The Patriots" on Channel 14, was also involved in the film. His voice is not heard and his face does not appear on screen, but Haaretz learned that he received payment for his participation just six months before he testified for the prosecution in the Netanyahu trial. In fact, Magal, whose name appears in the credits at the