(José Niño, Headline USA) Emails released from the Jeffrey Epstein files show the sex trafficking billionaire worked Israeli connections to help his lawyer’s daughter join an elite Israeli Defense Forces unit, The Grayzone reported Tuesday.
Epstein’s request came in a June 29, 2011 email to Anat Barak, the daughter of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In the message, the financier described the young woman, identified as Tali, as an 18 year old who had been accepted to Columbia University’s Barnard College and had “been to Israel more than a dozen times.”
The young woman had spent summers hiking the Israel Trail and “working as a counselor at a summer camp in Dimona Israel for children who are victims of terrorist attacks,” and would therefore “be a great asset to any unit,” Epstein wrote. He added that upon her return from military service, “she would be a fantastic ambassador for Israel” at what he called “one of the more important college campuses in the country, Columbia.”
Hours later, Barak responded that Tali “sounds like an amazing girl” and informed the billionaire “I’ll be in touch with her, and we’ll take care of her.”
The senior Israeli politician’s daughter then sent an email to Tali explaining that “Jeffrey Epstein told me about you and about your plans to join the IDF this summer.” She added “This is absolutely wonderful” and “Kol Ha’kavod!,” a Hebrew expression meaning much respect.
A Grayzone review of public records indicates Tali is Talia Lefkowitz. Her father, Jay Lefkowitz, worked as Epstein’s lawyer and helped negotiate the billionaire’s sweetheart deal with then US Attorney Alex Acosta. At the time, her father argued that Epstein was “not in any way a typical sex offender.”
Talia Lefkowitz did not respond to an email from The Grayzone requesting comment on her relationship with Epstein.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Talia went on to serve as a sergeant in a Special Forces Paratrooper Unit, likely Israel’s 35th Brigade. When she returned to study at Barnard after her time as a lone soldier, she emerged as a vocal advocate for Zionism, writing op eds for prominent Israeli media outlets including the Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel.
Per the Grayzone report, Lefkowitz became heavily involved in the Columbia Barnard chapter of Hillel International, a global Jewish youth organization. She later served on the Hillel International board from 2020 to 2022.
Currently Lefkowitz is employed as a philanthropy advisor to the Areivim Philanthropic Group, which aims to impact the next generation of Jews through formal and experiential Jewish, Hebrew, Zionist, and Israel education. According to her biography at Areivim, she “worked for five years for The Paul E. Singer Foundation,” which ultra Zionist billionaire Paul Singer has used to support neoconservative media outlets and pro Israel causes.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
