Ehud Barak

Ehud Barak is a former Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel who maintained an extensive and multifaceted relationship with Jeffrey Epstein spanning more than a decade. The Epstein archive contains 5,193 emails involving Barak, of which he was the sender in approximately 2,495 and a recipient in approximately 2,649, with correspondence dating from April 2010 through October 2023. Barak's 4,090 shared emails with Epstein make him one of the most prolific correspondents in the archive, and the communications document a relationship that intertwined business investment, Israeli politics, social networking, and personal matters.

The archive reveals that Epstein and Barak were partners in Carbyne (formerly Reporty Homeland Security Ltd.), an Israeli emergency technology company, through a network of shell entities including Ergo (E.B. 2014) Ltd. and a limited partnership called SUM (E.B.) 2015, with Epstein's Southern Trust Company, Inc. serving as a major limited partner. Epstein arranged travel, hosted dinners in Barak's honor at his Manhattan townhouse, introduced Barak to high-profile contacts, and facilitated meetings between Barak and figures including Noam Chomsky, Kathy Ruemmler, and Larry Summers. In a September 2016 email, Epstein referred to Barak as one of his "very close friends". Barak and his wife Nili Priell also maintained an apartment in a building associated with Epstein, with building management communications continuing through at least 2023.

Background#

Ehud Barak (born February 12, 1942) served as the 10th Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001 and as Defense Minister from 2007 to 2013. A decorated military officer, he was the most decorated soldier in Israel's history, having served as Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. After leaving government, Barak pursued business ventures in technology and consulting. He was chairman of Carbyne (originally Reporty Homeland Security), an Israeli startup developing emergency call-handling technology. His relationship with Epstein became a significant public controversy in Israel, particularly during the 2019–2020 election cycles. Barak has publicly acknowledged his relationship with Epstein but denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein's criminal activity. In a 2016 email to author Michael Wolff, Epstein dismissed allegations against Barak as ludicrous, writing sarcastically about "ehud barak on a gulfstream with five secruity guards looking the other way".

Correspondence with Epstein#

Timeframe and Volume

The email archive documents direct communication between Barak and Epstein from at least 2010 through early 2019, with building-management emails involving Barak's apartment continuing through October 2023. The correspondence is dense and sustained, with emails exchanged on topics ranging from Israeli politics and business deals to personal favors and health concerns. Epstein sent from the address [email protected] (signed as "J"), while Barak used multiple addresses including [email protected] and [email protected].

Business Partnership: Carbyne/Reporty

A significant portion of the correspondence concerns their shared investment in Carbyne (formerly Reporty Homeland Security Ltd.). Financial documents in the archive detail the corporate structure: Barak's entity Ergo (E.B. 2014) Ltd. served as general partner of SUM (E.B.) 2015 – Limited Partnership, which held equity in Reporty. Epstein's Southern Trust Company, Inc. was a limited partner holding 33.33% of partnership interests and 66.67% of "Preferred Rights," while Montilla International Corporation, a British Virgin Islands entity, held 16.67% of partnership interests and 33.33% of Preferred Rights. Barak's own entity Cogito (E.B.) 2015 Ltd. held 49.99%.

A March 2015 non-recourse promissory note documents that Southern Trust lent $1,000,000 to Ergo (E.B. 2014) Ltd. at 3% interest to fund the purchase of Series A Preferred Shares in Reporty, with the note explicitly stating that "Ehud Barak is the sole beneficial owner of the Borrower." A January 2016 agreement converted this loan into a partnership interest in SUM, giving Southern Trust preferred distribution rights and the power to replace the general partner if Barak became incapacitated or lost control of Ergo.

In March 2019, the archive captures an active warrant exercise for Carbyne shares. In a thread involving attorney Tomer Toor, Darren Indyke, and Nikolajs of NJF Capital, the parties arranged for $3.6 million in funding to exercise warrants that would increase SUM's stake in Carbyne from approximately 13% to approximately 26.33%. Epstein intermediated between Barak and investor Nicole Junkermann, writing to her that "ehud said your money was not yet received for the warrant excercise". Barak responded to the group: "I'm sure it'll be all ok. Looking forward." Confirmation that the $3.6 million was received came from Toor on March 11, 2019, along with a request for additional anti-money-laundering documentation from the Israeli bank. Barak characterized this as "the Israeli banks paranoia after they paid the penalties they've paid to the US authorities for past mistakes".

Israeli Politics and Personal Matters

Barak confided in Epstein about sensitive Israeli political dynamics. In a March 2019 exchange, after Epstein wrote that "Yoni" was "getting special attention now. mitzvah", Barak replied with a candid assessment of internal Israeli politics: "'Our' rival Ashkenazi, former CoS of the IDF is a prominent member of Gantz party. Yoni attacks him and expect me to make it a major issue even at the price of damaging their campaign. Which I don't think make sense. He feels 'deserted' which is painful but not true." Barak thanked Epstein "from the bottom of our hearts" for his support.

Epstein facilitated medical connections for Barak's associates. He forwarded messages from Lesley Groff about Barak's associate Yoni meeting with Dr. Harry Fisch, to which Barak responded: "U R Great! Hope is what holds him alive." In another thread, Epstein connected Barak with Dr. Fisch by putting Harry and Yoni in direct contact.

When news broke in March 2019 about Barak's phone and computer allegedly being hacked by Iranian intelligence, Richard Kahn forwarded the Jerusalem Post article to Epstein, who in turn sent it to Barak. Barak dismissed the report as "Nonsense. Simple phishing. No Trojan horse." Epstein joked: "maybe they could send me some iranian caviar now that they have my address".

Around the same time, Barak asked Epstein: "Hope the public attention weakens?" — an apparent reference to renewed media scrutiny of Epstein's legal troubles. On February 26, 2019, Epstein sent Barak a New York Times article about calls for Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to resign over his handling of Epstein's original plea deal, in a thread titled "very political not my skill set". Barak simply replied, "C U later."

Social Networking and Introductions

Epstein actively leveraged his relationship with Barak to draw high-profile figures into his social orbit — and vice versa. In September 2010, Epstein organized a dinner at his Manhattan townhouse honoring Barak, who was then Israeli Defense Minister. The dinner guest list compiled by Lesley Groff shows invitations to Tom Barrack, Arthur Sulzberger, Steve Schwarzman, David Gergen, Len Blavatnik, Jes Staley, Tom Pritzker, Charlie Rose, Larry Summers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Ron Perelman, General Wes Clark, Walter Isaacson, and Lloyd Blankfein. The invitation, as sent to Sulzberger, described the event as "very private, no agenda" at Epstein's home at "9 East 71st Street between 5th and Madison." Summers responded he could attend "in 8 or later range". After the dinner, Epstein invited Barak through Sarah Kellen to schedule "a four eyes" meeting, and Nili Priell wrote back that they "enjoyed the evening food and conversation".

In the same September 2010 trip, Epstein wrote to Boris Nikolic that "Ehud Barak the defense minister of Israel, Larry Summers will be at my house for a small very private dinner, if Bill wants to come or stop by", referring to Bill Gates. He described the dinner as "the epicenter of intellectual interest."

This pattern continued over the years. In April 2013, Epstein's schedule showed a 2:00 PM appointment with Barak at the townhouse. In April 2013, Epstein wrote to Ghislaine Maxwell asking her to invite Mark Lasry to "stop by on thurs, to meet ehud barak and mandelson. mort zuckerman etc". In June 2013, the schedule showed a 4:00 PM appointment with Barak followed the next day by lunch with Barak and Bob Kerrey. In September 2013, Epstein invited Joel Klein to "a breakfast with me and ehud barak", and separately invited another contact to "breakfast with ehud barak at 1130".

In September 2016, Epstein introduced Barak to Deepak Chopra at an Aspen event, writing: "my very close friends joi ito. head of mit media lab, ehud barak former defense ministere and prime misiter of israel are both in aspen with you".

Epstein also arranged for Barak to visit Harvard in September 2015, with Lesley Groff emailing a Mr. Friedman that "Jeffrey Epstein will be up at Harvard today with Ehud Barak" and noting that "Mr Barak is also staying at the Charles Hotel." Epstein chartered a JetSuite flight from Washington DC to Boston for Barak, his wife Nili Priell, and aide Tal Golbary. On that same October 2015 trip, Groff invited Lawrence Krauss to join lunch with Barak at Epstein's house the next day at 12:30, and separately noted she was "getting info on Antaractica cruise for ehud barak".

In March 2019, Epstein introduced Barak to Kathy Ruemmler, the former White House Counsel, writing: "kathy - ehud. ehud- kathy kathy is in tel aviv until wed". Barak then invited Ruemmler to his Tel Aviv residence for coffee or drinks at 6:30 PM.

Awareness of Epstein's Legal Situation

The correspondence shows Barak was aware of Epstein's legal troubles. In March 2019, Barak wrote to Epstein: "Hope the public attention weakens?" Epstein shared a New York Times article about calls for Alexander Acosta's resignation related to Epstein's plea deal. The archive also captures Epstein asking Barak about seeing each other before Barak's departure, and Barak responding about "the collective signing" of unspecified documents, suggesting they were in each other's physical presence shortly before Epstein's July 2019 arrest.

Connections#

Barak's most extensive connection in the archive is with Jeffrey Epstein himself, with 4,090 shared emails. His second most frequent co-correspondent is Nicole Junkermann, with 174 shared emails, largely relating to their shared investment in Carbyne and the warrant exercise. Jabor Al Thani appears in 141 shared emails. Nili Priell, Barak's wife, appears in 116 shared emails and coordinated travel and scheduling through Epstein's assistants, as early as August 2010 when she wrote to Sarah Kellen about planned visits to Washington and the Clinton convention.

Lesley Groff, Epstein's executive assistant, appears in 91 shared emails and handled dinner invitations, travel logistics, and building management for Barak's apartment. Boris Collardi and Cedric Heri appear in 42 and 33 shared emails respectively. Boris Nikolic appears in 18 shared emails and was involved in the September 2010 dinner invitation. Sarah Kellen, an Epstein associate later identified as an alleged co-conspirator, appears in 18 shared emails and coordinated Barak's visits as early as 2010. Darren Indyke, Epstein's attorney, appears in 17 shared emails, primarily relating to Carbyne corporate transactions. Noam Chomsky appears in 8 shared emails; in June 2015, Epstein suggested to Chomsky that "ehud barak will be with me for the weekend in ny". Joi Ito appears in 10 shared emails and attended the same Aspen event as Barak in September 2016.

Document References#

Barak and his corporate entities appear extensively in financial and legal documents in the archive. A $1,000,000 non-recourse promissory note dated March 2015 from Southern Trust Company, Inc. to Ergo (E.B. 2014) Ltd. financed the initial investment in Reporty Homeland Security Ltd. (later Carbyne), with Barak identified as "the sole beneficial owner" of Ergo. The Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of SUM (E.B.) 2015, dated June 30, 2016, formalized the structure with Southern Trust (Epstein's entity) and Montilla International Corporation as limited partners alongside Barak's Cogito entity. A January 2016 agreement to convert Southern Trust's loan into a partnership interest granted Southern Trust preferred distribution rights and the ability to replace the general partner if Barak lost control of Ergo.

Barak's name also appears in Epstein's detailed schedules. A February 2013 schedule notes "Barak in Munich Feb. 1-3" and records an "8:00pm DINNER w/Ehud Barak and Larry Summers" on February 15, 2013 in New York. A September 2014 schedule shows "TBD Ehud Barak (Kathy Ruemmler is in NY and would love to join)" for September 25, 2014. The September 2010 dinner guest list compiled by Lesley Groff for a dinner at Epstein's townhouse honoring Barak as Defense Minister documents the invitation of numerous prominent business, media, and political figures to Epstein's home.

The Deutsche Bank presentation to the Southern District of New York, dated September 12, 2019, catalogs Epstein's financial accounts, including those of Southern Trust Company, Inc. — the entity that served as the primary financial conduit for Epstein's investment in Barak's Carbyne venture.

Visits to Epstein Properties#

Manhattan townhouse (9 East 71st Street)

Multiple visits and meetings are documented:

1. September 21, 2010 — Dinner at Epstein's house honoring Barak as Israeli Defense Minister, with invitations to Summers, Schwarzman, Bloomberg, Blankfein, and others (guest list; invitation to Sulzberger)
2. September 23–24, 2010 — Follow-up meeting at "Jeffs residence tomorrow morning around 9 am" arranged through Sarah Kellen and Nili Priell
3. September 21, 2012 — Barak meeting at the Regency Hotel, with Epstein's schedule noting "4:00 JE to go meet Ehud Barak at the Regency"
4. April 22, 2013 — 2:00 PM appointment with Barak at the townhouse
5. April 2013 (circa April 4) — Epstein planned for Mark Lasry to "stop by on thurs, to meet ehud barak and mandelson"
6. June 3, 2013 — 4:00 PM appointment with Barak
7. June 4, 2013 — 12:00 PM lunch with Barak and Bob Kerrey
8. February 15, 2013 — 8:00 PM dinner with Barak and Larry Summers in New York
9. September 2013 — Epstein invited contacts to breakfast with Barak at 11:30 at the house
10. September 25, 2014 — Scheduled meeting with Barak, with Kathy Ruemmler invited to join
11. October 15, 2015 — Lunch with Barak at 12:30, with Lawrence Krauss invited
12. Early March 2019 — Barak in New York; asked Epstein "shall we see you before leaving to IL?"

Barak's apartment in an Epstein-associated building

Barak and his wife Nili Priell maintained an apartment managed by Epstein's staff. Building management emails from Lesley Groff to "Barak & Associates, L.L.C." address Nili directly about delivering packages, disarming alarms for exterminator visits, installing new door lock batteries, and scheduling maintenance. These emails span from at least May 2017 through October 2023.

Harvard/Cambridge, Massachusetts

Epstein and Barak visited Harvard together in September 2015, with Barak staying at the Charles Hotel and Epstein arranging a JetSuite flight from Washington DC to Boston for Barak and his party.

Palm Beach, Florida

No direct visits by Barak to Epstein's Palm Beach property are documented in the sampled evidence.

Little St. James Island

No visits by Barak to Little St. James are documented in the sampled evidence. In September 2016, Epstein wrote to Michael Wolff dismissing allegations against himself, including about "ehud barak on a gulfstream with five secruity guards looking the other way", which he called "ludicrous."

New Mexico ranch / Paris apartment

No visits by Barak to these properties are documented in the sampled evidence.

Tel Aviv

Barak hosted Epstein-connected contacts at his Tel Aviv residence, including a March 2019 invitation to Kathy Ruemmler for coffee or drinks at 6:30 PM, arranged at Epstein's suggestion.

Criminal Activity#

The archive contains evidence that Barak was specifically accused of sexual abuse by one of Epstein's victims, and that Epstein's legal team discussed these accusations in the context of a coordinated media response.

Accusation by Virginia Giuffre

On January 1, 2015, Alan Dershowitz — Epstein's longtime defense attorney — circulated a draft op-ed titled "Response to Rape Charges" to Epstein and attorney Martin Weinberg. In an accompanying message, Dershowitz wrote: "I need confirmation that she accused Barak and Mitchell. I remember hearing that but I don't recall if I saw it in print. I know she accused Clinton and Andrew." The "she" refers to Virginia Giuffre (then Virginia Roberts), an Epstein victim who filed a sworn statement accusing multiple prominent men of sexual abuse facilitated by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Dershowitz's email confirms that Giuffre's accusations against Barak were known within Epstein's legal circle. Epstein's response to the draft was cautious: "I wouldn't, it will give more press. lets wait and see for a couple of days."

In a September 2016 email to author Michael Wolff, Epstein himself referenced and dismissed the allegations, writing sarcastically about "ehud barak on a gulfstream with five secruity guards looking the other way" — a characterization that simultaneously acknowledged and trivialized the claims.

Continued Relationship Post-Conviction

Barak's relationship with Epstein continued and deepened for more than a decade after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. The archive documents at least twelve visits by Barak to Epstein's Manhattan townhouse at 9 East 71st Street — the same residence where Epstein's sexual abuse of minors occurred — spanning from 2010 through early 2019. As late as March 2019, four months before Epstein's re-arrest, Barak asked Epstein "shall we see you before leaving to IL?", and separately inquired: "Hope the public attention weakens?" — indicating awareness that Epstein's criminal history was attracting renewed scrutiny. Barak was also in regular contact with Sarah Kellen, later identified as one of Epstein's alleged co-conspirators, who coordinated his visits to Epstein's properties as early as September 2010.

Apartment in Epstein-Associated Building

Barak and his wife Nili Priell maintained an apartment in a building managed by Epstein's staff, with building management emails from Lesley Groff to "Barak & Associates, L.L.C." continuing through at least October 2023 — more than four years after Epstein's death. The arrangement raises questions about the nature and extent of financial entanglements between Barak and Epstein's estate.