Israel Books Two U.S. Firms in One Week: Sniper for Ads, Mercury for DC
Two FARA filings in June 2026 show Israeli clients buying U.S. communications capacity. Sniper Advertising Services registered to run ads for Israel's Foreign and Tourism Ministries, and Mercury Public Affairs registered for the Misgav Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, in a $5,000 one-month push for full U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations. An October 28 registration by Starboard added a $500,000, 120-day persuasion pilot for LDRS Group on behalf of the State of Israel.
On June 24, Sniper Advertising Services LLC registered with the U.S. Department of Justice to represent Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Tourism. The Deerfield Beach firm, organized in Wyoming and led by partners Larry Kerschenbaum and Frederick Hickerson, describes itself as an expert in waste-free targeted marketing. Some of the campaigns referenced in its DOJ filing include efforts to combat the spread of antisemitism in the United States.
Sniper's one-year contract took effect June 18. Fees are based on advertising volume and contingent on the number of campaigns chosen by the two Ministries, which retain the right to review creative and curate audiences. O'Dwyer's reported the engagement on June 26.
Mercury and the Misgav Institute: the Washington play
Five days after Sniper, Mercury Public Affairs, the Omnicom-owned bipartisan firm, filed its own registration to represent the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy. On its own site, the Jerusalem-based think tank says it advances pragmatic and realistic approaches in Israeli foreign and defense policy, grounded in the values of Zionism.
Mercury's scope is narrow and high-leverage. The one-month contract began June 24 at a fee of $5,000. It covers distribution of a strategic report, virtual outreach to members of key Senate and House committees, the Abraham Accords Caucus and executive branch officials, and a three-day Washington engagement program in late July with briefing materials, message guidance, logistics and direct introductions to policymakers. Mercury senior VP Bill Cortese, a former advisor to House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, leads the account.
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The report Mercury was paid to distribute
The document at the center of the campaign is titled "From UN Bureaucracy to American Global Leadership: A Strategy for Advancing American Interests by Disengaging from a Failed UN." It was co-authored by Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations from 2020 to 2024, and Asher Fredman, Misgav's executive director and director for Israel at the Abraham Accords Peace Institute. The full report is publicly available: read the full study here.
The report's headline numbers: U.S. taxpayers provided $14.3 billion to the UN system in 2024, roughly 28 percent of all government contributions and equal to the combined contributions of 183 other member states. UN bodies have adopted more than 40,000 mandates, and 86 percent lack sunset clauses. Documentation processing costs approximately $360 million annually, about 10 percent of the regular budget. Only 40 percent of UN entities have strategic plans, and just 30 percent connect resources to results.
The three-phase disengagement plan
Phase one is zero automatic funding. Congress would establish a presumption that no UN contribution moves without specific authorization covering amount, purpose, duration and safeguards. The U.S. should be prepared to let its General Assembly vote lapse.
Phase two replaces UN functions entirely. Humanitarian delivery, global health, security coordination and counterterrorism would be rebuilt through bilateral agreements, vetted NGOs and mission-specific coalitions outside the UN system.
Phase three enforces accountability. The U.S. would deny or revoke visas for UN officials supporting terrorism or targeting U.S. allies, U.S. courts would not recognize UN privileges in terror-related or serious criminal cases, and UNRWA would be singled out for potential terrorism-related sanctions.
From lobbying to congressional testimony
The campaign has already moved from distribution to testimony. On July 22, 2026, Fredman appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on "Abraham Accords 2.0." His argument was that the U.S. cannot simultaneously fund the UN and pursue regional integration with Israel and Arab allies.
The engagement was registered under FARA, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires disclosure when U.S. firms represent foreign principals in political or quasi-political activities. According to Haaretz, Misgav received approximately $2.3 million in donations during 2024 and 2025, with most funding arriving anonymously through U.S. nonprofit organizations.
Mercury's history includes the Walmart surveillance episode of 2012, one of the most studied PR ethics cases in modern communications, and it is one of Washington's highest-profile government relations firms. The Misgav engagement is small in dollar terms but illustrates a growing pattern: foreign policy think tanks retaining U.S. lobbying firms for report distribution and policymaker access rather than traditional government relations.
The wider pattern of Israel-linked FARA filings
These two filings sit alongside a cluster of Israel-linked FARA registrations over the past nine months: Clock Tower X (Brad Parscale's firm), SKDKnickerbocker, Bridges Partners, Show Faith by Works and Piro. Most were funneled through Havas Media Group Germany on behalf of the Israel Government Advertising Agency (LaPam). Together they represent a multimillion-dollar U.S. communications procurement push targeting churchgoers, conservatives, Democrats, Congress and the media, every audience segment Israel has identified as either eroding or strategically necessary since October 7.
Sniper handles paid media. Mercury handles the room. Different tools, same operating thesis: rebuild U.S. support voter by voter and member by member through registered, disclosed, professionally executed campaigns.
For scale, OpenSecrets Foreign Lobby Watch shows $214.6 million in disclosed Israel-linked FARA spending from 2016 through 2025, tenth among countries, according to EPR's Foreign Influence PR Study.
Piro and SKDKnickerbocker: two filings in the cluster
Piro, Inc. (registration 7732) filed an updated agreement with the Department of Justice on July 29, 2026. The contract is dated July 20 and has Piro providing strategic communications and media relations services in connection with LaPam's engagement on behalf of the State of Israel. The filing names Havas Media Germany GmbH, acting on behalf of LaPam, as the foreign principal. The Exhibit AB is posted at efile.fara.gov.
SKDKnickerbocker registered under FARA for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 29, 2025 (registration 7552). An October 22, 2026 Substack post reports that the DOJ's public database shows no final termination filing for that registration, so on paper it remains open. Check the FARA database for current status before citing it.
Starboard and LDRS Group: the October persuasion pilot
Olympic Media LLC, doing business as Starboard LLC (registration 7788), registered with the Justice Department on October 28, 2026. The filing names LDRS Group LLC, acting for the State of Israel, as the foreign principal. The attached statement of work sets a $500,000 price for a 120-day persuasion pilot built on content distribution and polling.
The pilot is the largest dollar figure in the October FARA register for Israel and fits the same thesis as Sniper and Mercury: registered, professionally run campaigns aimed at U.S. audiences. Read the registration statement and Exhibit AB at efile.fara.gov, and see the full list of October filings in the FARA guide.
Mercury Public Affairs is an Omnicom-owned bipartisan consulting and political strategy firm founded in 1999. It operates across federal lobbying, campaign communications, corporate public affairs and FARA-disclosed foreign-principal engagements.
What is the Misgav Institute?
The Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy is a Jerusalem-based national security think tank. Its executive director, Asher Fredman, co-authored the UN disengagement report with former Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan.
What does the report recommend?
A three-phase U.S. disengagement from the United Nations: end automatic funding and require specific congressional authorization for every contribution, replace UN functions through bilateral agreements and mission-specific coalitions, and enforce accountability by denying visas to UN officials supporting terrorism or targeting U.S. allies.
What is FARA?
The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires individuals and firms acting as agents of foreign principals in political or quasi-political activities to disclose their relationship, activities and compensation to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Sniper, Mercury and Starboard engagements were all registered under FARA.
What is Sniper Advertising's contract with Israel?
A one-year contract effective June 18, 2026, to run advertising for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Tourism. Fees depend on advertising volume and the number of campaigns the Ministries choose, and the Ministries can review creative and curate audiences.
What is Starboard's FARA filing for Israel?
Olympic Media LLC, doing business as Starboard LLC, registered on October 28, 2026 for LDRS Group LLC on behalf of the State of Israel. The statement of work sets a $500,000 price for a 120-day persuasion pilot using content distribution and polling.
Has the Misgav lobbying effort reached Congress?
Yes. Asher Fredman testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on July 22, 2026, during a hearing on "Abraham Accords 2.0." Mercury also organized a three-day Washington engagement program with briefings and direct introductions to policymakers.
What is Piro's role in the Israel FARA filings?
Piro, Inc. filed a FARA agreement update on July 29, 2026 for strategic communications and media relations work tied to LaPam's engagement on behalf of Israel, with Havas Media Germany named as the foreign principal acting for LaPam.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
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