Trump Peace Board member Mark Rowan donated $1.5 million to UDP super PAC
Mark Rowan, CEO of investment firm Apollo Global Management, has donated $1.5 million since the beginning of the year to the United Democracy Project (UDP) super PAC, which is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). This was reported by Anadolu Agency, citing filings with the U.S. Federal Election Commission.
Two contributions
According to the commission's filings, Rowan made his first contribution in early March, transferring $1 million to UDP. He donated another $500,000 on July 23.
Rowan's wealth exceeds $8 billion. He is an executive member of U.S. President Donald Trump's Peace Board. Anadolu Agency describes it as a UN-approved body intended to advance Trump's stalled plan for Gaza.
UDP spending
As The Intercept reports, on the day of Rowan's second contribution, the AIPAC-linked super PAC spent nearly $50,000 on campaign mailers targeting Abdul El-Sayed, a U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan. The outlet describes him as a progressive, pro-Palestinian candidate.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
In Missouri, UDP also spent $100,000 on phone campaigning against former Democratic Party House Representative Cori Bush during her race against incumbent Representative Wesley Bell, who supports Israel. It is unknown whether Rowan's donations were used for specific UDP political activities. Rowan and UDP did not respond to The Intercept's request for comment.
Assessments regarding Gaza
At a February meeting of the Peace Board in Washington, Rowan spoke about the economic potential of Gaza's territories destroyed by Israeli bombardment. He estimated the value of Gaza's coastline at $50 billion, rebuilt housing at $30 billion, and infrastructure projects at another $30 billion.
“The potential here is enormous. This is not a problem of money or collateral. This is a problem of peace,” Rowan said. Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now, told The Intercept that transparency is needed regarding Rowan's combination of the roles of a major donor to AIPAC's super PAC and a member of a board that is to determine Gaza's future.
