Len Blavatnik, the second-richest man in Britain, is facing a series of protests in the UK after his Israeli television channel was accused of cancelling programmes to please Benjamin Netanyahu.
Aviel Lewis, a London-based Israeli who is part of the anti-Netanyahu WeDemocracy group, said Blavatnik was known in the UK “as a patron of progressive culture and arts” and the British public was not aware that he was also involved in “something that is clearly taking Israeli media years back and corrupting it”.
Lewis is part of a group of Israeli citizens opposed to the Netanyahu government who are planning to hold protests on Sunday at the Tate Modern’s Blavatnik wing and the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of government.
Other cultural institutions featuring the Blavatnik name could later be targeted, with the protesters arguing that the billionaire’s media company is undermining freedom of the press in Israel.
He’s an interesting fellow; more so than you’d imagine from his recently low profile. He also owns the Warner Music Group, one of the three major recording companies. Also, he was a close acquaintance of Putin and many in his circles from before the fall of the USSR.