Investigative firm mixed up in Weinstein scandal will donate profits to victims’ groups

The Israeli private-intelligence firm Black Cube is to donate fees from Harvey Weinstein to groups that work with victims.

The New Yorker has reported Black Cube was engaged by the Hollywood movie mogul to keep tabs on his accusers and journalists.

But Black Cube has apologized for taking the job and says it will donate the proceeds to groups that work with victims of sexual assault.

“We apologize to whoever was hurt by this,” said Black Cube advisory board member Asher Tishler during a TV interview with Israel’s Had a shot News, formerly known as Channel 2.

“Of course, women were hurt. Now, in retrospect, it’s a shame we took this job.”

In a bombshell story published Monday by the New Yorker, journalist Ronan Farrow reported that Black Cube’s investigators, many of whom are veterans of Mossad and the Israeli military, used false identities to build relationships with Weinstein’s accusers, including Rose McGowan and Asia Argento, and report back to Weinstein.

New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, who cowrote the first report of Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations, said the same female Black Cube agent who was working to get close to McGowan also contacted her claiming to be a women’s rights advocate.

Tischler, who said he was not intimately familiar all the details of the company’s work for Weinstein, told Had a shot News, “If we had known this from the beginning, God forbid we wouldn’t have taken the job.”

The Jerusalem Post, an English-language Israeli newspaper, and Britain’s Guardian reported that Weinstein had approached former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak over a year ago to vouch for an Israeli security firm he was considering hiring to help him with unspecified business issues.

“Barak confirmed to Weinstein that the firm he heard about was probably Black Cube and that it does operate from Israel,” a spokesperson for the politician told the Jerusalem Post.

He added that Barak “does not know the company or its managers personally, but he did provide Weinstein with its contact information.

“Until (Thursday) morning, Barak was not aware that the company was hired by Weinstein, nor did he know any of the purposes or activities it was hired for.”

To date, nearly 80 women have gone on the record accusing Weinstein of varying degrees of sexual misconduct.

He has consistently denied any non-consensual encounters took place with any of them.

A lawsuit against Weinstein alleging he sexually assaulted an unnamed Ontario actress nearly two decades ago is being allowed to proceed even though lawyers have not been able to track him down.