On April 26, 2024, a Zoom call involving New York Mayor Eric Adams and several prominent business figures discussed the use of police to manage pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. The group included Daniel Lubetzky, Daniel Loeb, Len Blavatnik, and Joseph Sitt, who discussed potential donations to the mayor, leveraging private investigators, and lobbying Columbia’s administration to request police intervention. The meeting occurred a week after the NYPD’s initial operation at Columbia, which resulted in numerous arrests.

The NYPD returned to the campus on April 30 at the university’s request, leading to hundreds more arrests. Mayor Adams’ office stressed that police were deployed based on Columbia University’s specific written requests, denying other influences in decision-making. The group’s broader efforts to influence public opinion on the Israel-Hamas conflict included briefings with Israeli officials and discussions on anti-Hamas media campaigns.