A group of top US businessmen from across the retail, tech and finance industries were working to encourage New York City’s mayor to use police against student pro-Palestinian protesters. This included the Columbia University encampment, which set off a wave of mass university protests across the world. Leaked communications from a WhatsApp group made up of businessmen and financiers, including the former CEO of Starbucks and the founder of Dell Computers, as well as hedge fund and entertainment tycoons, reveal attempts to stifle the Gaza protests, including by paying for private investigators…