Adelson and Saban Try To Out-Hawk Each Other
November 9, 2014, 6:45pm By Nathan Guttman for The Forward
Haim Saban and Sheldon Adelson / Getty Images Related
What do you get when you put two of the largest pro-Israel donors — Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban — on one stage?
For participants at the Israeli American Council’s inaugural conference, this meeting of Jewish finance titans produced several historical insights about the roots of the Palestinian people (Adelson: they have none); a bit of advice on how to deal with Iran (Saban: “bomb the sons of bitches”); and some media criticism (Adelson: “I don’t like journalism” — especially not the Forward.)
Adelson and Saban, one a mega donor to the Republican Party, the other a top backer of the Clintons, may have their differences when it comes to U.S. politics. But on Israel, both engaged in one-upmanship, trying to outdo each other’s hawkishness.
When discussing a possible nuclear deal with Iran, which is now being negotiated between Iran and several international powers, both expressed skepticism. Adelson said that if the deal does not satisfy Israel, then putting himself in the shoes of Israel’s prime minister, he “would not just talk. I would take action.”
But Saban went further. “A stick and a carrot, yes — but I think that we showed too many carrots and a very small stick,” he said of the Obama administration negotiators.
And what would he do if he were Benjamin Netanyahu facing an unsatisfactory deal? “I would act,” the Los Angeles-based media magnate said. “I would bomb the daylight out of these sons of bitches.”
Adelson quickly caught up when the discussion turned to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He provided the audience with a lengthy historical lecture, arguing that the Palestinians have no history in the region and that, as his protégé Newt Gingrich has said, they are in fact “an invented people.”
The casino owner suggested building a “big wall” around Israel, but later would not explain whether by advocating this, he was expressing support for unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
Saban, who declared he fully agreed with Adelson’s historical analysis, argued that he still believes in a two-state solution because that is the only way of maintaining Israel’s Jewish and democratic identity. But how important is that? Adelson, as it turns out, doesn’t think that’s a real problem.
“I don’t think the Bible says anything about democracy. I think God didn’t say anything about democracy,” Adelson said. “God talked about all the good things in life. He didn’t talk about Israel remaining as a democratic state, otherwise Israel isn’t going to be a democratic state — so what?”
The two Jewish philanthropists pondered how to save Israel from the local and international media that are biased against it. They suggested solving the problem by opening their pocketbooks. “Why don’t you and I go after The New York Times?” Adelson joked with Saban, later explaining that the only way to do so is by offering “significantly more than it’s worth” and thus having shareholders sue the owners if they don’t accept the offer. Saban, apparently, already tried something similar. He attempted to purchase the Washington Post, but failed. The paper was sold last year to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, for $250 million, or as Saban described it, “bupkis.”
Adelson, who admitted at the opening of the discussion that he does not like journalism, later took issue with the Forward reporter — yours truly — who spoke on an earlier panel discussion about the media. “You heard what this guy Guttman said here today,” Adelson told the audience. “He said ‘we look for the wrong, to tell the people what’s wrong in life. Are they insane from that? Yeah, they’re mad.’ That’s not professional journalism.”
This statement, attributed to me by Adelson, was never uttered during the panel discussion.
Adelson is IAC’s largest donor. He recently came in as a funder with more than $2.5 million. Saban has been supportive of the group for years, but Adelson’s contributions dwarfed his.
The perspective offered by the two funders to conference participants was in line with the general spirit of the event. The conference, taking place from Friday to Sunday at the Washington Hilton, highlighted speakers critical of the Obama administration. Mitt Romney, the former presidential candidate, was the featured keynote speaker on the opening night, attacking Obama on his Iran policy. Former independent senator Joe Lieberman also delivered gibes at the president, and Senator Lindsey Graham, who spoke at the second night gala dinner, promised to use his position in Congress to block a deal with Iran if Israel does not accept it.
Organizers insisted time and again that IAC is not a partisan organization.
Saban and Adelson, both supportive of the IAC and of other pro-Israel causes, take different routes when it comes to their political giving. Saban is invested in the prospect of Hillary Clinton taking over the White House, while Adelson is expected to generously support at least one Republican candidate. One of them will get the VIP treatment at the White House after the 2016 elections.
Adelson made sure the audience knew what he’d like to see in the next White House. He recalled that last time he visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, during the Hanukkah reception in the Bush administration, “they ran out of potato latkes.” The next president, he hopes, will have sufficient latkes for all.
The Washington Post
Billionaires Adelson and Saban, at odds in campaigns, unite on Israel and hit Obama
Sheldon Adelson, left, and Haim Saban flank Israeli-America Council Chairman Shawn Evenhaim at the IAC conference in D.C. (Shahar Azran) By Philip Rucker and Tom Hamburger November 9 at 5:29 PM
The billionaire political kingmakers planning to bankroll much of the 2016 presidential campaign spoke out together Sunday with blunt warnings on key issues for their respective parties.
Haim Saban, a media mogul and close Democratic ally of Hillary Rodham Clinton, criticized President Obama’s outreach to Iran, declaring that “we’ve shown too many carrots and a very small stick.”
Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate who is likely to tap into his fortune in an effort to elect a Republican to the White House, upbraided many in the GOP for their opposition to legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants. Without a comprehensive overhaul, he said, the country would not be “the America that I’m proud to live in.”
Adelson, 81, and Saban, 70, have gained enormous political power in the new era of super PACs and unlimited contributions, and both made it clear during a rare joint appearance Sunday before an audience of several hundred Israeli Americans that they intend to assert that power during the next presidential campaign and beyond with policy demands for their candidates. In particular, they vowed to press both sides for a more hawkish approach to the Middle East.
Appearing before a new group called the Israeli American Council, both men issued a call for unity when it comes to support for the Jewish state, reminding all prospective presidential candidates of the primacy of the U.S.-Israel relationship. And they agreed that Obama and his administration have not been tough enough in protecting Israel’s interests.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Saban described the president’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “like oil and water.” That has fed a perception, he said, that Obama has not been a friend to Israel, although Saban said he thinks that, in reality, “there’s never been this level of cooperation with any previous president.”
Still, Saban said that he thinks Clinton would repair the relationship and that he has told her he would spend “whatever it takes” to propel her into the White House. That includes giving millions of dollars to Priorities USA, a super PAC that helped Obama in 2012 and is revving up to aid Clinton in 2016.
“I have told her and everybody who’s asked me, ‘Whatever it takes, we’re going to be there,’ ” Saban said. “I think she would be a fantastic president for the United States, an incredible world leader and one under whom I believe — deeply — the relationship with the U.S. and Israel will be significantly reinforced.”
Asked if he would press his friend Adelson to give to the pro-Clinton super PAC, Saban said, “I’ve got chutzpah, but I’m not suicidal.”
In their public remarks, Saban and Adelson found common ground in their disdain for Iran, and their fear for the danger they say that regime poses for Israel. They expressed concern about U.S. negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Adelson said that Iranian fundamentalists are instructed by their religion to “wipe out all infidels” and that “wiping out the Jews would be a down payment on that.”
Referring to U.S. engagement with Iran, he said: “I would not just talk. I would take action.”
Saban said that fundamentalist Iranians represent a real threat. If necessary to defend Israel, and as a last resort, he added, “I would bomb the living daylights out of the sons of bitches.”
Saban endorsed a bill from Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who addressed the group on Saturday night, that would subject any Iranian nuclear deal to congressional approval. Saban said a system of checks and balances with the Obama administration on foreign policy is critical.
Saban used dark humor to spin last week’s Democratic wipeout in the midterm elections. “Do you know the movie ‘Life of Brian,’ by Monty Python? While they’re being crucified, they’re singing, ‘Always look at the bright side of life,’ ”
Saban said in the interview, playfully humming along as he recited the movie tune.
Adelson declined an interview request. As he entered the ballroom, a Post reporter asked him about the election results. “How deep do you want to fish?” Adelson replied before moving along.
Onstage, Shawn Evenhaim, the national chairman of the Israeli American Council, posed provocative questions to both billionaires. Adelson sat to Evenhaim’s right, Saban to his left — although, as Saban joked, “there’s no right or left when it comes to Israel.”
In their hour-long discussion, Saban and Adelson had few disagreements, but one concerned how Israel engages with Palestinians. Saban said Israel has no choice but to negotiate with the Palestinians, whose numbers in the region roughly equal those of Israeli Jews.
“What is Israel to do with these 6 million people?” Saban asked. “It is not about granting the Palestinian state. It’s about securing the future of a democratic Israel.”
But Adelson rejected the feasibility of a two-state solution.
“Newt Gingrich was right: The Palestinians are an invented people,” Adelson said, referring to a controversial statement made by the former Republican House speaker whose failed 2012 presidential campaign Adelson heavily funded.
Evenhaim asked the men whether they think the news media are biased against Israel. Saban said they are but cited two exceptions: Fox News Channel and the Wall Street Journal. He joked to Adelson that they should have bought The Post together.
“I wish that Jeff Bezos hadn’t bought The Washington Post,” Saban said, referencing the Amazon.com founder who purchased The Post a year ago. “For $250 million — bupkis — he stole it.”
Adelson countered, “Why don’t you and I go after the New York Times?” Saban said that he has “tried over and over to buy it” but that the family-owned Times is not for sale. Adelson quipped, “There is only one way to fight it: money.”
A reminder of Adelson and Saban’s outsize influence came when Evenhaim wrapped up Sunday’s event. “After the election in 2016,” he told them, “one of you will get me a private tour of the White House.” Philip Rucker is a national political correspondent for The Washington Post, where he has reported since 2005.
Jerusalem Post (and JTA)
Sheldon Adelson, Haim Saban urge Obama to reconsider nuclear deal with Iran
Major figures in US-Jewish community Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban join together in Washington, DC for first IAC National Conference.
Sheldon Adelson, Shawn Evenhaim and Haim Saban at IAC conference. (photo credit:SHAHAR AZRAN)
A top Democratic Party donor and backer of Hillary Rodham Clinton slammed President Obama’s Iran strategy and advised Israel to bomb the “living daylights” out of Iran if a nuclear deal with the major powers endangers Israel.
If Obama strikes a “bad deal” with Iran in nuclear talks under way and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assesses it as a deal that would put Israel at risk, “I would bomb the living daylights out of these sonsofbitches,” Haim Saban said Sunday at the first conference of the Israeli American Council, an advocacy group he is helping to fund.
Saban is an entertainment mogul who has for years been close to former President Bill Clinton and his wife who is now considering her own 2016 presidential run.
He said Obama made a mistake in helping to strike an interim agreement with Iran to roll back some sanctions in exchange for the rollback of some nuclear activity. The interim agreement led to the talks now taking place between Iran and the major powers, led by the United States, and has a deadline of Nov. 24.
Saban said Obama did not exhaust all options to pressure Iran before agreeing to go to talks, and should have added sanctions and increased the U.S. military posture in the region to extract a better deal.
“We’ve shown too many carrots and a very small stick,” Saban said.
Sheldon Adelson, a major Republican donor, a casino magnate and also a funder of the IAC, was more circumspect, saying he would advise Netanyahu to take “all available steps” that involve the minimum risk to Israel.
Netanyahu and his officials have said that they see the possible deal now being considered as a bad one because it is likely to allow Iran to continue enriching uranium, albeit a low levels.
Discussing the prospects of a Israeli-Palestinian peace and a two-state solution, Adelson repeated his claim that “the Palestinians are an invented people” and that the Palestinians would never give up their ambition of destroying Israel.
Saban agreed, but said the demographic threat that he claimed Palestinians pose to Israel’s Jewish and democratic character necessitated two states.
The two moguls said they regretted missing the recent opportunity to buy the Washington Post in order to influence Israel coverage in the American media, which they said was biased, and discussed the prospects of buying the New York Times.
JTA-Haim Saban slams Obama’s Iran policy, advises bombing in worst case
JTA-Haim Saban slams Obama’s Iran policy, advises bombing in worst case
In a shockingly grotesque public display
of Jewish Supremacist power over America, the two controlling financial
backers of the Republican and Democratic parties have publicly outlined
the policies of the nation’s 2016 presidential election “choices”: Israel first, or Israel first, according to an article in The New Observer.
Speaking before the inaugural meeting of yet another new official Jewish lobby in the US, the “Israeli-American Council”
(IAC), held over the weekend from November 7 to 9, 2014 in Washington
DC, the two Jewish billionaires—Haim Saban and Sheldon Adelson—were
quite open about their intention to make sure that the 2016 election
would be completely rigged to put Jewish tribal interests first.
Adelson, reputably the richest man in the world from his Las Vegas casino holdings, gave more than $150 million to the Republican Party campaign against Barack Obama in 2012, supporting Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
Saban was revealed in a 2007 article in the Israeli Ynet News Service
as being—until then—the single largest contributor to Democratic Party
campaigns, funding that organization to the tune of at least $13
million.
At the IAC conference, these two Jewish
moguls, ostensibly from “opposite” political parties, appeared together
in public to declare that their chosen front candidates for the 2016
contest would both be vehemently pro-Israel and “repair the damage”
allegedly done by Obama to US-Israeli relations.
The Washington Post described the events as follows:
Adelson, 81,
and Saban, 70, have gained enormous political power in the new era of
super PACs and unlimited contributions, and both made it clear during a
rare joint appearance Sunday before an audience of several hundred
Israeli Americans that they intend to assert that power during the next
presidential campaign and beyond with policy demands for their
candidates. In particular, they vowed to press both sides for a more
hawkish approach to the Middle East.
Appearing
before a new group called the Israeli American Council, both men issued a
call for unity when it comes to support for the Jewish state, reminding
all prospective presidential candidates of the primacy of the US-Israel
relationship. And they agreed that Obama and his administration have
not been tough enough in protecting Israel’s interests.
Saban has openly declared his support for Hilary Clinton to be the 2016 Democratic nominee. Speaking in an interview to the Washington Post, Saban said that Obama’s
[R]elationship
with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “like oil and water.”
That has fed a perception, he said, that Obama has not been a friend to
Israel, although Saban said he thinks that, in reality, “there’s never
been this level of cooperation with any previous president.”
Still, Saban
said that he thinks Clinton would repair the relationship and that he
has told her he would spend “whatever it takes” to propel her into the
White House. That includes giving millions of dollars to Priorities USA,
a super PAC that helped Obama in 2012 and is revving up to aid Clinton
in 2016.
“I have told her and everybody who’s asked me, ‘Whatever it takes, we’re going to be there,’ ”
Saban said. “I think she would be a fantastic president for the United
States, an incredible world leader and one under whom I
believe—deeply—the relationship with the US and Israel will be
significantly reinforced.”
Adelson declined an interview request, but, as he entered the ballroom, a Post reporter asked him about the election results. “How deep do you want to fish?”
Adelson replied before appearing on stage to agree on every point with
the demands made by Saban about issues such as Iran, and the need to
always put Israel’s interests first.
As the Washington Post put it:
In their
public remarks, Saban and Adelson found common ground in their disdain
for Iran, and their fear for the danger they say that regime poses for
Israel. They expressed concern about US negotiations over Iran’s nuclear
program.
Adelson said
that Iranian fundamentalists are instructed by their religion to “wipe
out all infidels” and that “wiping out the Jews would be a down payment
on that.”
Referring to US engagement with Iran, he said: “I would not just talk. I would take action.”
Saban said
that fundamentalist Iranians represent a real threat. If necessary to
defend Israel, and as a last resort, he added, “I would bomb the living
daylights out of the sons of bitches.”
Onstage,
Shawn Evenhaim, the national chairman of the Israeli American Council,
posed provocative questions to both billionaires. Adelson sat to
Evenhaim’s right, Saban to his left—although, as Saban joked, “there’s
no right or left when it comes to Israel.”
Although Adelson did not name a
candidate—unlike Saban—the leading Republican Party contenders recently
held a pilgrimage to Las Vegas to beg him for campaign funding, as reported by the Las Vegas Sun:
Republican
super donor Sheldon Adelson is the main attraction for a list of elected
officials that includes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
One of the world’s richest men, the 80-year-old billionaire casino
magnate is looking for a new favorite to help end his party’s
presidential losing streak.
The Washington Post story
concluded with this telling remark, which revealed that no matter which
party’s candidate wins the 2016 election, Jewish interests will have
been served:
A reminder
of Adelson and Saban’s outsize influence came when Evenhaim wrapped up
Sunday’s event. “After the election in 2016,” he told them, “one of you
will get me a private tour of the White House.”
*Any public display of Jewish
Supremacist power over America is never without at least some extreme
hypocrisy. This was provided at the IAC conference by Adelson in
particular.
According to the Washington Post, when speaking to the conference, Adelson;
[U]pbraided
many in the GOP for their opposition to legalizing millions of
undocumented immigrants. Without a comprehensive overhaul, he said, the
country would not be “the America that I’m proud to live in.”
However, the state of Israel—which Adelson fanatically supports—has a closed borders immigration policy which even uses DNA checks to screen potential immigrants to make sure they are Jewish before allowing them in.
(...)
Electronic Intifada | Submitted by Rania Khalek on Mon, 11/10/2014 - 19:42
The candidates will be flooded with money from these pro-Israel extremists.
ALTERNET.ORG November 13, 2014 |
On November 9, the ugly face of America’s money-saturated election process was put on full display.
Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban, two billionaires with right-wing, pro-Israel agendas, took the stage at the Israeli American Council’s inaugural conference in Washington, D.C. They fantasized about bombing Iran and about buying the New York Times because they said it’s biased against Israel. Both are bound to play an outsized role in the 2016 presidential elections by flooding the campaign with money to support their favored candidates. In a post-Citizens United world, Adelson and Saban are kings, and Israel will be the beneficiary of their largesse if the donors have the ear of a future president.
Saban and Adelson are on opposite ends of the mainstream (and narrow) political spectrum. Adelson is a casino mogul who bankrolled the 2012 presidential campaigns of GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Saban is in the entertainment business and is a major Democratic Party donor. But when it comes to U.S. foreign policy and Israel, Saban and Adelson take many of the the same positions, displaying an eagerness for war with Iran and a desire to keep the U.S. alliance with Israel rock-solid.
“There’s no right or left when it comes to Israel,” Saban said in what news reports called a joking reference to the moguls’ seating positions at the conference where they spoke.
But the quip was more than just a joke. It was a nod to how the Democratic and Republican parties are united in singing Israel’s praise, backing its military actions and voting to give the country $3.1 billion in U.S. military aid annually. If Adelson’s and Saban’s chosen candidates in 2016 get their way, that unity will shine through during the presidential campaign, with the debate being reduced to who would support Israel the most.
Saban, an Israeli-American famous for producing the TV show Power Rangers, is currently the CEO of the Saban Capital Group, which invests in media companies around the world. A 2010 New Yorker profile of Saban by Connie Bruck paints a portrait of a man who is heavily influential, charming and hawkish. “I'm a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel,” he told the New York Times in 2004.
At the the event with Adelson, Saban had a crude prescription for what Israel should do about Iran. “I would bomb the living daylights out of the sons of bitches.” The answer came during a discussion of what Saban would do if he were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and thought a nuclear deal with Iran was a threat to Israel.
His chosen candidate is Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination in 2016. As Bruck reported in the New Yorker, Saban has given millions of dollars to the Clintons in the form of donations to Bill Clinton’s presidential library and the Clinton Global Initiative.
Speaking about Clinton to the Washington Post at the conference, Saban said, “I have told her and everybody who’s asked me, ‘Whatever it takes, we’re going to be there...’ She would be a fantastic president for the United States, an incredible world leader and one under whom I believe — deeply — the relationship with the U.S. and Israel will be significantly reinforced.”
Clinton has given backers like Saban ample reason for thinking of her as the perfect candidate for Israel. During the 2008 presidential election, Clinton was asked by ABC’s “Good Morning America” what she would do if Iran used a nuclear weapon on Israel. “In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them,” she said. This year, in an interview with the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, she doubled down on her pro-Israel agenda. “If I were the prime minister of Israel, you’re damn right I would expect to have control over security [in the West Bank],” she said.
GOP donor Adelson’s choice for who to back in the 2016 race is trickier. The leading GOP candidates include people like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, two politicians with divergent views on U.S. foreign policy, though Paul has been moving towards a more hawkish position in recent months. What is more clear is that Adelson’s impact, no matter who he backs, will be large. After the GOP losses in 2012, Adelson promised he would “double” his donations to the party. That means Adelson is prepared to spend as much as $300 million on Republican candidates.
Adelson, who made his fortune in the casino business, is one of the richest people in the world. He has used his largesse to shower pro-Israel groups like the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Zionist Organization of America with millions of dollars. In 2012, it was Adelson who prolonged the GOP primary by boosting Newt Gingrich, who famously proclaimed, in line with Adelson’s views, that the Palestinian people were “invented,” that there is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. When Gingrich finally dropped out, Adelson gave $30 million to a pro-Mitt Romney super-PAC.
His influence in the Republican Party was made clear in March of this year. Chris Christie and other potential presidential candidates flew out to speak to the Adelson-backed Republican Jewish Coalition. But Christie tripped up when he used the term “occupied territories” to refer to the West Bank and Gaza. While the Palestinian territories are indeed under occupation--a term used even by the U.S. State Department--Adelson and his ilk reject that view. The audience at the RJC event in March was no fan of the “occupied” remark, and Christie later apologized to Adelson.
The casino mogul apparently believes Israel should hold onto the West Bank forever, even at the cost of democracy in the area. “I don’t think the Bible says anything about democracy,” Adelson said on November 9. “God talked about all the good things in life. He didn’t talk about Israel remaining as a democratic state, otherwise Israel isn’t going to be a democratic state — so what?”
Adelson also said that the U.S. should “not just talk [with Iran]. I would take action.” Last year, Adelson made waves when he suggested that President Obama should launch a nuclear weapon at Iran to send a message to the country’s leaders. Saban’s and Adelson’s tough talk on Iran comes as a deadline to reach a final nuclear agreement with Iran approaches. Many Democrats and Republicans are deeply skeptical of reaching any deal with Iran.
The 2016 election campaign will likely feature the GOP and Democratic candidates slugging it out on issues like climate change, inequality and immigration. But when it comes to Israel and Iran, the two candidates, backed by people like Saban and Adelson, will have many of the same prescriptions: ramp up pressure on Iran and back Israel no matter what. The only debate will be on how far to take those positions. Think of it as a battle between the Saban position of bombing the “sons of bitches” vs. the Adelson position of nuking Iran.
--
Alex Kane is AlterNet's New York-based World editor, and an assistant editor for Mondoweiss. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.
HAIM SABAN, worth more than $3 billion, is an Egyptian-born Jew whose
family emigrated to Israel in 1956—and who now resides in Beverly
Hills and Israel—was said by Forbes to be the 102nd richest person in
America. Starting out as a television producer, Saban partnered with
Rothschild front-man Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and sold Fox
Family Worldwide to the Walt Disney Company. The sale of this network,
since renamed the ABC Family Channel,was the largest transaction in
history between a company and an individual and Saban made a profit of
$1.6 billion as a result. He is currently a leader of the investment
group which took control of Univision, the largest Spanish-language
media company in the United States making this Egyptian-born dual
U.S.-Israeli citizen a primary figure in directing the course of the
increasingly important Spanish-language media in the United States and
thus having major political clout over the Spanish-speaking population
which Jewish groups and their spokesmen have often indicated could
prove a threat to Jewish interests (primarily because of their
historic ties to the Roman Catholic faith). Saban funds the Saban
Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in
Washington, D.C. Saban once admitted candidly to the New York Times:
“I’m a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel.” (The New Babylon--Those Who Reign Supreme, Michael Collins Piper, 2009)
SHELDON ADELSON, although advanced in age, has recently risen to the
fore as one of the great leaders of Jewish wealth. Boston-born, he is
now a major figure in the Jewish-dominated casino industry in Las
Vegas. Although he originally was engaged in the computer trade show
industry, he purchased, with partners, the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in
1988 and now has expanded his holdings to Macao in the People’s
Republic of China, a gambling city that had been a Portugese colony
until the end of 1999. He is also developing a casino in Singapore.
Said to be the third richest person in the United States, worth as
much as $26.5 billion, he is a devoted friend of Israel and in 2006 he
established a newspaper in Israel, from which he later divested.
However, he has since set up a new daily publication in Israel—a free
newspaper—entitled HaYom. Reflecting his immense interest in Israel,
he also made an unsuccessful attempt to buy a controlling interest in
Israel’s prominent Maariv newspaper. Likewise, Adelson is another
major financier behind Birthright Israel which provides for young
persons of the Jewish faith to travel to occupied Palestine. Adelson’s
political inclinations are also reflected by the fact that he has
funded a group called Freedom’s Watch which supports the hard-line
neo-conservative stands pursued by the corrupt administration of
George W. Bush. (The New Babylon--Those Who Reign Supreme, Michael Collins Piper, 2009)
BENARD-CUTLER. Boston. Along with his partners—Sheldon Adelson, Irwin
Chafetz and Dr. Jordan Shapiro—Ted Benard-Cutler runs the Interface
Group, developer of Comdex, a global trade show for computers and
communications industries. Comdex was sold to the Japanese Softbank
Corporation in 1995. Benard-Cutler and Chafetz now are heading GWV
International which sets up tour packages for New England.
Benard-Cutler and his wife Joan have sons Joel and Robert and daughter
Ellen Colmas. (The New Babylon--Those Who Reign Supreme, Michael Collins Piper, 2009)
How kosher is Jewish money?
Israelis have the most to lose from the destructive potential of donations from the likes of Haim Saban and Sheldon Adelson.
HAARETZ By Anshel Pfeffer | Nov. 14, 2014 | 1:07 AM
It was like a scene out of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Two immensely wealthy Jews, key financiers of the main political parties of the world’s superpower, discussing how to wage war on the enemies of the Jews, and control the media and presidents. Only, instead of taking place at the dead of night in a Jewish cemetery in Prague, they were sitting on stage in a Washington, D.C. hotel conference room, in full view and making no attempt to hide their intentions.
If the Czarist secret police officers who published the original edition of “Protocols” at the start of the 20th century had been at the Hilton, or just reading the reported dialogue between Power Rangers impresario Haim Saban and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, they would have had little need for the embellishment, plagiarism and forgery they used to concoct their best seller.
If you haven’t yet read the musings of these two gentlemen on the best way to confront Iran (bombing “the daylight out of these sons of bitches” is an option), the shortcomings of Barack Obama’s presidency, the need (or lack of) for Israel to be a democracy, the best way to take over The New York Times, and how to ensure a sufficient supply of latkes at the White House Hanukkah party, then you really should. It would be no exaggeration to call it a historic event.
The joint appearance of the two billionaires at the Israeli American Council’s inaugural conference last weekend was the moment that Jewish benefactors, who have always preferred to use financial influence on behalf of their brethren as far behind-the-scenes as possible, chose to do so out in the open.
Not that they had anything to be ashamed of. Jewish financiers using their fortunes to protect and promote a small scattered nation, persecuted for much of its history by vastly superior forces, is an honorable tradition. Only, it was always a tradition considered to be much more effective when carried out discreetly. Why give the haters more ammunition to incite with?
In most countries where Jews live, discretion is still the norm. On the same day Adelson and Saban took to the stage in Washington, across the pond a British daily blazed the headline “Labour funding crisis: Jewish donors drop ‘toxic’ Ed Miliband” across its front page. The Independent on Sunday was referring to a shortfall in fund-raising for Britain’s main opposition party, due to concerns of Jewish donors that its embattled leader, Miliband (himself Jewish, of course), will, if elected prime minister next year, toughen his government’s policy toward Israel.
There are a number of troubling flaws to this story. Labour’s campaign machine relies, to a large degree, on funding from trade unions and is hardly beholden to private Jewish donors. Miliband is indeed in deep crisis, but that is due to his inability to project a credible image of being prime-minister-in-waiting and the constant sniping by his own senior party members, who fear he is leading them to five more years in the political wilderness.
The misgivings of the party’s Jewish donors over his foreign policy is really the least of his worries, and it is odd (or perhaps not) that The Independent on Sunday chose to make this relatively minor concern the main headline of its Remembrance Sunday issue. Especially as even the reporter admitted that it is not yet a problem – merely one that could emerge in the months leading to the election – and is dwarfed by the general reluctance of donors, not just Jewish ones, to contribute to Miliband’s campaign.
But by far the biggest flaw in the report, especially one that had been given such prominence, was that it did not include even one named source. None of Labour’s Jewish donors or fund-raisers had agreed to identify themselves by name, though some seem to have agreed to be quoted anonymously.
Difference between U.S. and British Jews
The interviewees’ reticence is not surprising. Whether or not they are satisfied with their party’s candidate, Jewish philanthropists do not voluntarily discuss in public their political donations.
This is probably all you need to know about the difference between American and British Jews. Both communities are phenomenally successful, and for the past few decades have enjoyed a disproportionate prominence in just about every walk of life – unparalleled since the Golden Age of the Jews in Middle-Ages Spain, perhaps even surpassing that. But while Jews in the United States routinely celebrate their extraordinary position of near-dominance in finance, the creative arts, media, and now also political influence, among British Jews there is still a prevailing anxiety, and even sense of shame, whenever the words “Jewish” and “money” are used in the same sentence. Whenever a politician or media commentator combines the two, there is an outcry of “anti-Semitism.”
There is ample historic justification for this defensiveness. “The Protocols” were not the first or last time the insidiousness of Jewish moneymen was a central plank of Judeophobia. And it’s still around. Even today, when you start typing “Jewish bankers” into the world’s most powerful search engine (founded by two Jews, of course), it automatically suggests “control the world.” But then, the Web is full of the most vile conspiracy theorists, and we can’t let them dominate our lives.
The influence and power of big money in capitalist democracies are a fact of life. You can try and legislate to close loopholes and create a more level playing field, but you can’t eliminate it. Unless, that is, you want to live in a country like Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where troublesome oligarchs are packed off to a penal colony in Siberia or forced to flee and live in permanent exile.
The best we can do is try and take the Internet – that wonderful tool our capitalist economies have created – away from the conspiracy theorists and use it to truthfully increase transparency, so we at least know who is using money to acquire influence.
And that is already happening. Every community, business sector, and lobby is using its financial clout to try and change policy, and safeguard its interests. Jews have no reason to be ashamed of having learned – out of bitter necessity – to play the game well, and they certainly have every right to lobby on behalf of the country where half of their people live. Accusing them of dual loyalties (and we all have multiple loyalties) is not only anti-Semitic, it is also a denial of their democratic rights to decide who and what they choose to support.
For all the vulgarity of the Saban-Adelson dialogue, we should commend them for holding it in the open. Especially since now we have heard Adelson publicly state that as far as he is concerned, “so what” if Israel is no longer a democracy, we know the ugly truth about the man who is our prime minister’s number one patron.
It doesn’t matter whether or not we supply the Israel-haters and Judeophobes with fodder. They will warp facts and invent lies, anyway. We will have to continue facing their poisonous propaganda, and we have never been in a better position to do so.
But we need to know whatever we can about how “pro-Israel” tycoons use their money and what they believe in, because they are now in a far more powerful position than any hostile newspaper or biased blogger to cause Israel untold harm.
So Many Billionaires, So Many Choices in 2016 The Forward's List of Biggest Jewish Billionnaires....
Don't Let the Billionaires Decide Adelson and Saban Shouldn't Dominate the Conversation
Of King Sheldon, streams of Judaism, and the wretched of Tel Aviv.
Sheldon, king of Israel? Sheldon Adelson has been reported extensively as stating that there may be no need for Israel...
Adelson's bomb: Apologize or face sanctions The deference accorded to Sheldon Adelson thanks to his largesse to Jewish causes must end after his 'bombing Iran' comments, which were obtuse, insensitive, and morally bankrupt, and harmful to Israel’s interests.
The new American Jewish struggle over Israel: Hawks versus ultra-hawks. Both Hawks and ultra-hawks are challenging the U.S. Jewish establishment. J Street isn't the only group challenging the American Jewish establishment. Sheldon Adelson is too.
The most important trend in American Jewish politics today is the collapse of the center. The American Jewish establishment isn’t only being challenged by left-leaning groups like J Street. It also faces a less widely recognized, but equally powerful, challenge from the right.
Consider this week’s spat between Sheldon Adelson and Abraham Foxman. At an event last Sunday, Adelson’s fellow oligarch, Chaim Saban, said Israel needed to support a Palestinian state if it wanted to remain a Jewish democracy. To which Adelson replied, “I don’t think the Bible says anything about democracy. I think God didn’t say anything about democracy. God talked about all the good things in life. He didn’t talk about Israel remaining as a democratic state, otherwise Israel isn’t going to be a democratic state — so what?”(...) Once upon a time, both liberals and conservatives watched Walter Cronkite deliver the CBS Evening News. Today, the liberals watch MSNBC and the conservatives watch Fox. It’s the same with Jews. Once upon a time, Jews from across the political spectrum joined groups like AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League or the American Jewish Committee. Now the liberals are more likely to join J Street or even Jewish Voices for Peace and the conservatives are more likely to join the ZOA, the Republican Jewish Coalition or the Emergency Committee for Israel.
Groups funded by Sheldon Adelson silent on his dismissal of Israeli democracy
Sheldon Adelson's Dismissal of Israeli Democracy Draws Silence From Groups He Backs Sheldon Adelson scoffed at the need for Israel to remain a democracy. The explosive opinion doesn’t seem to be a problem for groups funded by the casino billionaire’s river of cash.
SHELDON ADELSON: The one man who will definitely reap the benefits from the Knesset's dissolution Israeli parties are heading for elections on the wrong foot, but for a certain gambling mogul and tabloid owner, the political upheaval is the best remedy for last month's slap in the face.
Zionist tycoon Haim Saban vows to contribute “as much as needed” to a Hillary Clinton campaign Il s'agit d'abord pour lui d'empêcher la réélection d'Obama.
Clinton to address forum sponsored by Israeli billionaire
Clinton, at Saban Forum, endorses Obama’s Middle East policy
Saban confronts Bennet: “Are you willing to cut commercial ties with Europe?”
Cruzing for Jewish support It was a big Jewish week for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The Republican presidential hopeful headlined the annual ZOA dinner and, while in New York, held private meetings with Jewish machers.
Sheldon Adelson: Palestinians are made-up nation that exists only to destroy Israel
Sheldon Adelson Is a Philanthropist Like No Other Casino Billionaire Transforms Shape of Jewish Giving
Everything you need to know about the Israel Hayom (or anti-Sheldon Adelson) law
Oligarchs for Israel When Pat Buchanan described the American Congress as "Israeli-occupied territory" in the run up to the first Gulf war, he clearly underestimated the problem. Although Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban didn’t mean to underscore and enlarge Buchanan’s point, this they surely did at the first national conference of a new pro-Israel lobbying group, the Israeli-American Council (IAC), where the two multi-billionaires appeared together on stage. It was an enlightening colloquy. Adelson, whose casinos have made him one of the richest people in the world, pumped $150 million into the Republican Party in 2012, and is expected to give at least as much in the 2016 campaign. Saban who made his fortune on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, has given a comparable amount to the Democrats, including the money to build Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington: he has pledged to donate "whatever it takes" to elect Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Sheldon Adelson to give $25m to Ariel University Adieu la liberté académique...
FROM AHAD HA’AM TO SHELDON ADELSON: OVER A CENTURY OF ZIONIST MADNESS AND ARROGANCE
Médiats juifs anti-juifs? Le milliardaire juif ultrasioniste Sheldon Adelson est "tout droit sorti des pages des Protocoles des sages de Sion" selon Uri Avnery, ancien membre de la Knesset et correspondant dans de nombreux médiats israéliens
Haim Saban Raises $34M to Support Israeli Defense Forces
American-Jewish billionaires keeping Holocaust memory alive Steven Spielberg, Ronald Lauder and Haim Saban join organization of memorial ceremonies marking 70th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation.
Sparks Fly Tempers are wearing thin in Washington and Jerusalem over Iran — and the situation wasn’t helped by the recent Saban Forum where nasty sparks flew between leaders.
Weekend at Haim's The annual Saban Forum brought together the highest ranking Israeli and American officials under one roof — but the event highlighted deep cracks in the relationship.
Netanyahu Dines With Crime Boss Adelson, Jews ‘Outraged’ Over Menu Items
Netanyahu’s 'un-American' stink bomb begs the question: What was he thinking? White House fumes at PM’s 'American values' statement that echoes malicious rhetoric of birthers and other crazy Obama-haters. (...) And if you need to connect the dots, as they most certainly will in the president’s closest, most protective and possibly most paranoid surroundings, this the way it will go: That it is no coincidence that Netanyahu used the “un-American” analogy after hobnobbing so brazenly with Sheldon Adelson, arguably public enemy number one of the president’s Democratic Party.
Obama's real problem with Netanyahu The White House views Netanyahu as a foot soldier in the service of the extreme-right branch of the Republican Party. They long ago came to the conclusion that Sheldon Adelson - the casino magnate who blew $100 million on his efforts to oust Obama - does not work for Netanyahu, but rather Netanyahu works for Adelson. (...) The problem is that Netanyahu has become a domestic political enemy of the president and his party. This is a misstep of historical proportions, as it places Israel outside of the American consensus for the first time since the 1950s. This is also a problem in practical terms. Supposing the Democrats hold on to Senate control - the White House will remember where the Israeli government had positioned itself in this battle. Supposing the Democrats cede control of the Senate – the president would lose his grip on domestic issues, and focus on foreign affairs, as many of his predecessors have done. Thus Israel would meet Obama again, this time as wounded president. After all, it has happened to us in the past, with a certain Jimmy Carter.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thinks he's the leader of world Jewry and it's us against the Western world. (...) Zionism in its current incarnation has created a distorted dependency on anti-Semitism — the ideological migration to Israel has been exhausted, as has the migration of persecuted and poor Jews. We are left with millions of obstinate Jews, who regardless of how many Birthright trips Sheldon Adelson gives them at his expense, still prefer life outside Israel to partaking in the project of the Jewish state.
Sheldon Adelson Wants Nuclear Strike on Iran — Says Two-States 'Russian Roulette'
Sheldon's Folly Outsized Role: Sheldon Adelson spent tens of millions of dollars on the 2012 election. EDITORIAL: Sheldon Adelson and other Jewish mega-donors spend millions on political races. A new book explains they have failed miserably to win over hearts and minds — so far.
‘Kosher Sex’ Rabbi Shmuley’s over-the-top gala Sean Penn shines, while Chris Christie tries to placate Sheldon Adelson for saying 'occupied territories.'
What do Rick Perry, Sean Penn, Sheldon Adelson and Chris Christie have in common? They all came together to honor and be honored at a gala benefit for Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who describes himself as “America’s Rabbi.”
Sheldon Adelson, le milliardaire qui veut acheter la Maison Blanche, la Knesset et bombarder l’Iran
Le gangster qui a acheté les Républicains états-uniens
Even Chinese Intellectuals Recognise Jewish Supremacy Over America!
A Conservative Total for U.S. Aid to Israel: $91 Billion—and Counting
US ‘deeply concerned’ at new E. Jerusalem housing plan
US again slams Israel for advancing housing plans in Jerusalem
Bill Clinton Says Forget About Netanyahu, He’s ‘Not The Guy’ For Peace
Netanyahu is exposing his nationalist face to the public "nationaliste"? Le mot est faible!
Netanyahu Is a National Security Risk – And Washington Knows It
Meet the Falics: West Bank settlement funders, Netanyahu backers, and owners of Duty Free America
'For US Jews, Ted Cruz is star attraction at Passover getaways' According to Politico, hawkish Texas senator is being billed as speaker in high-end getaways catering to religious Jews. Wealthy American Jews planning their Passover vacation this spring will have a chance to hear one of Israel’s most ardent supporters – and, by extension, one of Barack Obama’s fiercest critics – in a resort near you. Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas who is considering a run for the presidency, is listed as a speaker in a number of high-end vacation getaways that cater to religious Jews in the United States, according to the online magazine Politico. The appearances by Cruz and a number of prominent rabbis are being promoted by Prime Hospitality Group.
Two pro-Israeli US Senators warn Iran with sanctions
Official: Israel independently learned of secret U.S. letter to Iran
Report: Romney slams Obama for 'legitimizing' Iran's Khamenei with letter
Netanyahu: Iran is America’s enemy, not its partner
'Iran is your enemy,' Netanyahu tells Americans on Face the Nation The prime minister noted that the Iranian leader had recently called for Israel's destruction.
Iran: We thwarted Mossad attempt to assassinate nuclear scientist
juif.org - L'administration Obama s'immisce dans la campagne électorale israélienne avec le plan de « punir » Netanyahu, par Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu
Israel’s defense minister behind closed doors: Obama administration won’t last forever
Obama laughs at Bachmann over request to bomb Iran
Pro-Israel or Pro-Obama?
VIDEO - (2012) EMERGENCY COMMITTEE FOR ISRAEL - TIME TO ACT. Is President Obama serious about stopping Iran?
Netanyahu behind Congress's anti-Iran moves: Jeff Steinberg
ADL slams CUFI founder Hagee for calling Obama anti-Semitic
“Pastor” John Hagee calls Obama anti-Semitic, blasts Iran policy
Israel’s Netanyahu Was Imported by GOP to Ensure a War with Iran The reason for bringing Netanyahu is that Boehner wants to craft a super-majority in Congress that can over-ride Obama’s veto of new sanctions on Iran. He doesn’t have enough Republican votes to do so, but if he can get Democrats beholden to the Israel lobbies of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to join the veto over-ride effort, he might succeed.
Obama won’t meet Netanyahu during Washington visit After cold response to news of Congress address, White House cites principle of not meeting with world leaders before elections
Netanyahu au Congrès US sur l’Iran et sur l’islam
PR Newswire: Mossad Chief Set AIPAC Founder's First Public Relations Priorities -- Declassified FBI Files
The Protocols of Anti-Semitism Part One: The Protocols of Joly (takeourworldback.com)
Refutes the nonsensical claim about the Protocols of Zion being a "forgery", which, for example, is based on a claim that Russian secret police were hard at work "forging" a document to smear the Jews, and they inexplicably chose to reveal their secret plot to a woman who'd just been exposed in the press in April of the previous year as a destitute confidence trickster, and had been released from prison in August of the previous year for crimes of forgery, fraud, bribery and blackmail - and they show it to the fraudster's friends. (!) And the Jews' argument that anti-Semites fabricated the Protocols to make people hate the Jews relies on a claim that a Jew helped to write the Protocols to make people hate the Jews. More importantly, it shows who really wrote the Protocols, and how the perpetrators plagiarized Joly to steal his Machiavellian program for world domination for their Zionist project, which allowed them to get away with their next two massive hoaxes: the Hoax of the twentieth century and the Hoax of the twenty-first century.
Sur ce blog:
Médias juifs anti-juifs? La chaîne NBC révèle qu'un Israélien sur deux souhaiterait qu'une lettre contenant le virus Ebola soit envoyée au président Obama pour son anniversaire
Médiats juifs anti-juifs? Le milliardaire juif ultrasioniste Sheldon Adelson est "tout droit sorti des pages des Protocoles des sages de Sion" selon Uri Avnery, ancien membre de la Knesset et correspondant dans de nombreux médiats israéliens
Un autre grand comique juif, Sheldon Adelson, qui s'autoproclame "le juif le plus riche du monde", appelle à bombarder l'Iran avec du nucléaire, donnant ainsi raison à Jack Straw
Dans ses mémoires intitulées "Diary of a Foreign Minister", l'ancien ministre australien des affaires étrangères, Bob Carr, dénonce la domination malsaine du lobby juif sioniste international sur les affaires étrangères
Un "new Israel" au Texas? Pourquoi pas?
Sterling vante sa communauté en dévoilant un secret de leur succès: les institutions communautaires juives de prêt sans intérêt
Willam Kristol, fauteur de guerre juif, roi du PNAC néocon, appelle à "défier l'idole de la fatigue de guerre" en se préparant et en se mobilisant pour la guerre
Médiats juifs antijuifs? La chaîne CBS rapporte que l'administration Obama a demandé à Israël de bien vouloir cesser d'assassiner les scientifiques iraniens
Le réseau criminalisé Netanyahou-Adelson-Romney
L'homme le plus puissant à Washington DC, le juif orthodoxe Eric Cantor, (bien que récemment détrôné) accuse les États-Unis de tarder à réagir à la menace iranienne comme ils ont tardé à réagir à la "menace nazie" et failli à éviter l'Holocauste des juifs...
Un milliardaire à la tête de l'empire médiatique de Rupert Murdoch (NewsCorp) met en garde contre la "nuit de cristal" qui vient par la gauche: le mouvement Occupy, parce qu'il s'en prend au 1% des plus riches du monde, lui rappelle "les persécutions nazies envers les juifs"
L'accord iranien est "Munich" et "Obama est Chamberlain", selon l'Organisation sioniste américaine (ZOA). Netanyahou s'époumonne désespérément, hurle au complot américano-iranien contre Israël; Obama l'invite à prendre une petite pause-santé. Netanyahou: fou dangereux qui pourrait envisager un deuxième 11 septembre nucléaire contre les États-Unis...
2012: L'homme qui se prétend "le juif le plus riche du monde", Sheldon Adelson, donnera "tout ce qu'il faudra" pour empêcher une réélection d'Obama
Les grandes fortunes familiales qui contrôlent la finance et les affaires (trombinoscope)
Devoir de mémoire, devoir de faire tomber l'axe Iran-Syrie-Liban
Un lobbyiste pro-israélien appelle à provoquer un nouveau Pearl Harbor pour déclencher une guerre contre l'Iran
Arnaque à la Shoah de plus de 57 millions de dollars
Médiats juifs antijuifs? Pour l'Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith, même les médiats Rothschild doivent des excuses à Israël pour avoir attiré l'attention sur le lobby juif et son rôle dans l'impasse des relations irano-américaines
Encore une fois... comment le B'nai Brith peut-il parler d'une montée sans précédent de l'antisémitisme alors que personne ne critique le fait que le nouveau vice-président de la Fed est un ancien de la banque centrale d'Israël?
Ariel Scheinermann, dit "Sharon", en enfer après plusieurs années de retard... Couvert de malédictions kabbalistiques, associé au légendaire ennemi des juifs Amalek, tout comme Kissinger et d'autres juifs américanisés... Même lui n'aura pu satisfaire les colons israéliens qui l'attaquèrent pour avoir "bloqué" l'expansion des colonies illégales
"Rothschild du Nouveau Monde": gibier de potence talmudiste, Edgar Bronfman Sr. en enfer. Son rôle dans la guerre en Irak et quelques autres de ses crimes moins connus
Le groupe Stern (Lehi) a tenté d'assassiner le président Truman; selon Victor Ostrovsky le Mossad a déjà tenté de tuer le président George Bush, qui disait "Je ne suis qu'un petit homme isolé qui se bat contre la puissance politique d'un millier de lobbyistes du Capitole"
Le jeu des devinettes: qui a dit "Si je suis réélu, je vais foutre les Juifs"?