The coalition of billionaires backing her is a who’s who of Jewish pro-Israel money
The Jewish Republican establishment has been trying to figure out which horse is the best one to try and ride because they don’t want Trump as the nominee
They gravitated to Haley because of her relatively moderate stance on abortion and her pro-Israel credentials…
Cliff Asness, hedge fund manager; Stanley Druckenmiller, former hedge funder-turned-full-time philanthropist; Henry Kravis, investor; Leonard Stern, real estate magnate; Barry Sternlicht, real estate billionaire; Dan Och, major giver to Birthright and the UJA-Federation of New York; Jan Koum, WhatsApp founder (Koum consults closely with the Jewish pro-Israel donor and GOP kingmaker, Miriam Adelson); Paul Singer, hedge fund manager; Ronald Simon, California home builder; Terry Kassel, Palm Beach philanthropist; Elliott Badzin, Minnesota car supply magnate…
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported on January 10th:
…..That anti-Trump constituency, according to one person with knowledge of how Republican donors are making decisions, includes many of the party’s most prominent Jewish names, who soured on Trump after the January 6 riot at the US Capitol and are tired of “the chaos and crazy” that accompanies the former president.
“The [Jewish Republican] establishment has been trying to figure out which horse is the best one to try and ride because they don’t want Trump as the nominee,” said the insider, who didn’t want to be named supporting a candidate. With Haley’s recent rise in the polls, he added, “they’re pulling their checkbooks out.”
According to Fred Zeidman, a Houston businessman who is a leading fundraiser for Haley, Republican Jewish backers have gravitated to Haley because of her relatively moderate stance on abortion and her pro-Israel credentials.
“This woman absolutely, absolutely has been so staunchly pro-Israel,” Zeidman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“She really understands the politics, she understands what it means for the United States, what it means for world peace,” he said. “The other thing is, one of the biggest issues in the Jewish community is women’s rights. And she has been the first one to address [abortion] appropriately among the Republicans.”
Haley raised $24 million in the most recent quarter, more than double her haul in the previous round. And according to a recent Forbes article, the coalition of billionaires backing her is a who’s who of Jewish pro-Israel money.
Organizers of an upcoming January 30 New York fundraiser for Haley, the magazine reported, include Cliff Asness, the hedge fund manager who took the lead in pulling a donation from his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, for its administration’s equivocation in condemning Hamas’s October 7 massacre of 1,200 people and abduction of an additional 240 in southern Israel; Stanley Druckenmiller, a former hedge funder-turned-full-time philanthropist; Henry Kravis, an investor who has donated extensively to Israeli cultural endeavors; and Leonard Stern, the real estate magnate who has given heavily to Yeshiva University.
The next day, Haley will fly to Miami for another fundraiser, this one organized by Barry Sternlicht, a real estate billionaire who launched a $50 million pro-Israel initiative after October 7, and Dan Och, a major giver to Birthright and the UJA-Federation of New York.
Haaretz reported last summer that Haley had garnered more support from the leadership of the establishment Republican Jewish Coalition than any other candidate. In recent months, as Trump’s lead in the Republican polls has solidified, her support from Jewish donors has soared even more.
She has the support of Jan Koum, the WhatsApp founder who has given $5 million to a super PAC affiliated with the candidate. Koum consults closely with the Jewish pro-Israel donor and GOP kingmaker, Miriam Adelson, who has pledged to remain neutral during this year’s primary. Asness has given $1 million to the same super PAC, the SFA Fund, and Stern has given $175,000.
Also said to be closing in on a decision to back Haley, said the person with knowledge of donors’ thinking, is Paul Singer, the influential Jewish hedge fund manager.
Other top Jewish donors to Haley’s super PAC include Ronald Simon, a California home builder whose family foundation runs a scholarship program for children from low-income families, who gave at least $1 million; Terry Kassel, a Palm Beach philanthropist who promotes Israel’s high-tech sector, who gave at least $250,000; and Elliott Badzin, a Minnesota car supply magnate, who gave at least $100,000.
The donors, often voluble when it comes to Israel and other hot-button political issues, are quiet when it comes to why they’re backing Haley: Asness declined to comment for this story and Kravis, Singer and Druckenmiller did not return requests for comment. A phone number for Koum’s family foundation reaches a law firm where a staffer said they have no way to reach Koum.
Haley gained legions of Republican Jewish fans when she made defending Israel the centerpiece of her 18-month stint at the UN. She persuaded Trump to cut US funds for UNRWA, the UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees and their descendants; she vetoed the appointment of Palestinians to high-ranking jobs; and she snubbed diplomats from nations who voted against Israel.