Billionaire Sheldon Adelson is a major donor to political candidates in the U.S. Would-be presidents curry his favor in the hope of receiving the millions of dollars he contributes to campaigns. As a result, he is highly influential in their policies regarding Israel. The Adelsons spent over $80 million on Republicans in 2016 and over $100 million in 2012 on Republican candidates and causes – the biggest donors in the presidential race.
By Alison Weir, YouTube – If Americans Knew
Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson is a major donor to political candidates in the U.S. Would-be presidents curry his favor in the hope of receiving the millions of dollars he contributes to campaigns. As a result, he is highly influential in their policies regarding Israel.
See, for example, this article (posted below) about his relationship to Donald Trump, and to Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem – an action that previous presidents from both parties refused to take. Adelson has also promoted anti-Iran policies.
Adelson and his wife Miriam spent more than $80 million on Republicans in 2016. They contributed $35 million to help elect DonaldTrump, and then gave $5 million to Trump’s inauguration. In 2012 the Adelsons spent more than $100 million on Republican candidates and causes, and they were the biggest donors in the presidential race.
Other pro-Israel billionaires have similarly supported Hillary Clinton. As a result of the Israel lobby, the U.S. gives Israel over $10 million per day – on average about 7,000 times more per capita than we give to others around the world. (More statistics here.)
In July 2010 Adelson, a U.S. citizen, told an Israeli group that he regretted that he had worn an American army uniform rather than an Israeli one. He noted that his wife and daughter had served in the Israeli army, and hoped that his son would become an Israeli sniper. Adelson’s statements were reported at the time by NBC’s Michael Isikoff.
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Trump’s Biggest Donor Pushed For Jerusalem Embassy Move
by Eli Clifton, Lobelog, Dec. 4, 2017
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump may announce U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital while continuing to keep the U.S. embassy in in Tel Aviv. The move goes toward fulfilling his campaign promise, during a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
It’s still uncertain if Trump will go through with this plan, but the pressure on Trump goes deeper than a promise to voters. His biggest campaign contributor, billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, is showing growing impatience with Trump’s slowness in moving the embassy, which would be a provocation to Palestinians who claim Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. For this reason, past presidents have refused to move the embassy on grounds that it would upset potential talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators.
Before Trump was even sworn in as president, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, showed a remarkable willingness to follow directions from Israel’s far-right prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The transition team appears to have worked at the request of Netanyahu to defeat a UN resolution criticizing Israel’s ongoing settlement construction. Reporting on Friday advanced the story, revealing that Kushner told former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn to call members of the Security Council in an effort to stop the vote, a potential violation of the Logan Act, which criminalizes negotiations by unauthorized persons with foreign governments having a dispute with the U.S.
When the Trump White House hasn’t been quick enough to back Netanyahu or Adelson’s proposals, Adelson, who was reportedly in close contact with Kushner during the campaign, has been quick to express his displeasure.
Adelson, who once accused Palestinians of existing “to destroy Israel,” was reportedly “furious” with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in May for suggesting in a Meet The Pressinterview that moving the embassy should be contingent on the peace process. Axios reported:
[S]ources say the Las Vegas billionaire doesn’t buy the argument that the embassy move should be contingent on the peace process. He has told Trump that Palestinians are impossible negotiating partners and make demands that Israel can never meet.Adelson and his wife Miriam spent more than $80 million on Republicans in 2016, and he gave $5 million to Trump’s inauguration.
Adelson and his wife Miriam also contributed $35 million to help elect Trump.
The Las Vegas Review Journal, which is owned by Adelson, wrote in October, “The Adelsons reportedly have been disappointed in Trump’s failure to keep a campaign pledge to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem on his first day in office.”
And before the funder got on the Trump bandwagon, candidate Trump was outspoken about Adelson’s intentions in putting his money behind candidates. He infamously taunted Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who in October 2015 was a frontrunner to secure Adelson’s backing, tweeting:
Sheldon Adelson is looking to give big dollars to Rubio because he feels he can mold him into his perfect little puppet. I agree!
As we’ve documented on LobeLog, Trump dramatically changed his message on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular, saying that he would move the embassy to Jerusalem and wouldn’t call for a freeze on the construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank, as he closed in on the nomination and sought to secure Adelson’s support for his general election campaign.
Unconditional support for Israel is Adelson’s “central value,” according to Newt Gingrich in 2012, when Adelson was funding his presidential campaign’s Super PAC.
That statement is worth revisiting now as Trump weighs a policy announcement on Jerusalem where his most generous campaign supporter is pushing for a change in U.S. policy that threatens to undermine the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and seriously throw into question the viability of a two-state-solution.
