Israel News, Thursday, 19.09.2024 |
| Megadonor Miriam Adelson has lent her public voice in favor of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, removing any doubt about where the right-wing, pro-Israel community stands on the former president  Ben Samuels  |
| WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will speak at a pair of events in Washington on Thursday, one focused on antisemitism and one focused on Israel. These efforts undoubtedly fall in line with Trump and the GOP’s outreach to Jewish-American voters, who hope to capitalize on discontent with the Biden administration’s approach to the Gaza war and rising domestic antisemitism. Perhaps the most important audience and speaker during both of Thursday’s events, however, is Trump’s most significant megadonor in Miriam Adelson. These events mark the latest example of Trump putting a spotlight on the issues Adelson cares about most – undoubtedly a cause-and-effect of her $100-million pledge to funding the pro-Trump Preserve America Super PAC. At the first event, billed “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America Event with Dr. Miriam Adelson,” Trump will attempt to paint a picture differentiating him and Kamala Harris – despite the vast majority of American Jews finding Trump’s comments on their voting habits objectionable. Then, Trump will immediately head across town to the Israeli American Council’s National Summit to promote his record on Israel as president while doubling down on his threats that Israel will cease to exist under a Harris-Walz administration. While Harris and U.S. President Joe Biden were invited to the IAC gathering as well, logic holds that Trump is receiving the red-carpet treatment. The organization is largely funded by the Adelson Family Foundation and known for its ties to both the Republican Party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Unlike previous elections – even where Adelson has spent more than $100 million, making her and her late husband, Sheldon, among the most significant megadonors – Adelson has this time lent her public voice in Trump’s favor, removing any doubt about where the right-wing, pro-Israel community stands on the former president. Thursday’s events will be her third and fourth public appearances in support of Trump, having previously appeared at a campaign event at his New Jersey country club also dedicated to antisemitism and later introducing him at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference in Las Vegas. At both events, Adelson stressed the existential nature of this election while pushing for a Trump victory. “President Trump deserves the full support of the entire Jewish people,” Adelson, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2018, told the Bedminster, New Jersey crowd. “And anyone who cares about Israel’s security and prosperity, this must be our pledge to him – this must be our promise to him – that the White House will be his again come January.” Like other pro-Israel Republicans, Adelson argued that Trump’s record on Israel is evidence enough that he is a true friend and will “save the Jewish people” – despite outrage from the other side of the aisle. “He already proved that whatever he’s promising, he will do. He sees what I see: the world is against us,” she told the RJC. “He promised Jerusalem and gave us Jerusalem. He promised Golan and gave us Golan. He promised peace with Arabs, but withdrew from the Iran deal. He is our best friend and he will save us.” Adelson’s increased public involvement, along with her top aide Andy Abboud telling CNBC that “we’re going to do whatever it takes for him to win,” portends an increasingly prominent role for Adelson and the issues she prioritizes in the 2024 campaign’s home stretch. |
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