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Devastating Article by Israel's Top Journalist on Casino Mogul Sheldon Adelson

One of Israel's top journalists and commentators Nahum Barnea writes in his column at Yediot Aharanot today about Sheldon Adelson throwing his political weight around in Israel.

When Sheldon Adelson gave his speech on the podium of the International Convention Center two days ago, I looked at Shimon Peres. I was happy for him. [...]

As a citizen of the country, I was less happy. I saw a gambling tycoon from Las Vegas who bought my country's birthday with three million dollars. I thought with sorrow: Is the country worth so very little? Were the champagne and the wine and the sushi that were given out for free in the lobby, unlike what is conventional for such events, worth the humiliation?
Adelson is a Jew who loves Israel. Like some other Jews who live at a safe distance from here, his love is great, passionate, smothering. It is important to him that he influence the policies, decisions and compositions of Israeli governments. He is not alone in this, eithe ... This kowtowing to other people's wallets-that is the common denominator of Rabin and Peres, Netanyahu, Barak and Olmert. [...]
Adelson is like the others, and yet different. He has the gift of authority and the bluntness of someone who made a lot of money quickly. He does not ask. He commands.
"He talks to me as though I were his property," the director of an important Jewish-American organization, one of the guests at the conference, told me. I heard similar complaints from others, Israelis and Americans, who got scandals from Adelson. [...] There is a story about an anti-Arab propaganda film that Adelson heard about. He telephoned the director-general of a Jewish organization, asking him to buy and distribute the film. But the film is distorted, said the man. No one will believe it. So edit it, Adelson commanded. The film is not editable, said the man. All right, Adelson said. I will buy the film at my expense, but you will distribute it. "He would like all the Arabs to disappear," another activist for a Jewish organization told me. "It seems that he thinks that the Arabs are gambling chips."
Several months ago, Adelson contacted another Jewish-American millionaire and asked him to donate a large sum of money for a campaign that he was organizing against the current Israeli government. The man politely refused. You know what, Adelson told him, do not donate. Just sign. The man refused again. Adelson accused him of funding anti-Israel research. I do not know what you mean, the man answered. When my man in charge of these things is in Las Vegas, he will come to you. Look into the matter.
The meeting at Adelson's office, in the Venetian hotel-casino, was a stormy one. Adelson took out a written list of accusations, many of them childish. You hosted (PA prime minister) Salam Fayyad, he said. He is a terrorist with blood on his hands. He is one of the founders of Fatah. Salam Fayyad was never involved in terrorism, his interlocutor said. He is not a member of Fatah. Where did you get these accusations from?
From Steve Emerson, said the billionaire. Emerson is an American Jew who often analyzes terror matters. You work with Olmert's government, accused Adelson. This is an illegitimate government. It must be thrown out. I thought that Olmert is your friend, said the man. And, indeed, they were friends. Such good friends that Olmert wrote him a letter and asked him to buy mini-bars for his hotels from a company that Talansky represented.
("This is not something new," one of the Americans who came to the conference told me. "One day I get a call from an Israeli, a former senior government official. I have a request, he said. Talk to Adelson about buying safes for the rooms in his hotels from a company that I work with. If the deal goes through, your organization will get a donation of USD 1 million." The man absolutely rejected the request.)
Adelman is convinced that Netanyahu, not Olmert, must be prime minister of Israel. In order to advance this idea, he established a newspaper, which devotes it pages to the fight against Olmert and praises Netanyahu. Allegedly, this investment is the largest election gift given to Israel ever. I do not claim this. Firstly, it is a legal gift, legitimate. Secondly, when Netanyahu is elected prime minister, he will have to act within the constraints of the State of Israel, not take dictates from a patron in Las Vegas.
Adelson, surrounded by guards, was king of the conference. He sat in the first row, with Shimon Peres between him and Olmert. He put his hand out to Olmert. Olmert shook it with a sour face. They did not exchange a single word.

So Adelson is trying to take down the Olmert government because he feels that's his prerogative.

It was striking seeing Adelson and Bush in the front row of the Jerusalem conference the other day, Israeli president Shimon Peres, the conference host, between them, as if Bush and Adelson were diplomatic-protocal-speaking some sort of equals.

Maybe at some point American conservatives will get as fed up with Adelson trying to run their movement as apparently some Israelis are about Adelson trying to buy the highest levels of poliitical influence so easily in their country. But I doubt it.






Comments

Adelson is the third riches person in America with 28 billion. He adds credence to the claim that they Jews have disproportionate influence in America, especially with his mentality of commanding through the power of money.
But then again, he should not take all of the blame, how about those goy that are greedy and will do anything for money, just like the CIA use to buy foreign leaders. Who is more at fault, the tempter, or the one that succumbs to temptation?

Posted by: Ayal on 05/16/08 at 11:53 AM  Respond

Nice of your contact to translate the hebrew article for you, Laura.

Israel became home to the largest Jewish population on earth in part because American Jews in the 1990s fell in number from 5.5 million to 5.2 million, a loss of 300,000, or 6 percent of the U.S. Jewish population.
According to Charles Krauthammer, by 2050, the U.S. Jewish population will have shrunk another 50 percent to 2.5 million(out of 440million). American Jews are slowly vanishing. How and why is this happening?
It is the collective decision of American Jews themselves, who have led the battles for birth control and a woman's right to choose.
According to the United Nations, by 2050, Israel will have 10 million people.
By then, the Arab population, at present birth rates, is likely to be close to 30 percent of the Israeli population. On the West Bank and Gaza, today's 4 million Arabs are to explode to 10 million, far outstripping the growth in Israel. Jordan's population of 5 million, 60 percent Palestinian, will also double to 10 million.
Thus, not even counting Palestinians in Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Gulf states, Israel's 7 million to 8 million Jews in 2050 will be living with 13 million Palestinians in Israel, Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. If Israel is to survive as a Jewish state, a separate and independent Palestinian state would seem an imperative.

Posted by: Jimmy on 05/17/08 at 10:27 AM  Respond

Olmert is going down. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is suspected of having taken envelopes full of cash from a U.S. businessman, the chief prosecutor said on Monday in his most graphic public account of a corruption case against Olmert.

Olmert has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which threatens to force him from office and disrupt his U.S.-brokered peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
State Prosecutor Moshe Lador, speaking at a Supreme Court hearing, said investigators suspected New York businessman Morris Talansky had given Olmert "dollars, in cash and in envelopes, during brief meetings from time to time".
Olmert's attorneys were petitioning the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's decision to hear preliminary testimony from Talansky, currently visiting Israel, before he returns to the United States.
The Supreme Court did not immediately rule on the argument that such testimony, at an early stage of the investigation, would impinge on Olmert's right to a fair trial by effectively indicting him before any formal charges were brought.
Olmert acknowledged this month that Talansky had raised funds for his two successful campaigns for mayor of Jerusalem in 1993 and 1998, a failed bid to lead the right-wing Likud party in 1999 and a further internal Likud election in 2002.

Israeli law broadly prohibits political donations of more than a few hundred dollars.

Posted by: Mole on 05/19/08 at 8:29 AM  Respond

Why hate on a great human being like Sheldon Adelson that has donated great sums of his fortune to needy charities? He creates jobs all over the world and helps people in need.

Posted by: AJ on 05/19/08 at 1:45 PM  Respond

AJ, Al Capone donated great sums to charity and provided jobs as well. Your values are screwed up.

Posted by: Pascal on 05/19/08 at 2:55 PM  Respond

Adelson is an interesting fellow to watch and I wish we would hear more about his profile in Israel and China. He is reputedly the fifth richest man in the world, third in the US. He owns casinos in Vegas and China, which is hard to do without some pretty shady connections. And he is the chief funder of Freedom's Watch, along with former Bush staffers, which is poised to play a big role in the upcoming U.S. elections and is sponsoring pro-war advertising. Is there any evidence of his hand in this peculiar Talansky affair to bring down Olmert? How deep is he into the Republican right? I get the impression that he would be all too happy to use his enormous clout to get the U.S. into a war with Iran, regardless of consequences.

Posted by: Nelson Alexander on 05/20/08 at 7:54 AM  Respond

Nelson, you are right. This Adelson shows the disproportionate influence of the Zionists in the World. Say no to Zionism, say no to racism. Adelson is the money behind his puppets Bush and Chaney.

Posted by: Horst on 05/20/08 at 12:36 PM  Respond

Sheldon is a "Honest" straight talking person. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Even though he is the 3rd richest man in America, he has not forgotten about his roots and gives alot of money to worthly causes.


Posted by: vicky amery on 06/02/08 at 10:57 AM  Respond

Sheldon is a "Honest" straight talking person. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Even though he is the 3rd richest man in America, he has not forgotten about his roots and gives alot of money to worthly causes.


Posted by: vicky amery on 06/02/08 at 10:58 AM  Respond

Sheldon is a "Honest" straight talking person. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Even though he is the 3rd richest man in America, he has not forgotten about his roots and gives alot of money to worthly causes.


Posted by: vicky amery on 06/02/08 at 10:59 AM  Respond

Sheldon is a "Honest" straight talking person. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Even though he is the 3rd richest man in America, he has not forgotten about his roots and gives alot of money to worthly causes.


Posted by: vicky amery on 06/02/08 at 11:00 AM  Respond

Sheldon is a "Honest" straight talking person. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Even though he is the 3rd richest man in America, he has not forgotten about his roots and gives alot of money to worthly causes.


Posted by: vicky amery on 06/02/08 at 11:02 AM  Respond

Sheldon is a "Honest" straight talking person. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Even though he is the 3rd richest man in America, he has not forgotten about his roots and gives alot of money to worthly causes.


Posted by: vicky amery on 06/02/08 at 11:03 AM  Respond

Sheldon is a "Honest" straight talking person. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Even though he is the 3rd richest man in America, he has not forgotten about his roots and gives alot of money to worthly causes.


Posted by: vicky amery on 06/02/08 at 11:04 AM  Respond

Vicky said"3rd richest man in America." This shows that power of Jewish money. He corrupts Bush and Olmert with his money. Look, Olmert will resign this month over Sheldon's big ego in action.

Posted by: Sharon on 06/02/08 at 5:14 PM  Respond

To heck with you nay sayers. Sheldon Adelson should be admired for his chutzpah and his mitzvahs!! Who could not like him if they really knew him. Don't HATE.

Posted by: Natasha Bello on 06/30/08 at 10:40 AM  Respond

thanks alot friends.

thanks fibercement.

thanks natasha.

teşekürler dış cephe.

kaplama teşekür.

söve söve ben tükendim.

Posted by: söve on 07/28/08 at 9:24 AM  Respond

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