Democratic megadonor Haim Saban torched President Joe Biden’s decision to pause Israeli weapons shipments in an email to aides on Thursday, urging the administration to “reconsider.”
The Biden administration paused a shipment of thousands of weapons to Israel, including 2,000-pound bombs, amid concerns over Israel’s intention to expand military operations in Rafah, which could dramatically increase the death toll in Gaza, according to U.S. officials on Tuesday.
Israeli-American donor Saban, who hosted a prominent Los Angeles fundriaser for Biden’s reelection campaign in February, penned the email to administration aides Steve Ricchetti and Anita Dunn, asking for them to share the message with the president.
“We, the U.S., as you stated numerous times, believe that Hamas should be defeated. We, the U.S., in this case YOU Mr. President, have decided to stop sending munitions to Israel to achieve a goal that WE/YOU have set up for Israel and ourselves,” Saban’s missive read. “Even beyond Israel, this sends a terrible message to our allies in the region, and beyond that, we can flip from doing the right thing to bending to political pressure.”
Saban — who in a February interview with TheWrap defended Biden’s age and track record, saying, “He is doing really, in my opinion, a great job” — then appealed to Biden’s desire to be reelected for a second term in November.
“Let’s not forget that there are more Jewish voters who care about Israel than Muslim voters that care about Hamas,” he wrote. “Bad, bad, bad decision on all levels. Please reconsider.”
Read the note in full via Axios’ Barak Ravid below.
Democratic mega-donor Haim Saban wrote an email to Biden's aides Steve Ricchetti & Anita Dunn about Biden's decision to put on hold a weapons shipment to Israel: "Let's not forget there are more Jewish voters who care about Israel than Muslim voters who care about Hamas" pic.twitter.com/HdeI9iOL3W
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 9, 2024
Saban has been an ardent and generous supporter of Biden’s campaign for reelection. His February fundraiser in L.A. ahead of the March presidential primary raised $4.5 million for the campaign.
According to OpenSecrets, Saban donated the max $3,300 to Biden’s campaign for months, most recently in December, January and March.
Of the president, Saban told TheWrap, “There’s never been a president as supportive in facts, not only in words, of Israel. If you take everything in general, and most specifically, in these dire times for Israel, he’s been pristine.”
He added that his staunch support had Biden “paying a political price,” but that without Biden’s support, “Israel would be fighting this war with stones and sticks.”
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