By: AP & TJVNews.com
Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate who made prolific donations to right-wing politicians and causes in the United States and Israel, was laid to rest in Jerusalem on Friday.
Adelson, a key supporter of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and of a plethora of Jewish and pro-Israel causes and organizations died this week at the age of 87 after a long battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. His wide-ranging political influence leaves a remarkable legacy of philanthropy.
The chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands built a worldwide casino empire. Forbes ranked him the 19th wealthiest person in the U.S., worth an estimated $29.8 billion.
Netanyahu was at the airport late Thursday for the arrival of the casket, which was draped with American and Israeli flags. Adelson was laid to rest at a revered, centuries-old Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, in a private service.
Adelson was a driving force behind the Trump administration’s departure from decades of U.S. policy in recognizing the eternal, undivided city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and dropping objections to Jewish settlement activity in the liberated lands of Judea and Samaria.
Netanyahu, in one of a string of effusive eulogies by Israeli leaders, called Adelson “an incredible champion of the Jewish people, the Jewish state and the alliance between Israel and America.”
The Palestinians and other critics of Israeli policies viewed Adelson’s influence as an obstacle to efforts to bring about a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, an idea that recently has undergone scrutiny.
Israeli critics of Netanyahu viewed Adelson’s establishment of a free newspaper that strongly supports the prime minister as a multi-million-dollar campaign donation that further corrupted the country’s politics.
Others saw his support for Netanyahu as indispensible and a tremendous asset to the Jewish nation.
President Trump said that Adelson “lived the true American dream. His ingenuity, genius and creativity earned him immense wealth, but his character and philanthropic generosity his great name.”
Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that Adelson was “a leader and a great man, whose legacy will inspire generations for years to come. To his family, Pence added. “May G-d comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”
“Sheldon battled his way out of a tough Boston neighborhood to build a successful enterprise that loyally employed tens of thousands – and entertained millions,” said former President George W Bush said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “He was an American patriot.” (AP & TJVNews.com)
