Democratic megadonor and Hollywood media mogul Haim Saban criticized President Biden’s decision to suspend an arms shipment to Israel because they could be used in an offensive against a densely populated town in southern Gaza.
“Let’s remember that there are more Jewish voters who care about Israel than Muslim voters who care about Hamas,” Saban wrote in an email to top Biden aides Steve Ricchetti and Anita Dunn. Axios reported THURSDAY.
The comments drew condemnation from American Muslim leaders, who called Saban’s email “unhinged, hateful and angry” and “virulently anti-Muslim.”
“The White House should reject Mr. Saban’s threatening email, condemn his hateful message, and sever ties with him,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “Mega-donors like Haim Saban should have no more access to policymakers or influence over public policy than the average American. »
Biden told CNN on Wednesday that while the United States would continue to support Israel’s defense, as it has historically, it would not provide bombs and artillery shells that the Middle Eastern nation could be used in an assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip. More than a million civilians have taken refuge in the southern Gaza city, which is the last major stronghold of Hamas, the militant group that carried out the deadly October 7 attack on Israel.
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated the president’s position on Thursday.
“What the president made clear on CNN is that we do not want to provide material support for such an operation,” she told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We have held a shipment of high payload unguided munitions and have discussed with Israel any concerns regarding their use in dense urban environments. »
The arms delivery debate reflects a broader and growing divide between the Biden administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack and its attempt to defeat Hamas, against the backdrop demands aimed at limiting civilian casualties in Gaza.
This takes place during an election year where Biden is in a tight fight with former President Trump. Jewish and Muslim Americans are part of the Democratic coalition that Biden must keep intact to win reelection, especially in states like Michigan.
Saban, an Israeli-American billionaire who hosted Biden’s latest Southern California fundraiser at his sprawling Beverly Park estate in February, responded to Biden’s comments by urging Dunn and Ricchetti to deliver his message to the president.
In his email, Saban wrote that Biden’s decision to stop sending munitions to Israel “sends a terrible message to our allies in the region” and shows that the United States “can stop doing what is right and bow to political pressure.”
He urged the president to reconsider his decision, which he called “wrong…on every level,” and concluded with “Thank you. Respectfully.”
Saban did not respond to a request for comment.
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