By Eric Margolis
March 12, 2021 "Information
Clearing House" - Most billionaires spend
their money on mansions, yachts, airplanes and much
younger wives. But not so casino mogul Sheldon
Adelson who died in Las Vegas on January 11th, aged
87.
Adelson rose from humble origins. He used his $33
billion plus gambling fortune to buy governments in
order to fulfill his passion for Zionism. He became
one of the single most important private political
influences in both the United States and Israel.
Through his political action committees and
charities, Adelson focused the huge power of his
money on expanding Israel’s borders, squeezing
Palestinians into ever smaller ghettos, and ensuring
that the Jewish state received almost unlimited
American military, financial and political support.
Over recent years, Adelson gave at least $150
million to Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
That’s a lot of money for nickel and dime
politicians. Adelson also financed a host of
political action committees, mostly with tax
deductible funds. Some sources even spoke of $11
billion worth of political donations. Those few
legislators who did not kowtow to Adelson or the
idea of a greater Israel were quickly subjects of
his wrath and sharp political attacks. US senators
Newt Gingrich and Marco Rubio became major recipient
of donations from kingmaker Adelson. However, the
most important recipient was Donald Trump.
An important part of Trump’s political funding
came from Adelson’s casinos and a coterie of
ardently pro-Israel billionaires. Many were linked
to Israel’s rightwing Likud Party. In fact, one of
Trump’s prime political goals was aiding Israel’s
hard expansionist government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Critics accused Trump of being a Trojan Horse
for Israel’s far right. The US State Department
was gutted by Trump and his hatchet-man Mike
Pompeo, allegedly for harboring too many ‘old
Mideast’ hands who were insufficiently
submissive to Israel’s demands. Other government
agencies were similarly purged, including CIA
and Voice of America. Media commentators who did
not toe the pro-Likud line were consigned to
obscurity.
In Israel, Adelson was even more direct. He
created a free newspaper, ‘Israel Today,’ to support
policies of Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party.
Adelson played an important role in crushing
Israel’s peace parties that opposed Netanyahu.
After years of lavish spending, Adelson ended up
giving marching orders to both Trump and Netanyahu.
As a Parthian shaft, the departing Trump muscled the
Arab states of the United Emirates, Oman, Bahrain,
and Morocco to come out of the closet to recognize
Israel and ditch the Palestinians. Orders from
Washington could not be ignored by these monarchies
and autocracies.
Trump’s other pillar of support was America’s
Christian fundamentalists. As author Upton Sinclair
wrote before WWII, ‘when fascism comes to America,
it will be under the sign of the cross.’ The mob of
pro-Trump thugs that stormed the US Congress was
seen waving ‘Jesus saves’ banners – but these were
quickly deleted from later TV news reports. Still,
extreme Christian rightists remain a powerful force
in American life and seemingly limitless support for
Israel. They are also the key power bloc in the
Republican party.
As I wrote three years ago, the Republican Party
has become a religious cult. It has nothing at all
in common with the old, moderate party of Lincoln or
Eisenhower. The new Republicans are found it the
southern and Midwest Bible Belt that brought the US
Prohibition and racial politics. This reborn Bible
belt was anti-intellectual, xenophobic,
anti-education and steeped in primitive theology.
Donald Trump was clever enough to gain control of
America’s hillbilly right by setting himself up as a
quasi-religious Biblical figure. Many of his
apparently bizarre actions were political theater
designed to play to religious fundamentalists or to
the type of primitives who stormed the US Capitol.
In spite of this monstrous political crime, the
Republicans remain firmly under Trump’s thumb and
almost in power. The next mid-term elections might
well bring them back to power. Trump and his
rightwing Israeli allies are counting the days.
Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning,
internationally syndicated columnist. His articles
have appeared in the New York Times, the
International Herald Tribune the Los Angeles Times,
Times of London, the Gulf Times, the Khaleej Times,
Nation – Pakistan, Hurriyet, – Turkey, Sun Times
Malaysia and other news sites in Asia.
https://ericmargolis.com
Copyright Eric S. Margolis 2021
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