Only after the death of the late Sheldon Adelson, did I discover who he was, and how much he influenced Israel to become a state of the Jews • Now is the time to apologize to his family
1.
A few years ago I came across Sheldon Adelson exiting the toilets of the nation's buildings.
It was in some festive cocktail in honor of Shimon Peres.
In great pain: Sheldon Adelson 2021-1933
I remember seeing Adelson at that moment, and there was such an opportunity to talk to him.
It's not that I'm in the middle of hallway conversations with world haters.
What exactly will I talk to them about?
I passed him, as he slowly made his way to the elevator, and at that moment he was almost asked to tell him something.
I did not do that.
Why?
Because Adelson was perceived by me as a somewhat dubious type.
An elderly Las Vegas gambling mogul who dyes his hair orange and tries to bribe Netanyahu to promote his business.
I am ashamed to write that this is what I thought then, about ten years ago.
But the truth?
Until a few days ago this was pretty much what I thought of.
Although over time I was appreciated for anyone for his investment in Israel Today - the newspaper that made history when it broke the monopoly of opinions in the Israeli press market - but even this truly blessed thing was perceived by me as a move to advance suspicious interests.
2.
Minutes after the news of Adelson's death became known, articles and articles began to be published about his life story, and from paragraph to paragraph I got the suspicion that I might have been a little wrong with the man.
At first I read some moving obituaries about him in "Israel Today" and said to myself, there is no zero, it sounds like this Jew did some things in his life for the people of Israel, but from here to compare him to Montefiore or Rothschild?
Well, after the death of holy publishers said.
But then an amazing thing happened.
I read an article in a newspaper that was not owned by Adelson.
And I realized that I had made a mistake, not in a small, huge way.
The one who opened my eyes is Rogel Alper.
The title of his article, published in Haaretz the morning after his death, was: "Sheldon Adelson died, but his damage caused during his lifetime continued."
And so he wrote: "Although he was not an Israeli citizen, Adelson used his money to allow himself to have a tremendous impact on the lives of the residents of Israel and the West Bank ... Although he did not live here, Adelson allowed himself to shape the political consciousness of millions of Israelis through Israel Today. "Through 'Israel Today', Adelson nourished the noble journalism profession."
3.
Here I paused the flow of reading for a moment, and read again the sentence "the noble press profession," to make sure I had not imagined.
I laughed (out loud) and continued: "Adelson greatly helped Netanyahu to come to power and stay in it, and in doing so he also caused enormous damage to Israeli democracy. He contributed to the settlement enterprise, and especially to Ariel University, "Adelson allowed himself to decide the fate of the Palestinians in the West Bank, just as if they were flies."
Walper continues: "He greatly influenced the identity of Israel and its transformation into a state of Jews instead of Israelis, even though it is a state in which he did not live. He invested in the 'Birthright' project."
4.
Wow.
A piece of obituary.
How did I miss all these great deeds of Adelson in his life?
How come I did not connect all the dots to one line, to a whole drawing?
So what did we have here?
Investment in connecting Jewish youth in the Diaspora to Israel, investment in establishing the first university in Judea and Samaria, investment in strengthening the identity of the Jewish state and its connection with its friend the United States, and of course investing in promoting freedom of the press and opinions in Israel.
How did I not understand it myself?
Why do I let the media frame me philanthropists?
5.
And from that morning until this moment I read everything that has been written about Adelson.
Trying to bridge gaps of years back, in which he, along with his wife Dr. Miriam, influenced the Jewish world.
Speaking of Dr. Miriam Adelson: I really need to apologize to her, for a sin I committed before her in the blink of an eye. I decided, for some reason, that she must have "organized" her doctorate for herself. Only this week I learned about her miraculous endeavor. Then she went to study microbiology and genetics at the Hebrew University, and from there to medical studies at Tel Aviv University, which she graduated with honors. Then she specialized in internal medicine, and emergency room management. At the age of 46, she met Sheldon. And here his money did enter the picture. Dr. Miriam and her husband founded addiction research and treatment centers in the United States and Israel.
6.
I read about all the ventures and ask myself: What actually motivated the Adelson couple in all their charitable activities?
Here are some quotes that can answer the question, from the last interview Adelson gave a few months ago to the Makor Rishon newspaper, which he also owns.
Together with his wife, he tells of the beginning of his relationship with "Birthright": "We were looking for significant projects for the Jewish people. We heard that there was a waiting list of 10,000 young men and women a year who could not come to Israel because there was not enough money. So we decided to fund the entire waiting list. "
7.
"When I see American Jews not connected to Israel," said Miriam, "Jews who speak badly about Israel, seeking to boycott Israel as part of the BDS movement, I have pain and spasm in my brothers and sisters do not know the facts, they are filled with anger, "I hate them, but they are Jews in my eyes."
The article ends with an anecdote.
Miriam says that during the Corona period, 87-year-old Sheldon began learning Hebrew in one of the IAC courses.
"I am optimistic about his Hebrew studies," she says and even says what the first word Sheldon is proud to have learned to write in Hebrew: "Shabbat."
8.
On Friday night, two weeks after the pilot Jonathan and Esther Pollard's private plane landed at Ben Gurion Adelsons, this time with Sheldon's coffin. 87 years of economic success and caring, mutual concern, the exploitation of the global Jewish family help - ended. But the story is not really over, because how did they write in the moving obituary in Haaretz? "Sheldon Adelson died, but the damage he caused during his life will continue." Amen!
The full article was first published in the newspaper "Besheva" after the death of the late Sheldon Adelson