Israel-American billionaire and media mogul Haim Saban, one of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, on Wednesday issued a scathing criticism of the Obama administration’s recent anti-Israel actions.
In a harshly worded statement quoted by Breitbart, Saban said he is “deeply disturbed” by the Obama administration’s allowing of the anti-Israel resolution to pass in the United Nations Security Council, as well as Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech last week, in which he said Israeli “settlements” are an obstacle to peace.
“As a longstanding Democrat who has supported and defended President Obama on his treatment of Israel throughout his presidency, I am deeply disturbed by the Administration’s decision not to veto UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and Secretary Kerry’s subsequent one sided speech,” Saban, who donated more than $10 million to Hillary Clinton’s losing presidential campaign, said.
“These actions undermine our country’s long-standing support for Israel and harm any long-term prospects for peace, which is in our national interest,” he added. “Further, I urge the Obama Administration to stay true to our decades old policy by vetoing any additional biased UNSC resolutions that may be introduced at the Paris summit later this month, and refrain from issuing any other policy statements that would only make things worse.”
UNSC Resolution 2334 passed in December by a 14-0 vote, with the U.S. departing from its longstanding policy by abstaining from the vote and allowing it to pass.
In his statement Wednesday, Saban called the successful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a “core American interest” and urged the U.S. to “maintain its credibility as an intermediary between the parties.”
Saban’s rebuke of the Obama administration follows his recent criticism of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), one of the leading contenders to chair the Democratic National Committee who has in the past criticized Israel and expressed support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
As well, emails leaked by WikiLeaks before the presidential election showed that Saban advised Clinton as far back as 2015 to distance herself from Obama’s Israel policies in order to get Jewish votes.
Saban is hardly the only Democrat to have rebuked the Obama administration following the passage of the resolution. A group of six Democratic senators — including Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-VT) and Chris Coons (D-VA) — each issued condemnations of the resolution in the days following the vote, noted Breitbart.
Prominent author and Harvard Professor Emeritus of Law Alan Dershowitz, a longtime backer of Obama, has also levelled criticism at the outgoing president.
Dershowitz told the Israel Hayom newspaper last Friday that Obama “will be tossed into the dustbin of history when it comes to the Middle East” and accused Obama of stabbing Israel in the back.
