Sheldon Adelson attending the fourth Annual Champions Of Jewish Values International Awards Gala in New York City, May 5, 2016. (Steve Mack/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sheldon Adelson asked other Republican Jewish leaders to back Donald Trump.
The Associated Press obtained an email Adelson sent to more than 50 members of the Republican Jewish Coalition in which he asks them to support Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Adelson, a casino magnate and major backer of pro-Israel causes, says he is convinced Trump will be a “tremendous president when it comes to the safety and security of Israel,” the AP reports.
“Like many of you, I do not agree with him on every issue, Adelson writes. “However, I will not sit idly by and let Hillary Clinton become the next president. The consequences to our country, and Israel, are far too great to take that risk.”
Adelson attached to the email an op-ed endorsing Trump he wrote last week for the Washington Post. It was reported over the weekend that he told Trump he would be willing to spend more than $100 million to help get him elected.
The billionaire real estate magnate’s insurgent campaign has alienated much of the Republican establishment, as well as the party’s Jewish donors, in part because of his rhetoric on Muslims, Hispanics and women. Jews also have been unsettled by his peregrinations on Israel, at times saying he will be neutral when dealing with the country, at other times embracing right-wing pro-Israel talking points.
Trump has mostly self-financed his campaign until now, but has said he will seek broader support as he heads into an expensive general election against Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee.
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