Haim Saban, the Israeli entertainment mogul, has strongly denounced the leading candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee in America Keith Ellison. Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison is a Muslim and currently has little opposition to replace the former chair Debbi Wasserman Schultz.
But his religion is not the issue. Many, including the Ant-Defamation League, have spoken out against Ellison. The Congressman has gone on record making a number of virulent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments over the years. Ellison was a vocal supporter of The Nation of Islam, an Antisemitic organization, but now claims to have repudiated it.
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The comments came during the 13th annual Saban Forum at the Brookings Institution on Friday night. Israeli Defense Minister Liberman was being interviewed by CNN anchor Jake Tapper. When Liberman said that he was not aware of the things said by Keith Ellison, Haim Saban interrupted.
“The fact that Keith Ellison is a Muslim is a non-issue. If you listen to Keith Ellison today and you see his statements, he’s more of a Zionist than Herzl, Ben-Gurion, and Begin combined. It’s amazing. It’s a beautiful thing, said Saban. But then he added, “If you go back to his positions, his papers, his speeches, the way he has voted, he is clearly an anti-Semite, anti-Israel individual. Words matter and actions matter more. Keith Ellison would be a disaster for the relationship between the Jewish community and the Democratic Party.”
Haim Saban is not only a big supporter of Israel, but also of the Democratic Party. He gave more than $12 million to Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign.
