Adam Horowitz writes:
There is no way the Lobby avoided the Madoff collapse. Read Haaretz:
The loss to Jewish philanthropy as a whole has been
estimated between $600 million and $1 billion. "I consider that, if
anything, a conservative estimate," said Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis
University, one of the nation's leading authorities on American Jewish
history. "It is catastrophic — there's no other word. The Jewish
community will look different when this is all over."
estimated between $600 million and $1 billion. "I consider that, if
anything, a conservative estimate," said Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis
University, one of the nation's leading authorities on American Jewish
history. "It is catastrophic — there's no other word. The Jewish
community will look different when this is all over."
I guess the important question is – how will it look? One good sign: Financial woes could force cuts in Birthright Israel trips, with Haaretz suggesting that Sheldon Adelson won't deliver on his promises.
In 2007, Forbes valued Adelson's
fortune at $26.5 billion, and the casino mogul has been tagged "the
world's richest Jew." Though Adelson has generated controversy with his
donations to right-wing causes in the United States and Israel, his
generosity toward Birthright – totaling roughly $70 million over the
past four years – has earned him plaudits in the Jewish world.
fortune at $26.5 billion, and the casino mogul has been tagged "the
world's richest Jew." Though Adelson has generated controversy with his
donations to right-wing causes in the United States and Israel, his
generosity toward Birthright – totaling roughly $70 million over the
past four years – has earned him plaudits in the Jewish world.
But now, both Adelson and Birthright are facing harder times. In
Adelson's case, the fall has been precipitous. The stock of his
company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., which constitutes the bulk of his
wealth, has dropped 95 percent in value in the past year, costing him
more than $20 billion on paper. Last month, Adelson was forced to
invest $1 billion of his own money in the company to save it from
bankruptcy. In another sign of his recent woes, Freedom's Watch, a
not-for-profit group funded by Adelson to push a conservative political
agenda, will reportedly close its doors at the end of the year, after a
political season in which its spending and influence fell far short of
expectations.
