Friends of the Israel Defense Forces
07/07/2010
A+
|
a-
Print Friendly and PDF
A friend who was employed fundraising for a Democratic candidate was struck by all the interesting charities he came across when looking for the names of big givers. For example, there's the:
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Their job is to look after Israel. Ours is to look after them.

On Thursday, December 17th, more than 1,100 people filled the International Ballroom of The Beverly Hilton hotel to honor Israel's brave soldiers. The annual LA Gala, which was once again chaired by Cheryl & Haim Saban, was completely sold out by the first of December and set a new record raising $5.2 million in support of a variety of programs that ease the burden and further the wellbeing of Israel's soldiers.

Jason Alexander served as Master of Ceremonies for the event... In announcing that the Gala had raised $1.6 million, Gala Chair Haim Saban stated that he and his wife, Cheryl, would be matching that total "dollar for dollar."

Haim Saban, owner of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, is, of course, one of the top donors to the Democratic National Committee, the Brookings Institute, and the Clinton Foundation. He was a key supporter of Hillary Clinton's run for the Democratic nomination in 2008. Saban's donations are, apparently, tax-deductible:
"Headquartered in New York City, FIDF is a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation that operates 13 regional offices in the United States and two offices in Latin America."
Saban is a dual citizen of Israel and America. He was born in Alexandria, then moved to Israel due to the 1956 Suez Canal war, and then moved to America in 1975.

Presumably, Saban took the Oath of Allegiance when he became a U.S. citizen. I don't know what the exact wording of the Oath of Allegiance was when he took it, but it currently reads:

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."
Who do we think we're kidding with this Oath? (Not Haim Saban, that's for sure.)
Print Friendly and PDF