Biden donors rage over his pledge to pause weapon shipments to Israel: 'Bad, bad, bad decision'
Multiple prominent pro-Israel Biden donors are slamming the president for threatening to pause weapon shipments to Israel if the country invades Rafah, Hamas’ stronghold in southern Gaza.
News outlet Axios obtained an email from Israeli American Democratic megadonor Haim Saban that was sent to White House officials on Wednesday, blasting Biden for the decision. Another Democrat Party advocate, Mark Mellman, criticized the move in a statement to Axios.
"Bad, Bad, Bad, decision, on all levels, Pls reconsider," Saban’s email stated, along with the note that Biden’s position "sends a terrible message to our allies in the region and beyond."
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Biden confirmed his position in a CNN interview that aired Wednesday, telling the outlet, "If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem."
"We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently," Biden told CNN. "But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells."
Some Israelis believe, in addition to a number of American politicians, that Biden is pandering to the far-left and progressive base of the Democratic Party ahead of the November election with his decision to pull the plug on weapons delivery to Israel.
Thousands of Hamas terrorists and its infamous leader, Yahya Sinwar, are holed up in Rafah — a city of over 1 million Palestinians — and the jihadi organization is using hostages, some of whom may be Americans, as human shields to deter an Israeli incursion.
Saban’s memo to Biden accused the president of abandoning the goals that the U.S. has expressed in its recent support for Israel, namely the defeat of Hamas.
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He stated, "Dear President Biden, WE, the US, as you stated numerous times, believe that Hamas should be defeated. WE, the US, in this case YOU Mr President, have decided to stop sending munitions to Israel to achieve the goal that WE/YOU have set up for Israel and ourselves."
Saban also said a pause sends the message that the U.S. is abandoning doing the right thing by "bending to political pressure."
The chairman and CEO of Saban Capital Group threw a major fundraiser for Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign at his Los Angeles home in February.
Mellman, the CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel – a political group promoting support for Israel among Democratic politicians – told Axios, "there has never been a president more pro-Israel than Joe Biden but at the same time we are very concerned about what appears to be a significant shift in US policy."
"There are a lot of people in the pro-Israel community who are very worried, very upset and very angry," Mellman said, adding, "We don't know what the consequences are going to be politically."
The House Oversight Committee announced that it is opening an investigation into the Biden administration over its threats to withhold offensive aid from Israel.
The White House did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.