Sheldon Adelson, Champion of the Jewish People, Israel, Has Died at 87

By | January 12, 2021

Sheldon Adelson speaks at the “Facing Tomorrow” Presidential Conference in Jerusalem.

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

Jerusalem, Israel — January 12, 2021 … He was a giant among Jews. He had a warm and dedicated heart that funded medical research, Jewish culture, Aliya to Israel, victims of terrorism, helped the needy and did all he could to make sure that Israel remained secure.

Sheldon Adelson owned Israel’s largest daily newspaper; donated to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust remembrance center in Jerusalem, helped support Birthright Israel, which pays for educational trips to Israel for young Jewish adults and had front-row seats in 2018 as US officials opened the US Embassy in Jerusalem .

In a White House ceremony in 2018, his wife, Israeli-born Miriam Adelson, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. The White House cited her work to support medical research and Jewish causes.

Adelson, who was born August 4, 1933, in Boston, sold newspapers on street corners at 12. At 16, he had invested in candy machines. He served in the U.S. Army, sold condominiums, worked as a mortgage broker and as a venture capitalist, became the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Casino and a major donor to Republican politicians. He passed away late Monday following complications related to his cancer treatment. He was 87.

“Sara and I are heartbroken by the passing of Sheldon Adelson,” said
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“He was a wonderful friend to us personally and an incredible champion of the Jewish people, the Jewish state and the alliance between Israel and America.

Sheldon unabashedly loved America and cherished the freedom and opportunity it gave him. He worked tirelessly to ensure that very same freedom and opportunity would be given to others in America and around the world.

The warmth of his heart, the clarity of his thinking and the decisiveness of his actions were truly exceptional.

From humble beginnings in a suburb of Boston, he rose to be one of world’s greatest entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

With his wife Miri he contributed endlessly to strengthening the Jewish people and the Jewish state, funding breakthroughs in medicine and science and advancing higher education. He gave anonymously to help victims of terror and countless other people in need.

Sara and I join Miri and the family in mourning a great friend, a great man, and a great Jewish patriot.

We will never forget him. May his memory be blessed.”

Adelson’s funeral will be held in Israel, the birthplace of his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson. Plans for a memorial in Las Vegas, where he operated the Venetian and Palazzo casinos, will be held at a later date.

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