Netanyahu's 'list of millionaires'

List of potential donors prepared by then-opposition leader in 2007 provides peek into his fundraising industry in US. Officials include extreme rightists, people who got in trouble with law

Ynet |Published: 10.22.10 , 12:24

Prime minister's foreign legion revealed: Benjamin Netanyahu's list of potential donors, which was prepared ahead of the 2007 primary elections, was published Friday by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

One of the documents, which includes comments in Netanyahu's handwriting, provides a peek into his fundraising industry in the United States. The then-opposition leader erased from the list people he believed would not give him money for the Likud primary elections. He divided the others into four categories according to whether contacting them is "worth the effort."

List of potential donors

The first group includes the foreigners worthwhile of contacting, and only one name – of a person who does not donate to the Right – was erased by Netanyahu. The numbers 3 and 4 were marked next to the names of millionaires with a small chance of donating.

The Israelis marked by Netanyahu on the list did not donate to his primaries campaign. Those who agreed to donate are mainly American citizens, and few British and French people, including extreme rightists and people who got in trouble with the law.

According to estimates, 98% of the funds donated to Netanyahu came from abroad.

One of the men on the list, Kenneth S. Abramowitz, is convinced that concessions are futile and that the crises between Israel and the US will continue until the Obama administration is "thrown out." He referred to the members of the leftist J Street lobby as "in need of psychiatric care."

The Prime Minister's Office said in response to the Yedioth inquiry, "Netanyahu makes his decisions in accordance with what is good for the State, not according to the opinions of donors, as important as they may be. State considerations are his top priority and claims that he would favor those who donated to his election campaign are groundless.

"As can be seen in the list of donors, they hold diverse opinions and do not all belong to one camp. His approach is that funds should be raised abroad so as not to put anyone in a potential conflict of interests, and this is the reason he prefers donations from abroad."