Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Saban is welcomed in Qatar

"His greatest concern,” Bruck writes, “is to protect Israel, by strengthening the United States-Israel relationship.” When Bill Clinton was President and Ehud Barak was Israel’s Prime Minister, Bruck writes, “Saban, who was close to both men, occasionally provided a back channel for communications.” During the Camp David negotiations, Saban told Bruck, “I was involved, but only on the periphery. If Barak could not say some things to Clinton to his face, he would ask me to convey a message, and vice versa.” In early March, shortly before Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel, Saban was part of a group of fifteen prominent Jews invited to the White House. “Most were leaders of Jewish organizations or close Biden supporters—and then there was Saban,” Bruck writes. In the meeting, Saban told Biden that the Administration “may want to consider the fact that their relationship with their Israeli wife is more valuable than their newfound relationship with their Arab mistress.”" (thanks Rania)