White House considering offer from mega
WASHINGTON â  The Trump administration  is considering an offer from Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson to pay for at least part of a new US embassy in Jerusalem  four US officials told the Associated Press.
In one possible scenario   the administration  would solicit contributions not only from Adelson but potentially from other donors in the evangelical and American Jewish communities  too. One official said Adelson  a Las Vegas casino magnate and staunch supporter of Israel  had offered to pay the difference between the total cost â expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars â and what  the administration  is able to raise.
Under any circumstance  letting private citizens cover the costs of an official government building would mark a significant departure from historical US practice. In the Jerusalem case  it would add yet another layer of controversy to  President Trumpâs  politically charged decision to move the embassy  given  Adelsonâs  longstanding affiliation with right-wing Israeli politics.
Itâs not clear if there are any precedents  nor whether government lawyers would give the green light to accept  Adelsonâs  or anyone else âs  donations for the embassy.
Adelson âs  unconventional offer was made around the time  Trump  announced in December  he  would move the embassy to the disputed city of Jerusalem. It would address the presidentâs stated distaste for shelling out eye-popping sums for overseas diplomatic facilities. Although  Trump  has promoted the Jerusalem move as fulfilling a key campaign promise   he  also was outspoken last month in blasting the $1 billion price tag for a new embassy in London.
Since  Trumpâs  announcement   his  administration has been sifting through options for fast-tracking the Israel embassyâs relocation. Last month  Vice President Mike Pence announced during a visit to Israel that the embassy would move by the end of 2019 â possibly earlier. Ambassador David Friedman  who lobbied for  Trumpâs  decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israelâs capital  has advocated moving the embassy as soon as possible.
see also  Trump  tells Palestinian leader US embassy will move to  Jerusalem President Trump  told Middle East leaders Tuesday that  he  plans...
 Adelson  who donated $5 million to Trumpâs inaugural committee   is one of the Republican Partyâs biggest donors and a major supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  Adelson  also finances Israel Hayom  a pro-Netanyahu newspaper that is distributed free throughout Israel.
If lawyers decide to allow donations for the Jerusalem embassy  it wouldnât be without significant political risk for  Trump .  The president  already faces major criticism from Palestinians and others who say  his  decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem â also claimed by the Palestinians for the capital of their future state â tipped the scaled unfairly in Israelâs favor.
Mort Klein  president of the pro-Israel group Zionist Organization of America and a close associate of  Adelson   said accepting donations would be ill-advised. Klein said he knew  Adelson  was âdeeply interestedâ in seeing the embassy relocate to Jerusalem but was unaware that the casino mogul had offered to help pay for it himself.
WASHINGTON â   [TGT] is considering an offer from Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson to pay for at least part of a new US embassy in Jerusalem  four US officials told the Associated Press.
In one possible scenario    [TGT] would solicit contributions not only from Adelson but potentially from other donors in the evangelical and American Jewish communities  too. One official said Adelson  a Las Vegas casino magnate and staunch supporter of Israel  had offered to pay the difference between the total cost â expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars â and what   [TGT] is able to raise.
Under any circumstance  letting private citizens cover the costs of an official government building would mark a significant departure from historical US practice. In the Jerusalem case  it would add yet another layer of controversy to  President Trumpâs  politically charged decision to move the embassy  given  Adelsonâs  longstanding affiliation with right-wing Israeli politics.
Itâs not clear if there are any precedents  nor whether government lawyers would give the green light to accept  Adelsonâs  or anyone else âs  donations for the embassy.
Adelson âs  unconventional offer was made around the time   [TGT] announced in December   [TGT]   would move the embassy to the disputed city of Jerusalem.  [TGT]  would address the presidentâs stated distaste for shelling out eye-popping sums for overseas diplomatic facilities. Although   [TGT] has promoted the Jerusalem move as fulfilling a key campaign promise   he  also was outspoken last month in blasting the $1 billion price tag for a new embassy in London.
Since  Trumpâs  announcement   his  administration has been sifting through options for fast-tracking the Israel embassyâs relocation. Last month  Vice President Mike Pence announced during a visit to Israel that the embassy would move by the end of 2019 â possibly earlier. Ambassador David Friedman  who lobbied for  Trumpâs  decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israelâs capital  has advocated moving the embassy as soon as possible.
see also   [TGT] tells Palestinian leader US embassy will move to   [TGT] told Middle East leaders Tuesday that   [TGT]   plans...
  [TGT] is one of the Republican Partyâs biggest donors and a major supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   [TGT] also finances Israel Hayom  a pro-Netanyahu newspaper that is distributed free throughout Israel.
If lawyers decide to allow donations for the Jerusalem embassy  it wouldnât be without significant political risk for  Trump .   [TGT] already faces major criticism from Palestinians and others who say   [TGT]   decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem â also claimed by the Palestinians for the capital of their future state â tipped the scaled unfairly in Israelâs favor.
Mort Klein  president of the pro-Israel group Zionist Organization of America and a close associate of   [TGT] said accepting donations would be ill-advised. Klein said he knew   [TGT] was âdeeply interestedâ in seeing the embassy relocate to Jerusalem but was unaware that the casino mogul had offered to help pay for it himself.