Monday, June 07, 2010

Meet a Hollywood Liberal

This week The New Yorker introduced me to Haim Sabam, the 102nd richest man in America, with an estimated net worth of almost 3 billion dollars. Sabam made his money in Hollywood (He's the one we have to thank for the Mighty Morphon Power Rangers), the largest chunk of it coming from the 2001 sale of Fox Family Worldwide to the Walt Disney Company. Saban counts both Hillary and Bill Clinton as close friends, and is the Democratic Party's largest single donor.

About his politics, this classic Hollywood liberal says this:  I’m a one-issue guy, and my issue is Israel.  "His greatest concern, he says, is to protect Israel, by strengthening the United States-Israel relationship." (The New Yorker) He has done this in any number of ways (read the article, or his Wiki for details), and though Sabon does not see eye to eye with Obama* he remains close with the Clintons and still preferred the Democrats over McCain.

Now, I don't claim that the existance of someone like Haim Sabon means that all of Hollywood labors days and night to make Israel safe, strong and secure. That would be as foolish as concluding that the existance of Helen Thomas proves that all of the media hates Israel, which - unsurprisingly! - too many RWers have done. Hollywood, like the media, is no monolith. Some Hollywood liberals, certainly, unabashedly support the Palestenians, just as some reporters are clearly pro-Hamas. But the reverse is true, too. Other Hollywoodniks, and other reporters, take Israel's side. The latter bias is acceptable in polite society and the former is not, but make no mistake: both are instances of bias.


*Points for honesty, please. I could have neglected to mention Sabon's break with Obama.




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