Politico adds up casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson's total campaign giving so far this cycle: "Worth just over $21 billion and now in the cross hairs of the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Adelson has made history: He is the first person to spend $70 million to sway a presidential election, and he plans to spend more — perhaps as much as $100 million — by Election Day. An estimated $20 million to $30 million of the giving went to groups that do not disclose their donors and …More

Israeli and Palestinian officials reach a deal on tax transfers. [The Huffington Post] Times of Israel breaks down the confusing story of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi's now-infamous letter to Shimon Peres, which Israel insists was genuine. [The Times of Israel] French swimmer Fabien Gilot sports a Hebrew tattoo in remembrance of his grandmother's Holocaust-surviving husband. [Tablet] Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga are among the celebrities congratulating Aly Raisman and the rest of the US Olympics gymnastics …More

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson has announced he’s willing to spend $100 million to force Barack Obama out of the White House. Adelson, a Jewish businessman worth a reported $25 billion, made the admission in an interview with Forbes. The casino mogul recently donated $10 million to GOP candidate Mitt Romney’s Super PAC, proving Adelson can put his money where his mouth is. Adelson told writer Steven Bertoni that his contributions to Romney’s campaign could potentially be “limitless,” …More

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney met with billionaire Sheldon Adelson Tuesday, in what is rumored to be a first step toward a funding deal for Romney’s Super PAC. Adelson, whose fortune stems from lucrative Las Vegas casinos and resorts, was a previous backer of failed candidate Newt Gingrich. That support saw Adelson repeatedly criticize Romney in the media, though the mogul did ultimately admit he would support whoever secured the Republican nomination. Romney put an end to the lengthy GOP primary …More

President Obama enjoys the support of three-fifths of American Jews, according to the latest American Jewish Committee survey, a significant improvement over where he stood half a year ago in the organization’s polling. The poll, released Monday, shows Obama with 61 percent of the Jewish vote, as opposed to 28 percent for Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is the likely Republican nominee. That’s an improvement for the president over an AJC survey in September, when Obama scored 50 …More

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam have donated $5 million to a super PAC supporting Republican congressional candidates, federal filings released Sunday show. The Adelsons made the donation in February to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC connected with House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders in congress. Adelson is also reportedly hosting a fundraiser for Boehner umbrella group on Friday. Previously, Adelson and his wife had donated a combined $16 million to a super …More

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney have a longstanding friendship dating back to their time at Boston Consulting Group in 1976, alleged an article published in the New York Times Sunday. Romney and Netanyahu were both hired as corporate advisers at the Boston Consulting Group and worked there concurrently for two years in the 1970s. According to the New York Times article, this shared history spawned a warm friendship and exchange of political …More

Speculation has been swirling for months on how the Jewish vote will swing come November. Concerns about Barack Obama’s stance on Israel and sometimes-rocky relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu have fueled a dialogue in the media and Jewish community, raising questions about who will get the final support of American Jewry. It’s a discussion not without merit, as a possible Republican endorsement would mean a break from the Jewish tradition of supporting Democratic candidates. Now, a poll by the …More

A Jewish billionaire who helped fund Newt Gingrich’s Republican primary campaign has predicted the candidate has come to the end of the line. [Jerusalem Post] A civics textbook in Israel is under attack for its oversimplification of the Israeli-Arab conflict. [Israel Hayon] A group of Israelis have created a YouTube video aimed at promoting friendship with Syria. [Israel Hayom] Peter Beinart responds to criticism of his new book, “The Crisis of Zionism.” [Tablet] A Jerusalem mikvah is …More

Though he has donated $16.5 million to Newt Gingrich’s super PAC, Jewish casino mogul Sheldon Adelson admitted that the candidate is nearing the end of his run. "It appears as though he's ... at the end of his line," Adelson said to a small group attending JFNA’s Tribe Fest, The Jewish Journal reports. "Mathematically it appears he can't get anywhere near the numbers and ... unlikely there'll be a brokered convention." Gingrich has only 135 of the 1,144 delegates needed to gain the GOP nomination. …More

Fred Karger--the gay, Jewish, pro-choice Republican mounting a super-longshot bid for the GOP presidential nomination--has finally had his surge, courtesy of Puerto Rico primary voters. Granted, it’s not as dramatic of a surge as other GOP hopefuls have enjoyed. The Yahoo! News campaign blog The Ticket reports: "Ron Paul not only placed last in Sunday's Puerto Rico primary, he lost to Fred Karger, the former actor and political consultant who has never before held elected office." "Karger, who brands …More

An Illinois congressional candidate running as a Republican in the upcoming primary has said that the “Holocaust never happened.” Sixty-four year-old Arthur Jones is an insurance salesman who organizes family-friendly neo-Nazi events to commemorate Adolf Hitler’s birthday in his free time. The businessman hopes to win the Republican ballot and run against Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. “As far as I’m concerned, the Holocaust is …More