cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/14477917

Meet the three American families bank-rolling Israel's Benjamin

  • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    7 months ago

    older article (2015), but here's the meat:

    Public records show this fits with previous elections campaigns. In the past, almost half of his funding has come from three American families – the Falic family of Florida which owns the Duty Free Americas airport shops, the Schottenstein family, owners of the American Eagle Outfitters fashion chain, and the Book family of New Jersey, owners of Jet Support Systems.

    The Falics - Brothers Leon, Simon and Jerome Falic purchased what is now Duty Free Americas, Inc, the largest duty-free operator in the United States, in 2001. The brothers also own the French fashion design house Christian Lacroix and the license to distribute Perry Ellis brand fragrances and cosmetics. Their mother, Nily Falic, is the chair of Friends of the Israeli Defence Force, a New York-based organisation that raises funds for the Israeli army. Simon Falic’s wife, Jana, is co-president of the Women’s International Zionist Organistion, Israel’s largest non-governmental service provider. The three Falic brothers and 12 of their family members have made 682 political donations to politicians including ranging from Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Eric Cantor and Charles Schumer, according to the JTA.org website. All four politicians – three Republicans and one Democrat - have voiced strong support of Israel. In 2012, the Falics donated $45,000 to Mr Netanyahu's campaign.

    The Schottensteins - For three generations, the Schottenstein family of Columbus, Ohio, has ruled over a retailing empire that includes brands such as American Eagle Outfitters and DSW shoes. The family firm began in 1917, when the family’s Lithuanian-born patriarch Ephraim Schottenstein amassed enough money from selling goods out of a horse-drawn cart to open the first Schottenstein department store. Today, the company has more than 20,000 stores nationwide and is worth an estimated $3bn. In 2007, two sisters of Jay Schottenstein, the chairman of Schottenstein Stores Corp, sued him for improper use of family trust funds. Mr Schottenstein, who has denied the allegations, is also a well-known corporate executive who was once nominated to be one of Time’s 100 most influential people by Ohio basketball star LeBron James. The non-profit Saul Schottenstein Foundation awards grants to dozens of Jewish organisations.

    The Books - The Book family heads Jet Support Systems, Inc., the largest aircraft maintenance company in the world. Company chairman Robert Book is also the chairman of his own private equity firm and the Franklin Mint, a private mint in Philadelphia that produces collectible coins and medallions. In 1998, the Franklin Mint was sued by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund which alleged it had produced Diana merchandise without a proper license. Eventually the matter was settled out of court with the fund paying $21.5mn (£14.2m) to charitable causes.