Sheldon and Miriam Adelson
Sheldon and Miriam AdelsonIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Sheldon Adelson wrote in his Yisrael HaYom newspaper Sunday that former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s accusations of his using Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s to interfere in the U.S. elections are baseless. Adelson concluded that Olmert may hold a grudge against his newspaper.

Writing under the headline “Conspiracy Theory,” the tycoon stated that Olmert has no proof for his charges and added, “Netanyahu is not exactly known as a man who is easily influenced.” Olmert’s claim that he agreed to be “my puppet during the U.S. presidential elections” is far-fetched, he wrote.

Adelson said that reading Olmert’s claims reminded him of an old joke that a Jew prefers reading about anti-Semitism, because it makes him feel powerful being accused of things such as “how Jews control Congress, how Jews 'mama' the media and how Jews pull the strings in international politics.”

He told readers that “much has been said about my friendship with Netanyahu, especially by Olmert and Yediot Acharonot,” which Yisrael HaYom has displaced as Israel’s most popular Hebrew language newspaper.

“It is convenient to forget that I also am a close friend of Shimon Peres, Eli Wiesel and Alan Dershowitz, who is a solid supporter of President Obama,” Adelson added. “Netanyahu does not obey my orders and more than any of my other friends.

“Olmert is granting me power I simply do not have.

“The Prime Minister of Israel is an independent person,” the Yisrael HaYom owner explained, “I can testify that Netanyahu always maintained neutrality in every matter concerning the elections in the United States, as every other reasoned leader would do.

"In trying to understand Olmert’s claim, I can only conclude that he still holds a grudge against the newspaper" for its publicizing a series of article in criminal probes that were followed by a sharp dive in his popularity before he was forced to resign.

Olmert since has been convicted of one charge while acquitted on two others, and he still is charged with bribery in the Holyland building complex while he was mayor of Jerusalem.

"Olmert has a right to manage his own political campaign, but he must come up with something more that conspiracy theories if wants to remove Netanyahu,” according to Adelson.