For years, Miriam Adelson was an enigma in Israeli society. Her name was often uttered with an asterisk—accompanied by skepticism, controversy, and a mix of admiration and disdain.
She and her late husband Sheldon were viewed as kingmakers, puppeteers, or just another set of billionaires trying to shape Israeli politics in their image. Their immense wealth, their influence over both Israel and the US, and—perhaps most of all—their endless support for Benjamin Netanyahu made them divisive figures.
But something has changed. Israelis—especially Israeli media—are finally waking up to a reality that should have been obvious all along: Miriam Adelson is the most significant donor to the Jewish world and to Israel in our era. She is, in no uncertain terms, the Rothschild of today.
The turning point
So why the shift? It’s not that Adelson has suddenly become more generous—she has always been one of the most prolific Jewish philanthropists. It’s that Israelis have finally started looking at her work without the Netanyahu filter.
In recent months, she has thrown her full weight behind one issue: the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza. And unlike many who pay lip service, she is actually making things happen.
As Channel 12 reported a few weeks ago, “In the past few weeks, one name keeps coming up as a significant force in pressuring for the release of the hostages and influencing US President Donald Trump’s stance: billionaire Miriam Adelson, or 'Miri,' as those close to her call her.”
Adelson has personally met with hostage families, ensuring they have access to the most influential people in Washington and pressuring Trump to act. “She is one of the biggest donors to the president and worked behind the scenes to ensure Trump is fully committed to the mission,” N12 reported.
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, an advisor to Trump’s re-election campaign, described her efforts: “She stood by Trump, and she worked with all her strength to explain to everyone around the president exactly what the hostage situation entailed.”
Sharon Even Haim, a businessman and family friend, said bluntly: “Miri is something else. It comes from within. She dedicates so much time to doing everything in her power to ensure all the hostages return home.”
It turns out that when you have Miriam Adelson’s resources and access, you don’t just influence policy—you rewrite it.
No longer Netanyahu’s “ATM”
For years, the Adelsons were synonymous with Netanyahu’s political survival. Their media empire—particularly Israel Hayom—was widely seen as a personal PR machine for him. That changed when Netanyahu was caught negotiating with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Noni Mozes about limiting Israel Hayom’s reach in exchange for more favorable coverage.
That betrayal cut deep.
During her testimony in Netanyahu’s corruption case, Adelson reportedly recalled a conversation with Sara Netanyahu: “She told me that if Iran gets nuclear weapons and Israel is wiped out, I will be to blame because I’m not defending Bibi enough.”
Think about that. After pouring hundreds of millions into Netanyahu’s political survival, the message she got was that she wasn’t doing enough.
That was the beginning of the end.
Even Haim, speaking about the criticism of Israel Hayom as Netanyahu’s mouthpiece, said to N12: “In the end, everyone now understands that the newspaper and everything they do is not for one man or a particular mission. It’s for the bigger picture—this thing called the State of Israel and the Jewish people. And I’m very, very, very happy that people are finally seeing that, because for many years, they didn’t.”
Adelson’s foray into Israeli media was driven not only by business interests but by a desire to provide what Sheldon called a “fair and balanced” news source. In 2006, he first entered the market by acquiring 50% of the free daily Israeli, but after disagreements with co-owner Shlomo Ben-Tzvi, he launched Israel Hayom in 2007.
The newspaper quickly became Israel’s most widely read daily, despite allegations that it functioned as a financial vehicle to support Netanyahu. Israel Hayom reportedly cost Adelson around NIS 100 million a year, though its finances remain private.
In 2014, he expanded his media influence by purchasing Makor Rishon and the then Maariv news site NRG, further solidifying his impact on Israeli journalism. His aggressive legal battle with Channel 10 (Now Channel 13) over a critical report on him led to an unprecedented on-air retraction and the resignation of senior news executives.
Since 2018, Miriam Adelson has served as the publisher of Israel Hayom, continuing the couple’s vision of a powerful pro-Israel media empire.
A power broker without the PR machine
Unlike other billionaire donors, Miriam Adelson never sought public credit. “She wants to make things happen but does the minimum necessary to push her agenda publicly,” said Even Haim.
That’s why many Israelis are only now realizing the extent of her work. She has been a relentless supporter of Jewish causes, from Taglit-Birthright to Yad Vashem, Israeli medical institutions, and the Israeli-American Council (IAC). She owns an NBA team, funds pro-Israel media, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump for her work in addiction treatment.
And yet, for years, the story was always about her political affiliations rather than her impact.
That changed when her commitment to the hostages became impossible to ignore.
Gidi Mark, CEO of Taglit-Birthright, described the couple’s dynamic over the years: “Sheldon and Miriam were a couple like I’ve never seen before, if ever. She was him, and he was her—nothing could separate them. Even though he was ostensibly the leading figure in business, she was always learning, and he himself said that many of his ideas in their married life came from her mind. He credited her with much of his business success.”
Mark also highlighted in the same N12 segment what makes Adelson different from many other philanthropists: “She is a Zionist, Zionist, Zionist—she is crazy about the State of Israel, sees herself as a proud Jew. She does many large-scale strategic initiatives, but what makes her unique is her ability to combine these with a personal touch, reaching out to 'ordinary' people who are very important to her.”
Miriam Adelson’s transformation in the public eye isn’t because she changed—it’s because Israel finally caught up.
For years, she was seen as a benefactor with an agenda. Now, she is understood for what she truly is: the single most influential Jewish philanthropist in the world, someone who does more than write checks—she moves history.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s time Israelis stopped judging their greatest benefactors by their political affiliations and started judging them by their impact.
Miriam Adelson has been building the Jewish future for decades. Israel is only now starting to realize it.