Michael Cieply: Haim Saban Roars Like A Mogul, And The Echoes Still Sound

Michael Cieply
·4 min read
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The loudest voice in Hollywood last week belonged to Haim Saban. “Bad . . . Bad . . . bad decision, on all levels,” he roared, in an email to President Joseph Biden, sent via White House aides, denouncing the Administration’s announced plan to withhold bombs and artillery shells from Israel if it proceeds against Hamas in the population centers of Rafah.

About the policy itself, opinions vary (to put it mildly). Congressional representative Ilhan Omar happily declared that pro-Palestinian protests had worked. Former Biden spokesperson Jen Psaki said Biden should have used his “leverage” sooner. But by week’s end, Presidential surrogates, feeling heat from critics, were looking for semantic wiggle room; Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Biden was solid behind Israel, but had been guilty of ‘imprecision.’

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In any case, it is impossible not to be impressed by the clear, emphatic and melodramatic declaration from Saban, whose brief missive—addressing “YOU Mr. President”—warned of “the terrible message to our allies in the region,” that we can “flip from doing the right thing to bending to political pressure.”

Saban then applied some pressure of his own, reminding Biden—for whom he had raised millions of dollars as co-chair of a political fundraiser in February—that there are “more Jewish voters, who care about Israel, than Muslim voters that care about Hamas.”

In a political era tainted by hidden agendas, party-line hatred and no small amount of name-calling, Haim Saban, philanthropist and political donor, had done one of the most difficult things imaginable: He had called out a powerful ally who, in his view, had undercut a cause in which he passionately believes.

He had released the Kraken. He sounded like a genuine bolt-hurling mogul, something that isn’t as common as it used to be.

Celebrities, some of them, may sound off on social media or on the red carpet, or may bang the drum for donations, as George Clooney and Julia Roberts are expected to do in the run-up to another Biden money event next month. But Hollywood’s corporate power elite, the owners and chief executives, seem mostly to line up quietly and dutifully as contributors to approved political causes, almost all on the Democratic side. Biden fundraiser Jeffrey Katzenberg is a loyalist; his harsh words are pretty much reserved for the other side. Rare indeed is someone who speaks out of line. Whatever deals these donors may cut, it is done privately.

Help with China? A merger approved? Internet regulations untangled? For the most part, you and I will never know what subtle pressure went into the mix.

And then there’s Haim Saban. Like the late Lew Wasserman and his exceedingly forthright lieutenant Sid Sheinberg, he is not afraid to speak in declarative sentences. Like David Geffen, when Geffen was still engaged, he will say things that hurt if he feels they need to be said. Like Rupert Murdoch, he has weight and is willing to use it. As with Ari Emanuel, in the current generation, his opinions are strongly held.

In Saban’s case, leverage comes from a fortune built all over the entertainment and media business, with notable support from the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers franchises.

Saban and his wife Cheryl are generous. You will find their names on a center for Middle Eastern policy in Washington, a children’s health research institute at USC, community clinics around Los Angeles, a media enclave at the television academy, and, not least of all, an elaborately rebuilt structure that houses the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Obviously, the Sabans appreciate recognition. They deserve it.

Sometimes, they may expect a hearing. It’s been reported that they counseled with film Academy officials about neglect of Jewish roots at the movie museum, and, not accidentally, a new, permanent exhibit called Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and the Making of a Movie Capital will open on Sunday.

Very occasionally, when it involves something he cares about deeply,  Haim Saban will roar. He cares about Israel. He has lived there. He has served in the Israeli Defense Forces. Through a family foundation, he and his wife have contributed to the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, which supports Israeli soldiers and the widows and children of those who have died.

When all of that is threatened–by a friend and a political ally, no less–Saban will roar.

He’s a mogul. It’s his right.

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