Moskowitz gives $1 million to defeat Obama

An ultra-conservative Jewish donor has given $1 million to American Crossroads, the Karl-Rove linked super PAC. Irving Moskowitz made the donation in February.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Moskowitz is a Jewish conservative who has provided generous support for Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. That support has proven controversial amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Moskowitz is an 83 year-old retired physician who made his fortune running bingo and casino operations in California. He is also a supporter of far-right Israeli groups. More recently, he has supported American political groups including groups that suggest Obama is not an American-born citizen and that he has ties to radical Islam. 

His February donation represents his largest donation to a super PAC to date. 

Moskowitz grew up in New York and Milwaukee during the 1930s and 40s. The events of those times, as well as losing more than 120 family members during the holocaust, helped shape his Jewish identity and his strong ultra-conservative views. 

After relocating to Southern California to practice medicine, Moskowitz purchased distressed hospitals and flipped them, donating the profits to Jewish settlers in West Bank and Gaza. 

Since 2008, Moskowitz has given more than $15 million to the cause of Jewish settlement. 

He has also created problems for the Obama administration, which has been advocating a freeze on new Jewish settlements. Moskowitz has been using his money and influence in Israel to promote settlements in spite of the Administration's opposition. 

Several groups that are advocating a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict regard Moskowitz's involvement as a roadblock to the peace process. 

While Moskowitz donates lavishly to causes that support ultra-conservative Jewish activity in Israel, and anti-Obama political causes on the US, his latest donation in certain to catch the attention of both Republicans and Democrats. Both sides are becoming increasingly aware that the race to come will be particularly negative - and expensive. Every dollar will count, and a million of them could make a real difference in the final outcome. 

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