The Times of Israel reported on Sunday that Israel's Holocaust Memorial Museum, a chief rabbi, and several Israeli charities and organizations asked the US to not sanction Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
According to the outlet, the chairman of the museum signed a letter to the US ambassador to Israel saying that the second largest private donor to the museum was Roman Abramovich.
The letter was dated February 6, less than three weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an assault on Ukraine, but after news emerged that the US was drafting a list of targets to sanction in response to potential aggression from Moscow.
The billionaire with close political ties to Putin was not placed on the list of oligarchs targeted by Western sanctions.
According to reports, the billionaire is trying to sell off his property in London in order to avoid a new round of financial penalties.
The letter praised Abramovich for his investments, philanthropy, and significant contributions to Israel.
The Times reported that it said that sanctioning Abramovich would be unfair and negatively impact Israel and the Jewish world.
Dayan said in the letter that Mr. Abramovich has contributed to worthy causes for more than a decade.
It is not clear how Dayn assessed the relationship between the two men.
Putin was one of the earliest supporters of Abramovich. According to The Guardian, he bought Boris Yeltsin a $50 million yacht and recommended Putin to him.
According to The Times,Abramovich has donated more than $500 million to Israeli and Jewish causes.
Two weeks after the letter was sent, he made an eight-figure donation to the museum.
On February 22, Yad Vashem announced that it was entering a strategic partnership with Abramovich that would expand and bolster its research activities at a time when Holocaust distortion, denial and politicization are rising alarmingly worldwide.
Vashem did not reply to the request for comment.
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, the US and other Western countries imposed heavy sanctions on Russia that have hit the economy hard.
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