Rand Paul Held Sitdown with Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Adelson, center, and his wife, Miriam Adelson, right, were in attendance as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel addressed Congress on Tuesda

Rand Paul said Wednesday that he met with the Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson this week while Adelson was in Washington for a congressional address by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, reports NYT.

In an interview on the radio program “Jewish Moments in the Morning,”  Rand said that Adelson had assured him he would not fund an effort by Republicans to defeat him, according to NYT.

In the interview Rand also said that Republicans have an opportunity now to pick up more Jewish votes because of the growing rift between President Obama and the Democrats and Netanyahu’s administration. “With the Democrats’ sort of resistance to Netanyahu speaking here,” he said, “I think that should send a message to a lot of American Jewry that really the time to think about who supports Israel is now.”