IfNotNow supporters at a rally in New York City. Photo: IfNotNow via Facebook.

News of the death of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who gave hundreds of millions of dollars to Jewish charities and political causes in the US and Israel, was celebrated Tuesday by some progressive Twitter users.

“A present for my birthday,” tweeted Rebecca Vilkomerson, the former executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace from 2009 to 2019, while linking to a Haaretz article on Adelson’s death. The group’s official account retweeted a thread of articles from +972 Magazine on his “damaging legacy.” 

“Now do Kissinger,” tweeted another user, referring to the 97-year-old Jewish ex-Secretary of State. In response, the left-wing group IfNotNow said “Bimheira B’yameinu” — a Hebrew phrase meaning “speedily in our days” that appears frequently in Jewish liturgy, in reference to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Bimheira B'yameinu https://t.co/FeYv7FhrCS

— IfNotNow🔥✡️ (@IfNotNowOrg) January 12, 2021

Earlier Tuesday, IfNotNow called for Adelson’s legacy to be “erased,” along with the Hebrew equivalent “yimakh shemo,” a phrase typically used for the most heinous enemies of the Jewish people.

Adelson dedicated his life and wealth to empowering the far right in the US and in Israel.

But our collective work—the work of building solidarity, of fighting for freedom and dignity for all—can undo that harm.

Yimakh shemo. May his legacy be erased. And may we do it together. https://t.co/Wj5lZqiQal

— IfNotNow🔥✡️ (@IfNotNowOrg) January 12, 2021

Rabbi David Wolpe, of the Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, tweeted, “When you celebrate the death of your ideological opponents it is worth wondering what your ideology has made of you.”

When you celebrate the death of your ideological opponents it is worth wondering what your ideology has made of you.

— David Wolpe (@RabbiWolpe) January 12, 2021