Activists launch Jews Against Soros to oppose mega-donor's 'radical left-wing influence'

Conservative activists on Wednesday announced the formation of Jews Against Soros, a self-described grassroots coalition of Jews who oppose the "radical left-wing influence" of George Soros, a liberal billionaire and Democrat mega-donor, on American politics.

"Jews Against Soros will fight back against the common left-wing smear that opposition to Soros and his sprawling network of political organizations is antisemitic," the group said in a statement. "Attacking Soros for his influence on American politics, to say nothing of his nefarious agenda in Israel itself, isn't antisemitic. It is simply a fact that Soros funds a huge proportion of the radical left in this country. And he must be stopped."

Soros, 92, has become a favorite target of Republicans and conservatives for bankrolling a host of left-wing causes. According to the Soros-founded Open Society Foundations website, Soros "has given over $32 billion to fund the Open Society Foundations, which work in over 120 countries around the world."

Last year, Soros reportedly spent $128.5 million in donations for the midterm elections. He also shelled out at least $131 million between 2016 and 2020 to influence 253 media groups, according to a study by MRC Business, part of the conservative Media Research Center.

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One of Soros' chief projects in recent years has been backing progressive prosecutors running for office across the country. According to a recent report, the billionaire funneled $40 million into district attorney campaigns nationwide to support left-wing candidates, and now his beneficiaries represent around 20% of Americans.

Critics have accused Soros-backed prosecutors of being soft on crime. One of the first left-wing prosecutors whom Soros supported, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, resigned from office earlier this month amid allegations of misconduct and neglecting her duties.

Republicans and conservatives frequently attack Soros for such activity. However, prominent liberals and others have characterized their attacks as antisemitic, noting Soros is Jewish and claiming efforts to target him are reminiscent of antisemitism that portrays Jews as evil with outsized influence over society.

Earlier this month, Twitter owner Elon Musk wrote that Soros "wants to erode the very fabric of civilization" and "hates humanity." He also compared Soros to "Magneto," a villain from the X-Men comic book franchise. Both Soros and Magneto survived Nazi occupation during the Holocaust in World War II. Some observers accused Musk of making antisemitic remarks, a charge which he rejected.

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Less than two months earlier, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten came under fire for suggesting that anyone pointing out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's ties to Soros is being antisemitic.

Weingarten's claim came weeks after members of the Austin City Council accused the Texas city's police department of antisemitism after the local police officer union sounded the alarm about surging crime across the country and Soros' donations to left-wing district attorney candidates.

Last year, journalists and Democrat members of Congress similarly hurled accusations of antisemitism against Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for saying Democrats blocked a measure he supported that, in his words, would "try and force Soros-backed prosecutors to put dangerous criminals in jail."

Such claims seem to have prompted the formation of Jews Against Soros, which isn't alone in criticizing Soros for not only his political activities but also his alleged anti-Israel efforts.

"George Soros has a long history of backing anti-Israel groups," the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the country's most prominent pro-Israel lobbying group, tweeted last year. "Now he's giving $1 million to help [J Street] support anti-Israel candidates and attack pro-Israel Democrats. AIPAC works to strengthen pro-Israel mainstream Democrats. J Street & Soros work to undermine them."

Jews Against Soros is headed by Josh Hammer, senior editor at large of Newsweek, and Will Scharf, a former federal prosecutor who's currently running for attorney general of Missouri.

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"Soros has dedicated his life to fomenting American anarchism, undermining Israel's territorial integrity, and destabilizing Western nation-states more generally," Hammer tweeted Wednesday. "It is absurd to criticize individuals – many of whom, like Musk and Rubio, are great friends of the Jewish people or the state of Israel – for criticizing one incredibly destructive, anti-Jewish, anti-Israel force in global politics who happens to be Jewish by birth."

Scharf separately outlined on Twitter a host of causes that Soros has financially backed, such as stricter gun control, and called on Jews to stand up against his agenda.

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Soros didn't respond to a request for comment for this story.