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The Strange Career of George Soros

Posted on Monday, May 13, 2024
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by David Lewis Schaefer
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AMAC EXCLUSIVE

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The news that billionaire philanthropist George Soros, along with the heads of other munificent nonprofits like the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, has been financing the increasingly violent demonstrations by Hamas supporters on American college campuses appears to confirm, in an ironic way, an oft-repeated myth about the operation of America’s Constitutional order. The myth is that by using their wealth through campaign contributions or the promise of future employment, rich people induce government to adopt policies that favor their economic interests, at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Of course, the allegation that the wealthy benefit disproportionately from government policy is belied by such phenomena as our graduated (“progressive”) income tax system, corporate taxes, and the plethora of government programs that allocate funds to the poor and middle class – effectively redistributing them from the wealthy.

The reality is, in a democracy like ours, no amount of campaign donations can overcome the fact that the poor and middle classes outnumber the rich (however one defines them), encouraging politicians, especially since the New Deal, to “buy” votes through government giveaways – and also through sometimes demagogic attacks on “big business.” Witness, most recently, Joe Biden’s attempts to cancel college student debt, and his FEC chair Lina Khan’s growing assaults on large corporations.

There is a sense, however, in which our political and economic system does offer opportunities to rich people to enjoy disproportionate influence over the character of our society and government. But that influence is commonly exercised not in the pursuit of economic gain (once you’re rich, how much more money do you need?), but through philanthropic and political donations aimed at reshaping American life in ways designed to fulfill the tycoons’ particular visions of what a just society looks like.

No individual better exemplifies this phenomenon than the mega-wealthy Soros, who in 1979 founded the Open Society Foundation, ostensibly to promote the cause of democracy. (Soros recently passed control of the organization to his son, though he doubtless remains involved in its programming.) Soros borrowed the term “open society” from his mentor at the London School of Economics, the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper, who used it to denote a polity that promotes freedom of inquiry and the open-minded expression of varying views.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Soros’s foundation has donated $700,000 to an organization called Education for Just Peace in the Middle East, a group that finances disruptive pro-Hamas demonstrators on American college campuses.

Here’s the irony in Soros’s support of the terrorist movement that aims at Israel’s destruction: Soros is a Hungarian-born Jew who narrowly escaped death in the Holocaust when the Nazis seized power in his native land. Subsequently, having earned a degree at LSE, he earned billions in hedge-fund management and currency speculation.

As he gained wealth, Soros turned his attention to movements of political reform, both in Europe and the United States, though he is not known to have contributed to movements that promote Judaism or the welfare of Israel.

In 2007 Soros wrote, “I am not a Zionist, nor am I am a practicing Jew,” though he professed to “have a great deal of sympathy for my fellow Jews and a deep concern for the survival of Israel.” (It is not apparent how one can claim such a concern without being a supporter of Zionism.)

But in the same essay, Soros criticized the “pervasive influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee,” charging the pro-Israel lobby with being “closely allied with the neocons” and “an enthusiastic supporter of the invasion of Iraq” — and claiming the group’s behavior lent “some credence” to the anti-Semitic belief in an “all-powerful Zionist conspiracy.” Four years earlier, he attributed the “resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe” to “the policies of the Bush administration and the [Ariel] Sharon administration [in Israel].” (It was Sharon who had proposed and then executed the withdrawal of all Israel forces from Gaza, two years before Soros’s remarks.)

Soros’s allegation elicited justified outrage from mainstream American Jewish leaders, including Abraham Foxman, then the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who called them “a simplistic, counterproductive, biased, and bigoted perception of what’s out there. It’s blaming the victim for all of Israel’s and the Jewish people’s ills.”

To Soros’s credit, his foundation originally provided valuable assistance to former Soviet satellites in making the transition to regimes of political and economic freedom. Unfortunately, neither his domestic political activities nor his foreign policy priorities have subsequently displayed a serious concern with promoting and preserving the political, moral, and legal prerequisites of constitutional liberty.

A recent report from the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides legal support for police officers who are believed to have been wrongly prosecuted for lawful actions they performed in the line of duty, identifies some 70 “soft-on-crime” prosecutors who received $50 million in campaign donations over the past decade from Soros. These include such notorious opponents of punishing criminals as New York’s Alvin Bragg (who only seems to care about prosecuting cases where the defendant’s name is Donald Trump), Los Angeles’s George Gascon, Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner, and San Francisco’s (subsequently recalled) Chesa Boudin (the son of 1960’s terrorists).

As the New York Post put it in 2021, “for the last several years” Soros had been “quietly financing a revolution in criminal justice reform, doling out tens of millions of dollars to progressive candidates in district attorney races throughout the country amid movements to abolish bail and defund the police.”

Another of Soros’s pet “progressive” causes has been drug legalization. As reported by the Post, in recent years the Open Society Foundation has poured millions of dollars into a push for Congress to pass the so-called Drug Policy Reform Act through an organization called the Drug Policy Alliance. Amid the nationwide plague of deaths from overdoses, the bill – sponsored by “Squad” members Cori Bush, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib – would eliminate federal criminal penalties for possession of heroin, cocaine, and other hard drugs, thus encouraging their use.

Soros’s expenditures on behalf of Hamas demonstrators thus reflect a pattern of ill-advised policy judgments embodying what can only be described as an egotistical belief that he knows far better than ordinary, law-abiding citizens what is best for his country (and the world), and a determination to use his billions to impose his vision on the rest of us.

Regarding Soros’s support for anti-Israel protestors, the Post reports that at three colleges, a Soros-funded group, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, provides “fellowships” of between $2,880 and $3,770 for students to spend eight hours a week organizing “campaigns led by Palestinian organizations” and training them to “rise up, to revolution.”

The forcible repression of opposing views, the seizure of campus buildings, and the forthright advocacy of the elimination of the nation of Israel (as in the slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will All Be Free” – that is, free of Jews), all indicate that Hamas’s supporters at American universities represent the very opposite of the “open society” that Soros’s teacher Popper sought to promote.

Soros exemplifies a problem common to wealthy and “sophisticated” Americans who come from various (or no) religious backgrounds: seeking a sort of earthly salvation by demonstrating an extreme sympathy for supposedly oppressed people (terrorists, felons, drug purveyors) while exhibiting little knowledge of the problems they purport to be addressing.

In fact, you don’t even have to be rich, or a student, to get in on the fun: on May 1, the New York Times profiled a 63-year-old woman named Lisa Fithian, “a longtime activist and trainer for left-wing protestors,” who was pleading with “counter-protestors” not to interfere with Hamas supporters who were engaged in blockading Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, so as to protect their “occupation” of the campus building. As she explained to the young men trying to halt the blockade, “This is ridiculous…  We’re trying to end a genocide in Gaza.” (A less leisured figure who actually belongs at Columbia, a middle-aged, black janitor, interviewed on Fox News on May 8, explained how the violence of the demonstrators had led him to flee his job at the building, and to fear returning until the demonstrations end.)

Had she lived in Germany in the 1930’s, it is doubtful that most such protestors would have lifted a finger or spoken a word to prevent an actual genocide. (That would have entailed real personal risk.) But such, in our media-driven and undereducated time, is the easy path to glory.

As for Soros, how much better for him to have emulated a philanthropist like Andrew Carnegie, who devoted his later years to giving away his fortune to finance the construction of public libraries throughout America. Instead, his support of pro-Hamas demonstrators – many of whom, like Ms. Fithian, aren’t even students – only promotes the vitriol and hatred now filling our TV screens and endangering the causes of lawful freedom and of classically liberal education.

David Lewis Schaefer is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at College of the Holy Cross.

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lawrence greenberg
lawrence greenberg
6 months ago

Soros is a globalist, one of the self-anointed elitists who think first, that their wealth means they are smarter than everyone else, and second, that their wealth entitles them to rule the world. They are not seeking to change policies or the social order, they are seeking nothing less than to destroy this nation, overthrow Western Civilization, and create a worldwide dictatorship, run by them and for them and to the detriment of everyone else. In other words, a 21st Century version of medieval feudalism. And for those who haven’t quite noticed, they are succeeding. We are in so much trouble…

David Merrifield
David Merrifield
6 months ago

You’re not focusing on what George did for the Nazi’s. He was the only Jew to be given a Nazi uniform, he valued artwork owned by Jews so the Nazi’s would know the value of their plunder and led Nazi’s to places where the Jewish People had hidden their valuables. George Soros is a massive parasite that burden’s our world. We need to take his U.S. citizenship away.

Max
Max
6 months ago

Bottom Line: Soros and family are just pure evil, working with others to demolish the free world as they put themselves in charge of everything. The poor and middle class are expendable during the rich march of domination. They now control most of all the world’s assets and causing the shortages that are appearing around the world. Only those who ignorantly follow these escapades will think they are safe but are still the cannon fodder to be sacrificed.

TOBS
TOBS
6 months ago

SOROS AND HIS SON ARE NOTHING MORE THAN LUCIFER IN DISGUISE

Paul Scott Desillier
Paul Scott Desillier
6 months ago

How are these organizations allowed to exist? There are strict criteria for non-profit organizations existence, and they do not seem to meet any of them. They do not help or support anything except their future power grab. How can we stop these special interest groups from existing and putting everyone’s safety, health and security at jeopardy? I think that these organizations and the PACs should be outlawed. They infringe on the average person’s rights and does not assure Life, Liberty and Happiness.

VikkiC
VikkiC
6 months ago

I would love to see him deported back to Hungary…they would immediately arrest him and put him in prison. He is persona non grata in his home country, and we don’t need him here either. His son has been working on getting rid of the electoral college, and probably has a lot of support from dems on that one. Neither one of them are “pro-America.” They would like to see the USA operating like Venezuela…

John
John
6 months ago

Soros is an enemy of the United States, he is just a miserable piece of s**t who wants everyone else to be miserable! He should be kicked out of our country or put in jail along with his son!

BonnieS
BonnieS
6 months ago

We should be much more concerned about Soros entities buying up radio stations and therefore cancelling many radio broadcasts from organizations that don’t fit his criteria.

Robert Zuccaro
Robert Zuccaro
6 months ago

SOROS = POS.

Westhus092
Westhus092
6 months ago

Soros should be subject to endless lawsuits and prosecution for the harm caused by his actions. It’s one thing to promote and financial support causes and politicians, but in the cases where legal authorities blatantly and willfully disregard their obligations to the duties of their office, particularly when it comes to enforcing existing laws, there must be civil and criminal liabilities for them and those who enable them to ascend to hold elected office. Based on the activities of all of Soros’ foundations, it is clear that the funding has led to harm for millions of American citizens. All the rogue prosecutors as well as those in Soros’ groups have enabled this harm and the civil and criminal penalties should apply to them, to maximum effect.

Bob Chase
Bob Chase
6 months ago

Seems odd Soros is not indicted for promoting violence and anarchy. No problem finding legions to persecute Trump but nary a single champion to start a campaign to stop the evil funded by Soros.

Melinda
Melinda
6 months ago

Wealth should be used for the betterment of society, not its destruction as Soros has done.

johnh
johnh
6 months ago

Please tell us more about the history of ROCKEFELLER BROTHERS FOUNDATION and why they support hamas and violence in USA.

Katherine Murray Leisure
Katherine Murray Leisure
6 months ago

Soros was a brilliant hedge funds manager and financier. He brought down the Bank of England and understood how the liberal sub-prime mortgage loans of 2007 era collapsed the real estate market and our economy (Soros, on SOROS, book). He understood how limited data and information can wreck monetary and fiscal policies, bring down nations. However, starting as a teen during the Third Reich, at best, he was an opportunist with scant compassion or morals for those suffering around him. Here in the USA, his extraordinary abuse of power, his huge judicial, elections, and monetary mischiefs have brought great tragedies to our republic and the nations of the world. Time for prison or exile elsewhere, with citizenship revoked for treason.

Philip Seth Hammersley
Philip Seth Hammersley
6 months ago

We are NOT a democracy–our Founders hated democracies! They founded a REPUBLIC as Ben Franklin clearly stated. Soros did NOT barely escape the Nazis; he helped them find Jews and confiscate their property. He said he doesn’t believe IN God but said he feels he may be a god!

Granny26
Granny26
6 months ago

Can’t we just deport him to Palestine and take away his passport permanently??? He is a disgrace to the human race starting from when he was 11 yrs old.

Old Silk
Old Silk
6 months ago

Still think the Nazi brainwashing and mind control program didn’t work?

John
John
6 months ago

Nazi Jew hater going all the way back to WW2. Should have been tried and hung at Nuremberg.
All his original money comes from the Jews he helped killing during WW2.
Never understood why the Nazi hunters never did away with him?

Dave
Dave
6 months ago

Soros’ funding should be banned in this country and any funding discovered to have been made by him should be confiscated.

Letts Brandon
Letts Brandon
6 months ago

It seems he has gotten many including you to call our great republic a democracy, first step to Marxism.

Felix
Felix
6 months ago

I’m sure Soros does not have a history of business practices as clean as Trump’s, with all these trumped up indictments, where there are no victims, MAGA supporting DA’s and AG’s in red states should go after Soros the same way the demorats went after Trump.

Jeri
Jeri
6 months ago

When the absolute only thing that feeds your body is hate, anger, frustration, self loathing…what is it you expect the end product to be?

Cheryl Stewart
Cheryl Stewart
2 months ago

He, without a doubt, deserves the title of “The World’s Most Evil Villain of all Time”! I despise the man and what he has done. The fact that he so arrogantly destroys lives, cities and countries under the guise of “humanitarian causes” with his fake organizations. He has zero concern for others, in fact, he supports many of the world’s worst anti semitic organizations. He “isn’t a practicing Jew”, but does that matter? He hates nationalism and the fact that countries are based on Christianity. So the dirt bag HAS to DESTROY them?? HIS OVER INFLATED EGO has planted himself in over 100 countries just to annihilate all stable, civil aspects of the countries.

M3
M3
6 months ago

“What would it it profit a man to gain the whole world but to lose his own soul ” / New spirit given by Triune God for SalvationTranslation: Me without God’s salvation in Christ Jesus is lost eternally. I forgot to look up the book, chapter and verse from the Holy Bible first. A search will reveal it.

Russ
Russ
6 months ago

Everything the democrats accuse republicans of(pro big business, pro wealthy, against middle income) is exactly what democrats stand for.

Mark Scott
Mark Scott
6 months ago

George Soros is just the useful front-end face of the London School of Economics, Fabian Society, and its offshoot World Economic Forum. If you check their history and Soros’ history with them, then you will see that this is more of the same socialist take-over of society. Except, the Fabians, consider it a ‘soft take-over’.

dale
dale
6 months ago

If you break away from our controlled media you learn that there are many nations Soros brought down to his advantage. They would kill him if he set foot on their lands.
I am appalled how google and other search engines coop what is said about Soros, depict him as a real philanthropost vs a trouble maker and almost as a saint vs a devil he earned the title to be.
This election year our media blanks out the truth about many things. The blatant lies about Soros is horrendous.
Soros like others like Goebbels, the propaganda minister for Hitler’s NAtional soZIialist party (national socialist in English) who boasted to Hitler “if you tell a lie long enough people will believe it.” The NAZI party took control over all media when Hitler was elected as leader of Germany to control what German people heard and said. Later Hitler promoted a book burning to eliminate history records and anything that might interfere with his control by propaganda and demonic charisma. The German people got wind of how evil Hitler was when their selected and inducted children became the Hitler youth. Loyalty to Hitler was so great by the youth that if anyone even parents said ANYTHING negative about Hitler their FUHRER/Leader- Guide that they would kill or at least report the people who the NAZI’s either killed or too to ‘re-education’ camps to reprogram them to follow the Fuhrer. We see touches of these things in America now by controlled media, censorship, politically injustice targeting opponents, etc,etc – even socialistic (NAtional soZIalist socialism) programming in schools and colleges to control the mind of the youth and efforts to disenfranchise love for parents who sacrifice for their children to hate them. 
I have somewhere an old video where he was interviewed. Soros who boasted about the nations he destroyed, even mentioned his next target was the USA. The host was dumbfounded and said, “what about morality?” Soros coldly responed, “not morality – business!”

Robert
Robert
6 months ago

Why is this man even free to move about the country??

Pat R
Pat R
6 months ago

Why hasn’t he been investigated, charged, arrested & prosecuted for treason? He’s paid off plenty of top-level heads to look the other way no doubt. Someone with $$Billions can easily buy off whoever can cause him trouble. Even after he finally dies, he’s set up his oldest son as his younger version.
I spent time writing a whole paragraph of his and oldest son’s future demise but remembered I am not to judge. Ugh.

Jerry
Jerry
6 months ago

A lot of you readers are far more educated than I so I ask you, do you know of anytime where any of our founding fathers referred to our form of government as a democracy?

BHart
BHart
6 months ago

If it is true what was said below regarding George Soros’s support of the Nazis during WWII, That information should be deciminated.Much more general public is aware of what a predator this person is.

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