George Soros is an evil man. In fact, he is one of the most evil men currently shaping American and Western politics, and global events more generally.
To straightforwardly opine in this manner is not to traffic in antisemitism or noxious Jew-baiting. It is simply to share one's perspective about one of the most influential political donors, "philanthropists" and social activists in the world -- someone who doles out countless sums to undermine and reshape in his dystopian image entire countries, spreading across at least five separate continents.
It is frankly astounding that this even needs to be said. I am a Jewish columnist, podcaster and public speaker. As such, I routinely share my opinions as a basic feature of my job. I imagine some of those opinions are provocative -- perhaps highly so -- for a subset of the population, especially those of a left-of-center bent. Some (very) small percentage of my critics may hate me and hate my opinions because I am Jewish, but it is surely the case that the overwhelming majority of my critics disagree with me on the merits of my ideas and contributions to the public discourse. Unless I have a compelling reason to believe a specific critic is acting out of rank bigotry, I operate from a baseline presumption that the critic is not a Jew-hater, but simply disagrees with my position.
Again, this should be obvious. But for far too many, it is apparently not obvious -- at least when it comes to criticism of George Soros.
For years, whenever conservatives, nationalists and traditionalists have criticized the absolutely sprawling influence of George Soros and his left-wing Open Society Foundations umbrella network, Soros' praetorian guard in the elected official class and corporate press invariably shriek, "That's antisemitism! You can't say that!"
What utter tripe.
Soros directly spent $128.5 million during last fall's U.S. midterm elections, making him that election cycle's single largest individual donor. He has spent $40 million trying to elect radically left-wing "reform prosecutors" -- something he has been fully transparent about, defending it under his own byline in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last summer -- across the country. He has been dishearteningly successful in that endeavor, successfully electing 75 district attorneys -- such as Alvin Bragg in New York City, Chesa Boudin in San Francisco (since mercifully recalled) and Kim Foxx in Chicago -- who oversee a decivilizational (and oxymoronic) prosecutorial agenda of not prosecuting violent and property crimes. Simply put, Soros is more responsible than any man in the world for the descent of some of America's most iconic cities into anarchic urban hellholes.
The globalist archetype has routinely given massive sums to anti-sovereignty groups that seek to obliterate national borders, from the U.S. to his native Hungary to Israel. Speaking of Israel, the Jewish Soros harbors a unique disdain for the world's only Jewish state: He has been a massive bankroller of the antisemitic "Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions" global movement, his foundations have supported internationally recognized Palestinian-Arab terrorist organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and he is the single largest donor ever to J Street and its affiliated PAC, which routinely peddle anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian agitprop and exist for the sole reason of providing "Jewish" cover for Democrats to bash Israel.
Who can earnestly contend that this is someone whose influence cannot be criticized on the grounds that it is "antisemitic" to do so?
Amichai Chikli, the Israeli government's current minister of Diaspora affairs and minister for social equality, certainly objects. Following last month's kerfuffle wherein Elon Musk compared Soros to X-Men archvillain Magneto (who, like Soros, survived the Holocaust as a child) and asserted that Soros "hates humanity," the masses predictably accused Musk of making "baseless" claims and furthering "antisemitic conspiracy theories." But Chikli defended Musk, writing in a May 18 tweet: "As Israel's minister who's entrusted on combating anti-Semitism, I would like to clarify that the Israeli government and the vast majority of Israeli citizens see Elon Musk as an amazing entrepreneur and a role model. Criticism of Soros -- who finances the most hostile organizations to the Jewish people and the state of Israel is anything but anti-Semitism, quite the opposite!"
Chikli's welcome sentiments brought to mind a powerful 2022 New York Post op-ed by Rabbi Dov Fischer of the exceptional Orthodox Jewish group Coalition for Jewish Values, who wrote that "it's a mitzvah (a righteous act) -- not 'antisemitism' -- to castigate George Soros for his radical attempts to undermine public safety and the American republic." Hear, hear. Many, many other Jews have espoused much the same, both before and since.
It is past time to formalize and operationalize this widely held sentiment. Last week, Will Scharf -- a conservative activist, former federal prosecutor and current candidate for Missouri attorney general -- and I cofounded a new group, "Jews Against Soros." You can read more, and sign up for future updates, at our website: JewsAgainstSoros.com. As the website states: "We are Jews who have had enough of George Soros and his malign, leftist influence on American politics. We are Jews who are also sick and tired of the Left accusing anyone who criticizes Soros of being antisemitic. ... Leftism isn't Judaism, and being anti-leftist is not the same as being antisemitic. Period."
That is not, of course, to say that there is no such thing as antisemitic criticism of Soros. Of course there are some devious memes, classic antisemitic iconography, and so forth. And when that antisemitism rears its ugly head -- whether targeted at Soros or any other Jew -- Will and I would be the first two to vociferously condemn it. But the overwhelming majority of the criticism of Soros is entirely legitimate on the substance of the dastardly causes he organizes and funds -- indeed, that criticism is just and righteous. It is, as Rabbi Fischer wrote, a mitzvah.
You too can do a mitzvah by joining our cause, and by spreading the word that most Jews reject the risible claim that to criticize George Soros is to fan the flames of the world's oldest bigotry, Jew-hatred. Patriotic, pro-America, pro-Israel, pro-sovereignty, pro-rule of law Jews the world over abhor this man. George Soros' ethnic and religious background must not prevent us from calling him what he is: evil.
To find out more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.