George Soros Gives Max Donation to Lawmaker Who Made Anti-Israel Comment
Those wondering whether philanthropist Alex Soros would continue his father’s longtime practice of generous funding for politicians and activists hostile to the Jewish state have received their answer.
At the end of June, both Soros men sent Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state, $6,600 — the highest donation allowed by law in an election cycle, the Washington Free Beacon reported July 25.
The progressive “Squad” member recently received criticism after saying to a group of protesters on July 15, “I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state,” according to several news outlets, including The Hill.
She later offered “my apologies to those who I have hurt with my words,” excusing what she called an attempt to “defuse a tense situation.”
“Words do matter and so it is important that I clarify my statement,” Jayapal said, according to the Hill’s report. “I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist.”
However, she went on to add, “I do, however, believe that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government.”
This year, George Soros, 92, passed over leadership of his Open Society Foundations funding entity to his 37-year-old son.
One of the son’s first decisions was to slash the staff by 40 percent.
Alex Soros said in an announcement that new grants would be stopped until February.
The charity said Friday its board approved “significant changes” to its operating model, Bloomberg reported.
In a letter addressed to “friends and partners,” Open Society Foundations President Mark Malloch-Brown wrote, “Technological, environmental, political, and socioeconomic shifts are challenging open society ideals around the world.
“This flux demands that we reimagine our philanthropy.”
George Soros grew up in Nazi-occupied Hungary. He went on to earn a fortune as an investor and financier, donating more than $18 billion to liberal causes.
He founded the Open Society Foundations, which has provided funding for a who’s who list of aggressive anti-Israel activism groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence.
“Through their Open Society Foundations, the Soroses claim to champion ‘vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people,'” the Free Beacon reported.
“They do not include Israel in that definition, funding a host of anti-Israel groups and organizations including J Street,” added the report.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate
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