Bend the Arc Jewish Action is a left-of-center advocacy group and electoral organization that focuses on racial discrimination and championing progressive policies at all levels of government. The organization believes that American Jews are under immediate threat from white supremacists who have been “inspired and emboldened” by the Republican Party. Behind the Arc Jewish Action is chaired and funded by Alexander Soros, son of billionaire financier and progressive mega-donor George Soros.

Bend the Arc Jewish Action is the 501(c)(4) counterpart of Bend the Arc. Both Bend the Arc Jewish Action and the separate Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC contribute campaign funds to political candidates and other PACs.

History

Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice was founded in 2012 by left-progressive activist Alan van Capelle through a merger of two New York City-based Jewish social justice nonprofits, Jewish Funds for Justice and Progressive Jewish Alliance. ¹ Alexander Soros was a major financial contributor to Jewish Funds for Justice. ²

Bend the Arc Jewish Action was formed under Bend the Arc during the 2016 election cycle to engage in direct intervention in elections. ³

Activities

Bend the Arc Jewish Action organizes grassroots advocacy campaigns, launches petitions, and donates to political campaigns and PACs. ⁴

We Rise as One

The organization’s “We Rise as One” campaign is an advertisement and event campaign to fight white nationalism, both real and supposed, in the US. In one advertisement, a spokesperson for Bend the Arc Jewish Action states, “By setting the stage for white nationalist violence, Trump and the Republican Party represent the greatest threat to Jews in this country.” ⁵

HowToFightAntisemitism.com

Bend the Arc Jewish Action launched HowToFightAntiSemitism.com to track purportedly rising anti-Semitism in the wake of COVID-19. The website claims that “61% of American Jews know that antisemitism is a problem in the Republican Party” and “no political party has a monopoly on antisemitism, but deadly antisemitism is almost entirely coming from white nationalists inspired and emboldened by the far-right extremists who have taken over the GOP.” ⁶

Defund Hate

Bend the Arc Jewish Action is a member of the Defund Hate coalition, a group of nonprofits led by the Detention Watch Network and United We Dream, that opposes President Trump’s detainment and deportation policies towards illegal immigrants. The coalition claims to have blocked $5 billion in funding for border militarization and detention facilities. ⁷

Campaign Contributions

Bend the Arc Jewish Action donated over $550,000 to campaigns and PACs in the 2016 and 2018 election cycles. As of April 2020, the organization has donated $376,500 in the 2020 election cycle. Bend the Arc Jewish Action donates exclusively to Democratic candidates and organizations. ⁸

In the 2020 election cycle, the single largest recipient as of April 2019 has been the Democratic Congressional Committee with $132,500. ⁹ The largest individual recipients have been Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Congressional candidate Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (D-IL), both of whom have received the maximum contribution of $7,500. ¹⁰

Funding

Bend the Arc Jewish Action received $1,850,672 in donations in 2018, the last year financial data is publicly available. ¹¹

In the 2020 election cycle, Bend the Jewish Arc Jewish Action’s largest contributor by far is Alexander Soros, who never donated before 2019. As of April 2020, Soros has given $123,000. The next largest donor is J Street board member Carol Winograd, who has given $30,000. ¹²

Taylor Swift Controversy

In April 2020, politically left-progressive recording artist Taylor Swift and Alexander Soros found themselves in a controversy with one another regarding an album of Swift’s being released without her permission by the record label company Big Machine, which is backed by Soros. Swift addressed her fans in an Instagram story, informing them that the concert in question was performed in 2008 on the radio, when she was 18 years old, and that it was being released without her approval. She claimed that this was due to music agent Scooter Braun, owner of Big Machine Label Group,¹³ and what she called his “financial backers” — 23 Capital, the Carlyle Group, and Alex Soros — feeling the urge to make more money off her work. “[They] have seen the latest balance sheets and realized that paying $330 MILLION for my music wasn’t exactly a wise choice and they need money,” she wrote. ¹⁴¹⁵

Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, a holding company that Braun used to purchase the rights to Swift’s music, is heavily backed by investments from Alexander Soros. Swift claimed that Alexander Soros thereby financially aided Braun’s purchase of her records in 2019, and by extension has contributed to Braun’s decision to release her 2008 radio performance. ¹⁶

Swift finished her Instagram story with a condemnation of Braun and his financial partners’ actions. “Just another case of shameless greed in the time of Coronavirus. So tasteless, but very transparent.” ¹⁷ These remarks caught the attention of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, which Alexander Soros chairs. ¹⁸ “Hey Taylor Swift,” the official Bend the Arc Twitter account wrote, “You have every right to be upset about others profiting off your music. But PLEASE don’t share antisemitic conspiracy theories about the Soros family. “Shameless greed” is a dog-whistle used against Jews. Your Jewish fans deserve better.” ¹⁹

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2. West, Melanie Grayce. “Younger Soros Tries to Learn From Father’s Giving.” Wall Street Journal. September 16, 2011. Accessed May 19, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904060604576573191027617806?KEYWORDS=MELANIE+GRAYCE+WEST.
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13. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. “Taylor Swift Disowns New Live Album, Calling It ‘Shameless Greed’.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, April 24, 2020. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/24/taylor-swift-disowns-new-live-album-scooter-braun-big-machine.
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16. Lowe, Tiana. “Why Taylor Swift Has a Legitimate Beef with George Soros Family.” Washington Examiner, April 24, 2020. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/why-taylor-swift-has-legitimate-beef-with-george-soros-family.
17. Taylor Swift Updates. “Taylor Swift Updates (@swiftsupdates).” Twitter. Twitter, April 23, 2020. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://twitter.com/swiftsupdates/status/1253409993858007041?s=20.
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19. Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. “Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction).” Twitter. Twitter, April 24, 2020. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200427134048/https://twitter.com/jewishaction/status/1253769294766321666?s=20.