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

As of 2023, Bend the Arc Jewish Action conceived of itself as “building a multiracial, multiethnic, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies” across America. The group opposes “white supremacy, antisemitism, and racism” and aims to “dismantle he systems of oppression” that it believes endanger American communities. It specifically singles out “Black liberation” as one of its key objectives and aims to create a “multiracial democracy” in place of the current systems which “uphold white supremacy.” ⁴

Activities

Bend the Arc Jewish Action organizes grassroots advocacy campaigns, launches petitions, and donates to political campaigns and PACs. ⁵

Opposition to the Trump Administration

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.” ⁶

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.” ⁷

In 2019, Bend the Arc activists heckled then-President Donald Trump during a visit he made to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Protestors unfurled a banner and shouted “Trump endangers Jews” before being arrested. Demonstrators with Bend the Arc told the press that they believe Trump’s “ugly rhetoric” emboldened white nationalists and chose the location and timing as it was close to the one-year anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. ⁸ While the protestors were being escorted out by police, Trump reportedly said aloud “Don’t hurt them. Don’t hurt them, please. They don’t know they’re dealing with very tough people.” “Go home to mom,” Trump added. ⁹

Criminal Justice

In May 2023, Bend the Arc’s Atlanta chapter delivered a speech before the City Council condemning the construction of the police training facility known as “Cop City.” Demonstrators deplored the use of city funds to train riot police, advocating instead for the money to be redirected to community programs and environmental efforts. ¹⁰

October 2023 House Election

When House Republicans were considering nominating Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for Speakership in October 2023, Bend the Arc put out a press release condemning the idea on the grounds that Jordan had previously employed “antisemitic tropes,” including a tweet that read “Kanye. Elon. Trump.” Jordan had tweeted this before the rapper Kanye West went on an antisemitic tirade in the fall of 2022, but Bend the Arc accused him of leaving the tweet up “for a total of 56 days.” ¹¹

Immigration

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. ¹²

Bend the Arc states that it refuses to accept a future where the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island become “empty symbols” due to contemporary America’s immigration laws that allegedly would not have permitted the “majority” of Jewish immigrants who came during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Bend the Arc claims that its extremely lax immigration policy is informed by the Jewish value of “welcoming the stranger.” It claims strict immigration laws are a result of white supremacy and argues that anti-immigration politics is a game of “scapegoating.” ¹³

In 2023, Bend the Arc was running a campaign to defund all government programs that intended to manage immigration and police the U.S.-Mexico border. Referring to such policies as “xenophobic,” “anti-immigrant,” and “MAGA Republican,” Bend the Arc took credit for blocking billions of dollars from being sent by congress to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which it claims it accomplished in cooperation with other members of the Defund Hate coalition. As of December 2023, Bend the Arc had created an online tool to message members of Congress and demand that Congress halt all funding to immigration enforcement. ¹⁴

Chapters

Bend the Arc welcomes supporters to become connected with one of its many regional chapters. As of 2023, it had chapters in California, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, Georgia, and Massachusetts. ¹⁵

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. ³

In the 2020 election cycle, the single largest recipient as of April 2019 has been the Democratic Congressional Committee with $132,500. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷

Funding

Bend the Arc Jewish Action received $1,850,672 in donations in 2018, the last year financial data is publicly available. ³

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. ¹⁸

Taylor Swift Controversy

In April 2020, politically left-of-center 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,¹⁹ 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. ²⁰²¹

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. ²⁰

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.” ²¹ These remarks caught the attention of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, which Alexander Soros chairs. ²² “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.” ²³

Finances

In 2021, Bend the Arc Jewish Action reported total revenue of $3,135,644, total expenses of $3,514,948, and $1,553,519 in net assets. ²⁴

Funding

In 2013, Bend the Arc Jewish Action received $350,000 from the Novo Foundation. ²⁵

In 2016, the Center for Community Change Action gave Bend the Arc Jewish Action $50,000 for “childcare jobs.” ²⁶

In 2018, Tides Foundation gave Bend the Arc Jewish Action $10,000 for “healthy individuals and communities,” in addition to the $70,000 it gave its 501(c)(3) arm. ²⁷

In 2020, Tides Advocacy gave Bend the Arc Jewish Action $50,000 for “general support.” ²⁸

In 2021, the Philip and Bernice Krupp Foundation gave Bend the Arc Action $10,000. In 2022, the same foundation gave it $25,000. ^{29 30}

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24. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Bend the Arc Jewish Action. 2021. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
25. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Novo Foundation. 2013. Part XV. 3 – Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.
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27. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Tides Foundation. 2018. Part II. Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organization and Domestic Governments.
28. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Tides Advocacy. 2020. Part II. Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organization and Domestic Governments.
29. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Philip and Bernice Krupp Foundation. 2021. Part XIV. 3 – Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment.
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