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Jews Against Soros (JAS)

Website:

jewsagainstsoros.com/
Founded:

May 2023
Co-Founders:

Will Scharf and Josh Hammer

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Jews Against Soros (JAS) is a right-of-center Jewish organization founded by right-of-center attorney Will Scharf and journalist Josh Hammer that is opposed to political donor and philanthropist George Soros, who has contributed to numerous left-of-center political organizations and politicians. 1

Upon its launch in May 2023, the organization said, “Jews Against Soros will fight back against the common left-wing smear that opposition to Soros and his sprawling network of political organizations is antisemitic.” 2

The organization focuses on Soros’s support for groups critical of Israel and claims, “There is nothing antisemitic about identifying the many ways that George Soros and his network of organizations fund the radical left.” 3 4

Background

Jews Against Soros is a conservative organization founded in 2023 by right-of-center attorney Will Scharf and journalist Josh Hammer to be what the co-founders called a one-stop shop for critics of left-of-center political donor and philanthropist George Soros. The co-founders also said the organization would provide cover to elected officials for “more confidence in being able to freely call out Soros’ pernicious influence without unfair allegations being hurled their way.” 5

George Soros is a Hungarian-born American Jewish billionaire investor, who created a network of left-wing organizations most notably the Open Society Foundations and the Foundation to Promote Open Society. 6 Soros has given $32 billion to his Open Society Foundations, which works in more than 120 countries. 7 During the 2022 midterm elections, Soros spent $128.5 million in political donations, and spent $131 million between 2016 and 2020 to influence 253 media organizations. 8

Jews Against Soros emerged in part after a controversy in which Twitter owner Elon Musk compared fellow billionaire Soros with the Marvel comics villain Magneto, a character with superpowers and a Jewish background. The Anti-Defamation League criticized Musk for the comment. 9

The Jews Against Soros website asserts, “There is nothing antisemitic about identifying the many ways that George Soros and his network of organizations fund the radical left.” The group further says: “Attacking Soros for his influence on American politics isn’t Antisemitic.  It is simply a fact that he funds a huge proportion of the radical left in this country.” 10

Israel

Jews Against Soros notes that most American Jews support the American-Israeli alliance and accuses George Soros of funding numerous groups that oppose Israel. 11

The organization’s website points to an article that describes Soros contributing tens of millions of dollars to J Street and Human Rights Watch, both left-leaning groups that have been heavily critical of Israeli policies. 12

The group says that Soros has also supported the anti-Israel “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” movement as well as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. 13

Focus on Prosecutors

Jews Against Soros further links to an article mentioning George Soros-linked money contributing to the election of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D). Bragg, after being elected, made a deal with Waseem Awawdeh, who was involved in a mob-beating of Nassau County Jewish resident Joey Borgen in 2021. 14

Jews Against Soros co-founder Will Scharf said he was accused of antisemitism when he pointed out that Soros had backed the election of St. Louis City Attorney Kimberly Gardner (D). 15

Co-Founders

Will Scharf is co-founder of Jews Against Soros. Scharf entered the 2024 Missouri Attorney General’s race as a Republican. Scharf was formerly a federal prosecutor for the Violent Crimes Unit in St. Louis. As a Justice Department lawyer, Scharf worked to support President Donald Trump’s judicial nominations, including the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. 16 Scharf is a former policy director for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R). He was briefly a vice president for CRC Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-area public relations firm. 17

Upon the opening of JAS, Scharf tweeted a list of Soros-supported causes that Scharf characterized as anti-American, and wrote: “Soros’s values are not Jewish values. Opposing Soros’s leftism is not antisemitic, and now more than ever Jews need to stand up and fight against Soros and those who support his radical agenda.” 18

Josh Hammer is a co-founder of Jews Against Soros. Hammer is senior editor-at-large of Newsweek. He is also host of the Josh Hammer Show podcast and a nationally syndicated columnist through Creators. He is a research fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation, and co-hosts the NatCon Squad podcast. Hammer formerly clerked for Judge James C. Ho of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 19

Hammer wrote in Newsweek, “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!’” 20

Hammer continued, “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.” 21

References

  1.  Jews Against Soros. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://jewsagainstsoros.com/
  2. Kilegman, Aaron. “Activists launch Jews Against Soros to oppose mega-donor’s ‘radical left-wing influence.’” May 31, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/activists-launch-jews-against-soros-oppose-mega-donors-radical-left-wing-influence
  3. Jews Against Soros. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://jewsagainstsoros.com/
  4. Dershowitz, Alan. “Jews shouldn’t be defending George Soros against Elon Musk.” Jerusalem Post. June 6, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-745296
  5. Wulfsohn, Joseph. “Jewish conservatives combat left-wing protection of George Soros with ‘Jews Against Soros’ coalition.” Fox News. June 2, 2023. Accessed October 6, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/media/jewish-conservatives-combat-left-wing-protection-george-soros-jews-against-soros-coalition
  6. Jews Against Soros. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://jewsagainstsoros.com/
  7. Kilegman, Aaron. “Activists launch Jews Against Soros to oppose mega-donor’s ‘radical left-wing influence.’” May 31, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/activists-launch-jews-against-soros-oppose-mega-donors-radical-left-wing-influence
  8.  Kilegman, Aaron. “Activists launch Jews Against Soros to oppose mega-donor’s ‘radical left-wing influence.’” May 31, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023.https://www.foxnews.com/politics/activists-launch-jews-against-soros-oppose-mega-donors-radical-left-wing-influence
  9.  Tobin, Jonathan S. “Telling the truth about Soros and antisemitism is essential.” JNS. May 6, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.jns.org/antisemitism/antisemitism/23/6/5/292969/
  10. Jews Against Soros. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://jewsagainstsoros.com/
  11. Jews Against Soros. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://jewsagainstsoros.com/
  12.  Dershowitz, Alan. “Jews shouldn’t be defending George Soros against Elon Musk.” Jerusalem Post. June 6, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-745296
  13. Hammer, Josh. “Soros didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.” Newsweek. June 9, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.newsweek.com/we-are-jews-against-soros-opinion-1805473
  14. Weiss, Farley. “George Soros’ Role in The Rise of American Anti-Semitism.” Israel Heritage Foundation. January 23, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://israelheritagefoundation.org/2023/01/23/george-soros-role-in-the-rise-of-american-anti-semitism/
  15. Wulfsohn, Joseph. “Jewish conservatives combat left-wing protection of George Soros with ‘Jews Against Soros’ coalition.” Fox News. June 2, 2023. Accessed October 6, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/media/jewish-conservatives-combat-left-wing-protection-george-soros-jews-against-soros-coalition
  16. Jews Against Soros. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://jewsagainstsoros.com/
  17. Will Scharf. LinkedIn. Accessed October 6, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-scharf-35214a10/details/experience/
  18. Houston, Warner Todd. “Soros Gets Bad News as Ingenious Group Rises Against Him – He Can’t Claim Antisemitism Now.” Western Journal. June 1, 2023. Accessed October 6, 2023. https://www.westernjournal.com/soros-gets-bad-news-ingenious-group-rises-cant-claim-antisemitism-now/
  19. Jews Against Soros. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://jewsagainstsoros.com/
  20. Hammer, Josh. “Soros didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.” Newsweek. June 9, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.newsweek.com/we-are-jews-against-soros-opinion-1805473
  21. Hammer, Josh. “Soros didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.” Newsweek. June 9, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2023. https://www.newsweek.com/we-are-jews-against-soros-opinion-1805473
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