Former US President Donald Trump has once again targeted Jewish billionaire and progressive megadonor George Soros in his latest fundraising email to supporters. Trump claimed that Soros
has personally funded "district attorneys" who are supposedly coming after him, referring to the looming charges against him for allegedly paying off a paramour to keep quiet about their sexual encounter. Trump has also called for protests against what he perceives as Soros-funded district attorneys.
Jewish groups that monitor antisemitism and Jewish security have expressed concern over Trump's latest calls for protests. While they are keeping an eye on the situation, they note that the posts have not garnered the same level of support as Trump's past appeals. The 2021 post by Trump, which touted a rally that ended in violence, resulted in the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump's constant invocation of Soros raises concerns, particularly given reports of a significant increase in antisemitic attacks. Soros, who is a Holocaust survivor and financier, has been at the center of countless conspiracy theories for decades. In 2018, he was the target of a bomb scare carried out by a pro-Trump antisemitic attacker. He was also prominently featured in the conspiracy theories embraced by the gunman who massacred 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.
However, despite Trump's calls for protests, Jewish groups have not seen any imminent plans for violence. Organized extremists, who have heeded Trump's calls in the past, are displaying wariness online this time, fearful of being drawn into a trap. Some are preoccupied with the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection, as some of their members are being prosecuted for their roles in the riot. Other groups are focused on this year's culture wars, such as protesting "drag queen story hours."
Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, warns that the danger of referencing Soros in a call for protests is that bad actors may interpret it in uncomfortable ways. Given the current climate of antisemitic attacks, the Jewish community is understandably sensitive to such references.
In summary, Donald Trump's latest fundraising email has once again targeted George Soros and has called for protests against what he perceives as Soros-funded district attorneys. Jewish groups that monitor antisemitism and Jewish security are concerned about the situation but have not seen any imminent plans for violence. However, the constant invocation of Soros raises concerns, particularly given the current climate of antisemitic attacks. Photo by Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia commons.