An executive for George Soros’s philanthropic organization derided President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani for claiming that he’s more Jewish than the billionaire.
Giuliani, in a recent interview with New York Magazine, claimed that Soros “put all four ambassadors” in their positions and also accused former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who testified in the impeachment hearings, of being “controlled” by Soros, without any proof.
“Don’t tell me I’m anti-Semitic if I oppose him,” he said. “Soros is hardly a Jew. I’m more of a Jew than Soros is. I probably know more about — he doesn’t go to church, he doesn’t go to religion — synagogue. He doesn’t belong to a synagogue, he doesn’t support Israel, he’s an enemy of Israel. He’s elected eight anarchist DA’s in the United States. He’s a horrible human being.”
The Open Society Foundations directed the Washington Examiner to Laura Silber, the organization’s chief communications officer, who expressed condemnation of Giuliani’s remark on social media.
She called the former New York City mayor’s comments “contemptible” and added that they “reflect his toxic campaign of misinformation and falsehood,” used to distract “from the gravity of the charges facing the President.”
Giuliani’s remarks about George Soros’ Jewishness as reported in @NYMag are contemptible – and reflect his toxic campaign of misinformation and falsehoods – aimed at distracting from the gravity of the charges facing the President. https://t.co/LDr1UOhpMy
— Laura Silber (@laurasilber) December 24, 2019
Soros has long been attacked by conspiracy theorists, particularly those referring to exceptional power and influence in the world.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told the Daily Beast, “Mr. Giuliani’s assertion that George Soros controls U.S. Ambassadors, employs FBI agents and is ‘hardly a Jew’ is baffling and offensive. Let’s be crystal clear: Mr. Giuliani is not the arbiter of who is Jewish and who is not, or what is anti-Semitic and what is not.”
“For decades, George Soros’ philanthropy has been used as fodder for outsized anti-Semitic conspiracy theories insisting there exists Jewish control and manipulation of countries and global events,” he continued. “Mr. Giuliani should apologize and retract his comments immediately, unless he seeks to dog whistle to hardcore anti-Semites and white supremacists who believe this garbage.”
Giuliani, however, stood by his remarks, telling NBC News, “I’m more Jewish than half my friends,” when a reporter asked him if his words were made in jest
