Rep. Byron Donalds addresses the Conservative Political Action Committee in 2022.
Oct. 11, 2023 by David Silverberg
Even as he expresses support for Israel and denounces President Joe Biden, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) is using anti-Semitic tropes and the stereotype of Jewish financier George Soros to raise funds while alleging a conspiracy against himself.
His e-mailed appeal issued yesterday, Oct. 10, comes amidst rising fears of anti-Semitism and tightened security at Jewish houses of worship in the United States.
“George Soros has been quietly funding a new generation of far-Left activists on TikTok – a platform that’s beholden to the Chinese Communist Party – to manipulate the 2024 election,” stated the fundraising appeal.
As Donalds put it: “Documents reviewed by the New York Post revealed George Soros is paying an army of Gen-Z TikTokers to indoctrinate young voters with Marxist propaganda that pushes his left-wing causes and praises Joe Biden.”
Donalds’ allegations are based on a month-old New York Post article that appeared on Sept. 16: “Joe Biden’s ‘TikTok Army’ received hundreds of thousands from George Soros to push left-wing causes, bash conservatives.”
The fundraiser quotes the article, stating: “The woke foot soldiers regularly go into battle on behalf of abolishing border enforcement, defunding cops, and ending cash bail according to their website.”
Donalds’ fundraising appeal continues: “But Soros’s TikTok influencers don’t just praise Biden and the radical Left. They’re also viciously smearing MAGA patriots at all levels of government – and as a pro-Trump black conservative leading the Biden impeachment inquiry, I’m Public Enemy No. 1.”
Further, “Some far-Left radicals are even calling for MAGA Republicans like me to be thrown out of Congress and banned from holding political office forever!”
Donalds’ use of Soros as a scapegoat is nothing new.
“In far-right circles worldwide, Soros’ philanthropy often is recast as fodder for outsized conspiracy theories, including claims that he masterminds specific global plots or manipulates particular events to further his goals,” according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish organization that fights anti-Semitic slurs. “Many of those conspiracy theories employ longstanding antisemitic myths, particularly the notion that rich and powerful Jews work behind the scenes, plotting to control countries and manipulate global events.”
Soros, 92, announced his retirement from philanthropy in June, when his son Alexander assumed control of the Open Society Foundations founded by his father. Those foundations are dedicated to “build vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their people,” according to their website.
“Even if no antisemitic insinuation is intended, casting a Jewish individual as a puppet master who manipulates national events for malign purposes has the effect of mainstreaming antisemitic tropes and giving support, however unwitting, to bona fide antisemites and extremists who disseminate these ideas knowingly and with malice,” states the ADL.
Ever since Hamas launched its attacks on Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7, Donalds has been vigorously expressing his support for Israel and denouncing President Joe Biden.
“Israel is under attack, Americans are being held hostage by Islamic-Nazi murders, the Middle East is unraveling & JOE BIDEN hosted a BBQ at the White House,” Donalds stated on X on Monday, Oct. 9. The following day he stated: “Thank God for the State of Israel. May God Bless America and our brothers and sisters of the sacred and treasured land of Israel.”
In remarks to the nation yesterday, Oct. 10, President Biden, in addition to making clear his condemnation of terrorist atrocities and support for Israel, announced measures to protect Americans from hate and persecution at home.
“In cities across the United States of America, police departments have stepped up security around centers of Jewish life,” he stated. “And the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are working closely with state and local law enforcement and Jewish community partners to identify and disrupt any domestic threat that could emerge in connection with these horrific attacks.”
He emphasized: “Let’s be real clear: There is no place for hate in America — not against Jews, not against Muslims, not against anybody. We reject — we reject — what we reject is terrorism. We condemn the indiscriminate evil, just as we’ve always done.”
Liberty lives in light
© 2023 by David Silverberg