Criticizing progressive Jewish billionaire is not antisemitic, Rabbi explains why

“To make [George Soros] into a Jewish martyr is ludicrous inasmuch as he has spent a lifetime distancing himself from anything identifiably Jewish,” Rabbi Aryeh Spero said.

By World Israel News Staff

Criticizing Jewish billionaire George Soros should not be considered an antisemitic offense, a prominent American rabbi has said.

Caucus For America president Rabbi Aryeh Spero said in a statement released on Friday and cited by The Jewish Voice (TJV) that labeling criticism of Soros as antisemitic for political purposes was dishonest and plain “chutzpah.”

Rabbi Spero made his comments in response to accusations of antisemitism made against GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin by his opponent’s supporters.

“The charge by Terry McAuliffe’s supporters that his opponent, Glenn Youngkin, is anti-Semitic because he criticized George Soros is preposterous … No person is beyond criticism simply because he is a member of a minority community,” stated Rabbi Spero.

“Mr. Soros actively and openly engages in politics and in influencing state and local governments and is, therefore, a legitimate object of criticism, especially concerning the leftwing policies he’s tried to force on America through his massive underwritings. Thus, this accusation is just another dishonest attempt to win an election by playing the ‘anti-Semitism card.’ It is specious chutzpah,” the prominent rabbi said.

Youngkin had come under fire for accusing Soros for inserting political ideas into the American school system “disguised as school boards,” JTA reported Thursday.

In a statement made by Youngkin earlier this week, he said that “the blame for these wrongs and the present chaos in our schools, lay squarely, squarely at the feet of 40-year politician Terry McAuliffe … “But also, George Soros-backed allies. These allies that are in the liberal progressive movement, they’ve been inserting political operatives into our school system disguised as school boards.”

Following his comments, Youngkin was accused of promoting an “antisemitic conspiracy theory.”

However, Rabbi Spero seems to disagree.

“Those who point to Soros do so not because he is Jewish but because he is Soros, Soros being the most high profile and effective opponent today of American traditional values,” Rabbi Spero said. “As is well documented, he is by far the primary funder of radical leftist candidates and groups vowing to transform America into a transnational entity. Most people don’t even know the ethnic background of George Soros.

“Most ironic and disingenuous is casting Mr. Soros as a symbol of Jewish peoplehood when, in fact, Mr. Soros has spent a lifetime working against Israel’s defense and Jewish survival and needs. He has been proud of his disassociation from the Jewish community. To make him into a Jewish martyr is ludicrous inasmuch as he has spent a lifetime distancing himself from anything identifiably Jewish,” he concluded.