Israel backs Hungary in its showdown with George Soros

by WorldTribune Staff, July 11, 2017

Israel has voiced its support for Hungary which is locked in a war of ideas with leftist U.S. billionaire George Soros.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has backed a campaign in which Soros is singled out as an enemy of the state, Reuters reported on July 10.

Hungarian government poster of George Soros that reads ”Don’t let George Soros have the last laugh’ is seen in Budapest on July 6. / Reuters

“Let’s not allow Soros to have the last laugh” say billboards next to a picture of the 86-year-old Soros.

Some Hungarian Jewish groups and Human Rights Watch, an organization partly funded by Soros, have condemned the campaign, saying it “evokes memories of the Nazi posters during the Second World War.”

Human Rights Watch is frequently critical of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians.

Israel’s ambassador to Hungary issued a statement denouncing the campaign, saying the campaign “evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear.”

Hours after the ambassador made his comments over the weekend, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a “clarification” saying that Soros was a legitimate target for criticism.

“In no way was the statement (by the ambassador) meant to delegitimize criticism of George Soros, who continuously undermines Israel’s democratically elected governments,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon, adding that Soros funded organizations “defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself.”

A spokesman for Soros’s Open Society Foundations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Orban this week.


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