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November 14, 2003/Cheshvan 19 5764, Vol. 56, No. 8
Soros blames Jews for anti-Semitism
URIEL HEILMAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - It's not often that George Soros, the billionaire financier and philanthropist, makes an appearance before a Jewish audience.
It's even rarer for him to use such an occasion to talk about Israel, Jews and his own role in effecting political change.
So when Soros stepped to the podium Nov. 5 at a conference of the Jewish Funders Network, audience members were listening carefully. Many were surprised by what they heard.
Soros, who is Jewish, said European anti-Semitism is the result of the policies of Israel and the United States.
"There is a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. The policies of the Bush ad-ministration and the Sharon administration contribute to that," Soros said. "It's not specifically anti-Semitism, but it does manifest itself in anti-Semitism as well. I'm critical of those policies."
The billionaire financier said he, too, bears some responsibility for the new anti-Semitism, citing last month's speech by Malaysia's outgoing prime minister, Mahathir Mohammad, who said, "Jews rule the world by proxy."
"I'm also very concerned about my own role because the new anti-Semitism holds that the Jews rule the world," said Soros, whose projects and funding have influenced governments around the world.
"As an unintended consequence of my actions," he said, "I also contribute to that image."
After the conference, some Jewish leaders who heard about the speech reacted angrily to Soros' remarks.
"Let's understand things clearly: Anti-Semitism is not caused by Jews; it's caused by anti-Semites," said Elan Steinberg, senior advisor at the World Jewish Congress.
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