George Soros Says ‘Laughing Jew’ Billboards Recalls Europe’s ‘Darkest Hours’

By Reuters July 11, 2017

An anti-migrant billboard campaign by the Hungarian government that uses the image of U.S. financier George Soros is “reminiscent of Europe’s darkest hours,” Soros’ spokesman said on Tuesday.

The billboards and full-page media ads that have appeared across Hungary depict a smiling Soros – a vocal critic of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing government – and the caption: “Don’t let Soros have the last laugh.”

Some Soros billboards have been defaced with graffiti that reads “stinking Jew.” Soros, 86, is a Hungarian Jew who emigrated after World War Two, made his fortune in the United States and has long supported groups promoting liberal, democratic and open-border values in eastern Europe.

Michael Vachon, spokesperson for Soros, condemned the billboard campaign as “anti-European” and said it also misrepresented the financier’s views on migration.

“Last week the Fidesz-led government launched a nationwide billboard and television advertising campaign reminiscent of Europe’s darkest hours,” Vachon said in an emailed statement.

“The Hungarian regime’s xenophobia and demonization of refugees are anti-European.”

The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Federations (Mazsihisz) has urged Orban to halt the campaign.

“This campaign, while not openly anti-Semitic, clearly has the potential to ignite uncontrolled emotions, including anti-Semitism,” they said.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO