George Soros Says ‘Laughing Jew’ Billboards Recalls Europe’s ‘Darkest Hours’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
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.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
