George Soros: Putin Is Source Of Attacks Against Me

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By Nathan Guttman January 15, 2018

It is not often that George Soros speaks publicly. But after being targeted for months by Hungarian right-wing authorities, Soros is shooting back.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the 87-years-old Jewish billionaire points to what he views as a disturbing trend in Europe and around the world. “It’s déjà vu all over again with one big change — the dominant ideology in the world now is nationalism,” he said. He argued that Russia was the player benefiting from this rise in global nationalism.

Soros and his organization, the Open Society Foundation, have been accused by the Hungarian government of meddling with the country’s policies and working to open Hungary’s borders to refugees. Some of the attacks carried a clear anti-Semitic undertone aimed at Soros, who was born in Hungary and left the country after the Holocaust.

In the interview, Soros pointed to Russian president Vladimir Putin as the force behind these and other attacks. “He doesn’t like me,” Soros said of Putin. Soros and his Foundation have been critical of Putin’s policies and in 2015 Russia kicked the foundation out of the country, citing “security risks.”

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.