Last Friday, on April 26, The New York Post unveiled a detailed report titled “George Soros is paying student radicals who are fueling nationwide explosion of Israel-hating protests,” alleging that student demonstrators at American universities are being financially supported by Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire and Holocaust survivor known for his contentious donations to left-wing organizations.
This claim has been echoed in other quarters by several U.S. officials, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, law enforcement officers, and other media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal and The Hill.
The New York Post, along with other proponents of this claim, associates the protests with funding from the Open Society Foundations; a significant financial entity founded by Soros in April 1993. The New York Post reported that “The cash from Soros and his acolytes has been critical to the Columbia protests that set off the national copycat demonstrations… students sleep in tents apparently ordered from Amazon and enjoy delivery pizza, coffee from Dunkin’, free sandwiches worth $12.50 from Pret a Manger, organic tortilla chips and $10 rotisserie chickens.”
The newspaper did not furnish any documents or evidence supporting the purchase of the other mentioned items by some wealthy donors, whether it be the “Amazon tents,” priced at just $20 each, or the described “luxury” food. However, the report posed the question: “Who, or what organization, is behind the delivery of food orders?”
Cheap Tents Prevail at U.S. College Protests
In many instances, pro-Israel voices have frequently attempted to portray student protests on American university campuses as driven by external agendas, claiming that someone or a group is controlling the protesting students. Most proponents of these claims point to the commonality of tents across various universities as their starting point. Kaz Daughtry, Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the New York City Police Department, remarked, “Look at the tents. Where did they all buy the same tents? The source of these tents is the same; There is someone behind all of this and we will find out who it is.”
The allegation then gained traction on Fox News, with host Bret Baier echoing the claims. Meanwhile, Republican Representative Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, told NewsNation: “It is clear that someone is funding them. They were well prepared.” Subsequently, the claim proliferated across numerous social media accounts, casting doubt on the demonstrations solely based on the similarity of the tents.
However, none of the proponents of these claims provided evidence that the tents were sourced from a single financier. It is worth noting that the tents commonly seen at university camps are among the most readily available and inexpensive options on the American market. According to a report by Hell Gate NYC, a site specializing in local New York news, the green tents observed at the Columbia University’s camp are available online from the retail store “Walmart” for just $28, while the tents spotted at the NYU campus camp are sold for less than $15 at the “Five Below” retail store.
Furthermore, the prevalence of student-used tents appearing as top search results on Google may explain their similarity. When Misbar conducted a word search for “tent” on Amazon's U.S. website, the results revealed the $35 green Camel Crown tent, a popular choice among college campers, as the top-selling item with one-day delivery. Additionally, Misbar discovered another popular tent seen at the protests had recently undergone a price reduction and is now available for less than $20 when looking for additional green tents on Amazon accessible in the U.S.
Is Soros’ Money ‘Critical’ to the Protesters?
In its more than 1,500-word report, The New York Post failed to clarify how “cash from Soros and his followers” was “critical” to the protesters as it claimed. Instead, the report simply listed the organizations involved in the protests to some extent and tracked their funding by the Open Society Foundations at one time.
For example, the newspaper claimed that the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights had a fellowship program that included three individuals who were involved in the current university demonstrations. In one illustration, the newspaper described the three students as “paid protesters,” suggesting that their participation was motivated by money rather than the beliefs that initially prompted them to apply for the fellowship.
However, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights is registered with the U.S. IRS under the name “Education for Just Peace in the Middle East” (EJP). The latter has indeed received grants from the Open Society Foundations, with the largest amount being $300,000 provided in 2018. During that fiscal year, Education for Just Peace in the Middle East recorded revenues of just over $1 million and expenditures of about $1.3 million, resulting in a loss for the year. In fiscal year 2019, its net assets amounted to approximately $165,000, indicating that nearly half of the Open Support Foundation’s grant had already been spent.
In 2021, the foundation also received a $150,000 grant from the Open Society Foundations and a two-year grant of $250,000 in 2022. While The New York Post (and others) claim that this money went to those paid protesters, the EJP spent during those years $2.4 million, at least $2 million of which was not from the Open Society Foundation's funds.
More importantly, the three fellows whom the newspaper described as “paid protesters” were from last year’s batch, meaning they received the $10,000 grant (at a rate of only $3,330 each) last year and have not been “funded” by the Open Society Foundations since the beginning of this semester.
The newspaper report also accuses Students for Justice in Palestine of being “funded by Soros” with the aim of participating in the protests. The claim is based on the funding source of Students for Justice in Palestine, which receives funding from the Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation (WESPAC). WESPAC received $132,000 in funding from the Tides Foundation at one point, and the Tides Foundation has received millions in funding from the Open Society Foundations over the years.
It is true that the Tides Foundation has received more than $11 million in grants from the Open Society Foundation grants since 2017. However, the foundation itself reported revenue of $298 million in fiscal year 2017 alone. This indicates that the total donations from the Open Society Foundations represent only 0.3% of the revenue generated by the Tides Foundation between 2017 and 2022.
Regardless, Students for Justice in Palestine denies receiving any money from WESTPAC, and there is no public indication that it actually received any funds from them.
The Jewish Voice for Peace organization, which The New York Post report also focused on, has received grants from the Open Society Foundations in recent years. However, once again, the problem lies in the ratio of that funding to the total spending. From 2017 to 2022, the organization received $875,000 from the Open Society Foundations. However, during that period, it spent $19.6 million, meaning that Soros’ money constituted less than 5% of the total spending.
It is not surprising to see the emergence of the narrative that “everything is funded by George Soros” given its prevalence in right-wing media in the United States. However, this claim overlooks the fluctuating nature of American public opinion regarding Israel’s war in Gaza since its onset. An opinion poll conducted by Gallup last March revealed that only 36% of Americans approved of Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip, down from 50% in November 2023. According to the poll, Republicans are the only demographic group that still strongly supports U.S. backing for the war.
Who Is George Soros?
George Soros was born to a Jewish family in Hungary in 1930. During the Nazi occupation of Hungary between 1944 and 1945, he and his family survived by obtaining forged identity papers and concealing their Jewish background. Soros left Budapest in 1947 to study at the London School of Economics, and in 1956, he headed to the United States where he pursued a career in finance and investment, ultimately amassing his fortune. In 1970, he launched his hedge fund, “Soros Fund Management,” becoming one of the most prominent investors in U.S. history.
Soros has utilized his fortune to support NGOs and projects that align with his philosophy, which is derived from Karl Popper's “The Open Society and Its Enemies,” in over 100 countries. His philanthropic efforts began in 1979 when he offered scholarships to black students in apartheid-era South Africa. Throughout the 1980s, he contributed to funding academic exchanges with the West. Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Soros established the Central European University. As the Cold War ended, he expanded his funding initiatives to encompass regions such as the United States, Africa, South America, West Asia, and the Middle East.
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