On Dec. 20, 1998, billionaire George Soros, moneyman for such American left-wing groups as Moveon.org, the Institute of Policy Studies and Media Matters, was interviewed by Steve Kroft on CBS' "60 Minutes" regarding his activity during the World War II Nazi occupation of his native Hungary. During that time, 1944-1945, the 14-year-old Soros helped a man who was posing as his father make the rounds as this man confiscated property from Jews. Soros acknowledged that he served papers to Jews and watched as they were shipped off to the death camps. He referred to the 10-month Nazi occupation as the happiest time of his life as he wistfully recalled the time as one that was adventurous and fun.
When Kroft asked Soros if he felt any guilt, Soros said, "Whether I was there or not, I was only a spectator; the property was being taken away. So I had no role in taking away that property. So I had no sense of guilt." Besides the fact that he had just admitted to Kroft that he did indeed play an active a role in the confiscations, he justified his actions by observing that the Jews and their property were to be taken away anyway – so what difference did it make if he, George Soros, was doing it as opposed to someone else? This seems to be the modus operandi of Soros ever since. Hey, Soros rationalizes, if a nation's currency is going to collapse anyway, then why shouldn't I, George Soros, make money off of it? And so what if I give them a push? Someone else was going to do it anyway.
Advertisement - story continues below
Many liberal Jewish leaders responded not to Soros' pro-Nazi past, nor to his present attitudes as expressed on "60 Minutes," but rather to conservative Fox News host Glenn Beck for quoting from the Soros interview. The liberal website Media Matters, which accepted money from Soros, published quotes from several prominent liberal Jews criticizing Beck and defending Soros. Typifying the tenor of the attack were comments made by Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants, who was quoted by Media Matters as calling Beck's accusations "monstrous; you don't make such accusations without proof, and I have seen no such proof." Apparently, Mr. Steinberg missed the "60 Minutes" interview.
Abe Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote that Beck's recitation of the "60 Minutes" interview with Soros was "completely inappropriate, offensive and over the top." After looking into the matter further, Foxman apologized to Beck for calling him an anti-Semite. Simon Greer, president of the Soros-financed Jewish Funds for Justice, had the utter gall to refer to Soros as a "Holocaust survivor." Soros has sent substantial sums of money to J. Street, an ultra liberal Jewish group that supports welcoming Hamas into the Israel-Arab peace talks.
TRENDING: Raw deal
I seem to recall several liberal guests commenting on my daily radio program this past election regarding Ohio Republican congressional candidate Rich Lott, criticizing him for wearing a Nazi uniform at a historical re-enactment. This was proof, according to these liberals, that Lott, and by extension all Republicans, must be Nazis. Yet the same liberals have said not a word about George Soros' sordid past. Instead they attack the messenger for bringing it up.
Advertisement - story continues below
While several Jewish groups, particularly the Zionist Organization of America, and most Jews condemn Soros, it should be stated that his Jewish defenders are a disgrace. Either they have sold out for the money flowing from the Soros coffers, or they are just plain stooges and quislings in the service of a political agenda that trumps all other considerations. Shame on them for their spineless lack of courage and for their zero sense of principle.
Chuck Morse is the author of "The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism: Adolf Hitler and Haj Amin Al-Hussein" and a talk-show host with Fairness Doctrine Radio.
