George Soros' demand that America and Israel 'open the door to Hamas' makes its rounds once again

Democratic mega-donor George Soros has funded myriad radical groups over the years. Among them is a Palestinian activist outfit that seized upon Hamas' slaughter of thousands of Israelis to both condemn the Jewish nation and intimate that the butchery of civilians was simply part of an active process of "dismantling colonial power."

While Al-Shabaka might not speak for the 93-year-old leftist billionaire, Soros has previously appeared to suggest that the West should work with Hamas. In a 2007 Financial Times op-ed, which recently began making the rounds again, Soros argued that "America and Israel must open the door to Hamas."

At the time he recommended doing so, the U.S. had already recognized Hamas as a terrorist organization for about a decade.

What's the background?

Months after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Palestinians elected Hamas to rule them in an purportedly free and fair January 2006 election.

Hamas, which stands for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya or the Islamic Resistance Movement, is the "largest and most capable militant group in the Palestinian territories," according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The U.S. State Department designated it a foreign terrorist organization in October 1997.

The New York Post indicated that Israel was swift to condemn the election of Hamas in light of the group's primary goal: to establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital through violent means.

The U.S., Russia, the U.N., and the European Union initially appeared accepting of the new regime but conditioned assistance on Hamas' future commitment to "non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations." Hamas refused, prompting external and internal pressure and ultimately a violent intra-Palestinian conflict, which doubled as a minor proxy war between Iran and the United States.

A month before Soros penned his opinion piece, the U.S.-backed Fatah faction led by then-Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas penned an agreement with Hamas to stop the fighting. This February 2007 agreement saw to the formation of a unity government in March 2007. The promise of unity was, however, short-lived. The government was dissolved roughly four months later, the Palestinian Authority was ousted, and Hamas took control of Gaza with its military wing, the al Qassem Brigades, and has been a dominant force ever since.

Opening doors for terrorists

In a March 2007 article entitled, "America and Israel must open the door to Hamas," Soros wrote, "The Bush administration is again committing a blunder in the Middle East by supporting the Israeli government in its refusal to recognise a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas."

Former President George W. Bush repeatedly indicated that America would not deal with "a political party that articulates ... the destruction of Israel as part of its platform."

According to the leftist billionaire, Near Eastern peace hinged on Hamas support.

"Hamas is not monolithic," said Soros. "Its inner structure is little known to outsiders but, according to some reports, it has a military wing, largely directed from Damascus and beholden to its Syrian and Iranian sponsors, and a political wing that is more responsive to the needs of the Palestinian population that elected it."

"If Israel had accepted the results of the election, that might have strengthened the more moderate political wing," continued Soros. "Both Israel and the US seem frozen in their unwillingness to negotiate with a Palestinian Authority that includes Hamas. The sticking-point is Hamas's unwillingness to recognise the existence of Israel, but that could be made a condition for an eventual settlement rather than a precondition for negotiations."

In a longer version of the opinion piece published in the New York Review of Books on April 12, 2007, Soros extended blame to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as well, stating it "must bear its share of responsibility for aiding and abetting policies such as Israel's heavy-handed response to Hezbollah last summer and its insistence on treating Hamas only as a terrorist organization."

He further suggested that AIPAC stood in the way of a Saudi-brokered peace accord.

Soros concluded by emphasizing he did not "subscribe to the myths propagated by enemies of Israel and [was] not blaming Jews for anti-Semitism. ... At the same time, I do believe that attitudes toward Israel are influenced by Israel's policies, and attitudes toward the Jewish community are influenced by the pro-Israel lobby's success in suppressing divergent views."

Still holding the door

Soros did not get his way 16 years ago. However, in the time since, he has managed to pad the pockets of others who might be eager to hold the door for Hamas.

The Palestinian activist group Al-Shabaka stated within hours of Hamas terrorists savaging hundreds of civilians that it "rejects the Israeli regime's colonial borders that work to fragment and ultimately erase Palestinian existence. Breaching these boundaries expands the Palestinian imaginary for possibilities of both resistance and collective freedom."

"We recognize that decolonization is not a metaphor; it is not merely statements or analysis, but an active process that demands the dismantling of colonial power and the reclamation of land," continued the statement.

NewsBusters recently reported that Open Society Foundations, the grant-making network founded by Soros, gave Al-Shabaka $550,000 between 2017 and 2021 alone while the aged billionaire was still in charge. In the apparently pro-Hamas group's spring 2023 annual report, Al-Shabaka lists OSF as one of its "valued supporters."

"Iran and its allies have been clear about their goals to end America, eliminate Israel and exterminate Jews everywhere. If George and Alex Soros cannot define the enemy here, there can be no more doubt about where their allegiance lies," said Dan Schneider, business vice president at the Media Research Center. "It is beyond horrific that the Soros fortune is being used to support Al-Shabaka and numerous other backers of terrorism, murder and war crimes. The Soros family is on notice: It is a crime to aid and abet the enemy."

BLM, which has reportedly netted tens of millions of dollars in grants from OSF, saw its Chicago chapter post an image last week of a paraglider with a Palestinian flag captioned "I STAND WITH PALESTINE," just days after Hamas terrorists paraglided into Israel.

Money from Soros' organizations appears to have also made its way to others who have blamed Israel for its recent misfortunes, such as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

As of Oct. 13, the Israel Defense Forces stated that Hamas had injured over 3,200 Israelis, killed over 1,300 Israelis, and kidnapped hundreds. Over 30 Americans have been killed, according to the U.S. State Department.

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