Democratic megadonor George Soros donated hundreds of thousands of dollars recently to foreign groups with ties to Palestinian terrorists, according to a Washington Examiner review of grant records.
Foundation to Promote Open Society and Open Society Action Fund, a pair of Soros-backed nonprofit groups, granted $420,000 combined in 2023 to the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the European arm of Al Haq, both of which are linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated terrorist faction. The Soros-funded entities also cut two checks totaling $500,000 to 7amleh, the staff of which has expressed support for the PFLP and appeared to praise the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel last year, newly released financial disclosures show.
News of the funding comes as Soros faces scrutiny from Republicans for supporting entities behind anti-Israel protests in the United States after Oct. 7. The billionaire gives generously to Democrats and left-leaning nonprofit groups focused on a wide variety of issues, such as green energy, criminal justice, and immigration. Alex Soros, the 38-year-old son of George Soros, was elected as president of the board of the Open Society Foundations in December 2022 — assuming control of an influential and deep-pocketed philanthropy network.
The Open Society Foundations, the umbrella group for the Soros-funded entities, did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s requests for comment.
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, one of the groups Soros funded, has a track record of hosting events with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine officials, the Washington Examiner reported. The center also recently disclosed board members who have been identified as closely affiliated with Hamas and the PFLP.
The PFLP is responsible for plane hijackings and other attacks on Israel and was designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department in 1997.
Jonathan Kaplan, a spokesman for the Open Society Foundations, previously told the Washington Examiner that the network does “not support Hamas” and “abhor[s] terrorism in all its forms.”
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has long been led by Palestinian politician Kamal El-Sharafi, according to nonprofit documents. El Sharafi posts images on social media of himself at funerals for PFLP leaders and meeting with PFLP officials, according to a Washington Examiner review of his social media history.
“In addition to the direct connections between Al Mezan and its employees with terrorist organizations, several of them have posted material on their social media accounts glorifying terror attacks and groups and utilizing antisemitic rhetoric and imagery,” NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog group, said in a 2020 report on the center.
The Open Society Foundations’s grant to Al Mezan was earmarked “to support the grantee’s work on monitoring and documenting human rights and International Humanitarian Law violations,” according to financial disclosures.
Al Haq, the other PFLP-linked group funded by Soros, is an Israeli-designated terrorist group. The Soros-backed grant in 2023 was earmarked “to support work on human rights, legal research, and advocacy in Europe.”
Al Haq formed in 1979 and counts its general director as Shawan Jabarin, who has faced convictions and prison time for arranging events for the PFLP, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Al Haq head of training Ziad Hmaidan, who in October 2023 urged Palestinians to attack Israel, has touted his friendship on social media with the late Omar Mana, whom the PFLP once called a terrorist “fighter” who died “while participating in armed clashes with occupation army forces,” according to NGO Monitor.
“It is written in the Hadith: ‘You must wage jihad. The best jihad is preparing for war, and it is best to prepare for war in Ashkelon,’” Hmaidan said on Oct. 10, 2023, on Facebook.
The other funding unearthed by the Washington Examiner — $500,000 to 7amleh — was earmarked for “general support” and “to support policy advocacy on digital rights.” Soros, 94, has also cut large checks this election cycle to the presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic National Committee, and other campaign committees, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
7amleh participates in pro-Palestinian campaigns with Al-Haq, while its staff members have long expressed support for the PFLP, according to social media posts. Nadim Nashif, 7amleh’s co-founder and director, once posted an article on social media that dubbed the PFLP terrorist Leila Khaled a “resistance icon.”
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7amleh also collaborates on events and has shared staff with Al Haq, the senior advocacy and outreach director of which, Diana Alzeer, spoke at 7amleh’s May 2022 conference. In 2020, 7amleh praised the PFLP’s Ghassan Kanafani and Sabri Khalil al Banna as “distinguished Palestinian personalities,” NGO Monitor found.
7amleh, Al Haq, and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights did not reply to requests for comment.
