JTA — US President Joe Biden has awarded the United States’ top civilian honor to George Soros, the Holocaust survivor and billionaire donor to progressive and Democratic causes, along with 18 other people.
Biden’s selection of Soros, 94, to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Saturday was notable because Soros’s giving has made him a frequent target of criticism and invective from right-wingers around the world. Some of the criticism has been explicitly antisemitic or resembled age-old conspiracy theories about Jewish power.
The formal comments at the White House ceremony noted Soros’s Jewish identity, saying: “Born into a Jewish family in Hungary, George Soros escaped Nazi occupation to build a life of freedom for himself and countless others around the world.”
Biden’s decision to give Soros the honor spurred criticism from some conservatives, including Elon Musk, the billionaire who is closely involved with the incoming administration of Donald Trump. Musk called Soros’s award a “travesty” in a post on X, the social media company he owns.
Soros’s son Alex, who assumed the helm of the family’s Open Society Foundations charity last year, accepted the award on behalf of his father.
Two other Jews received the honor in the last batch of medals awarded by Biden: the businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein, and the fashion designer Ralph Lauren, who was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx. The White House said in a statement that Lauren “redefined the fashion industry with a lifestyle brand that embodies timeless elegance and American tradition.”
Hungarian-born US investor and philanthropist George Soros delivers a speech on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting,in Davos, eastern Switzerland, on January 23, 2020. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images/JTA)
Another recipient was the chef Jose Andres, whose humanitarian group, World Central Kitchen, has provided aid in Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas. An Israeli strike killed seven of the group’s personnel last year, promoting protest and scrutiny of Israel’s practices, as well as an apology from Israel, which said the strike was unintentional.
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