A review of Federal Election Commission data by RealClearPolitics found congressional Democrats running for reelection have taken more than $6.5 million from three major donors who are also bankrolling the anti-Israel protests roiling college campuses.
They include New Hampshire’s own Rep. Chris Pappas, who collected nearly $60,000 from the same people funding anti-Israel and anti-U.S. protests.
“The names are well-known among Democratic funding circles: Soros, Rockefeller, and Pritzker,” RCP reports. “Yet before the anti-Jewish protests swept college campuses over the last few months, their financial ties to the student groups were not widely known.”
Multiple media organizations have noted the flow of money from major Democratic donors to the organizations behind many campus protests.
“Two of the organizers supporting the protests at Columbia University and on other campuses are Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow,” Politico reported. “Both are supported by the Tides Foundation, which is seeded by Democratic megadonor George Soros and was previously supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It in turn supports numerous small nonprofits that work for social change.
Members of IfNotNow rushed the stage during Gov. Ron DeSantis’ speech at last year’s Amos Tuck NHGOP fundraiser protesting his support of Israel.
Pappas is among the dozens of Democratic House members who’ve taken close to $1 million in donations from these wealthy liberal donors.
On Thursday, Pappas voted against the bipartisan “Israel Security Assistance Support Act,” which would force the Biden administration to send all of the weapons funded by Congress to Israel. Pappas called House Republicans “cynical” in a statement that claims he supports arming Israel, opposes the GOP bill sending arms to Israel, and chides Biden for not arming Israel.
“There is simply no time for politics when it comes to U.S. foreign policy, our national security interests, and the assistance required to defeat Hamas and support innocent civilians. I remain concerned by President Biden’s intention to delay certain weapons shipments to Israel and the message that sends to Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist proxies. America must never neglect our obligation to support our allies in their times of need,” Pappas said.
Pappas did not respond to a request for comment about the more than $57,000 he’s received since 2019 from the Soros, Rockefeller, and Pritzker organizations.
Soros is a billionaire philanthropist and one of President Joe Biden’s biggest financial backers. He and his family are also behind the Open Society Foundation which is a major source of money for anti-Israel organizing groups.
The Pritzker family fortune comes from its ownership of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and the Pritzkers have been using that money to support the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. Both groups are very active in organizing anti-Israel campus protests.
The Rockefeller family is synonymous with liberal wealth, giving half a million to the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace alone.
Hollie Noveletsky, one of three Republicans running in the primary to take on Pappas in the fall, isn’t surprised Pappas is sharing donors with the protesters.
“Pappas is accepting money from the same sources that are funding violent, anti-American, and antisemitic protests on college campuses. He should return the money and stand up for America,” Noveletsky said. “It’s not surprising, though, given his vote to not hold the Biden administration accountable and mandate that they deliver the needed military weaponry that was appropriated by Congress.”
Another candidate, Chris Bright, called Pappas is a “sell-out” who cares more about campaign cash than standing with allies.
“If you were wondering why Congressman Pappas voted against a bipartisan Israeli aid bill just weeks after Hamas’ brutal attack, was slow to respond to the violent, antisemitic campus protests, and then just this week voted to allow an arms embargo against Israel, now we know. It may be how Chris Pappas does business in Washington, but as someone who has fought for our country and our values, I will never sell out for campaign contributions,” Bright said.
Russell Prescott has long been calling out Pappas for his convoluted and compromised stance that supports arming Israel, while voting against arming Israel, while taking money from people and groups opposed to Israel. Prescott also wants Pappas to return the donations.
“There is a reason why I call Chris ‘Politics Playing Pappas’ as I am on the campaign trail. He plays all sides of every issue simply to benefit his campaign, and his supposed support for Israel is no different.
Last year, I was the first to call on Chris to return donations he received from anti-Israel members of Congress. Once again, I call on him to do the same with these funds. Granite Staters certainly deserve a representative in Washington who stands strong with Israel, but more than anything, we deserve a congressman who cares more about what’s right and wrong and less about deceptive political gamesmanship,” Prescott said.
