Blurred lines: From Soros to Rockefeller, how Biden's donors are indirectly funding campus protests

As the United States is struggling to curb the nationwide pro-Palestinian protest, the names of the people who are funding these demonstrations were revealed in a damaging report.

While the US Joe Biden has been dogged for months by pro-Palestinian protesters who are calling him “Genocide Joe”, reports are emerging that the protests received financial backing from the same philanthropists who are pushing hard for his re-election.

According to a Politico analysis, the donors of the ongoing demonstration include some of the biggest names in Democratic circles: Soros, Rockefeller and Pritzker.

As per the report, two of the organisers who are supporting the protests at Columbia University and on other campuses are Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. Both organisations 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.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

While Soros declined to comment on the matter, the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation made it clear that it no longer has active grants to the Tides Foundation.

How Rockefeller and Pritzker are related to the protests

Another notable Democratic donor whose philanthropy helped the protests is David Rockefeller Jr whose foundation donated $300,000 to Tides in 2022. What makes Tides so important is the fact that it has given nearly $500,000 to Jewish Voice for Peace over the past five years.

Several other groups that are involved in the ongoing protests are backed by a foundation which is funded by Susan and Nick Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire. Pritzkers have been a strong supporter of Biden. In the past, they have donated more than $300,000 during the 2020 campaign.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

Why it matters? 

This trail of donations reflects a series of blurred lines when it comes to the liberal caucuses that are functioning in the United States.

“Why [is the Rockefeller Fund] giving significant grants to Jewish Voice for Peace, [which] blamed the horrific Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the United States rather than Hamas?” asked Elisha Wiesel, a Democratic donor who chairs the Elie Wiesel Foundation, an organization that supports anti-genocide work.

Shortly after the October 7 massacre, the Jewish Voice for Peace released a statement in which they stated that “the source of all this violence” was “Israeli apartheid and occupation — and United States complicity in that oppression.”

It is important to note that the complex funding system in the nonprofit space sometimes means that groups are funded by grants and even subgrants from large foundations. Hence, these foundations may not be involved in the day-to-day management of an activist group’s work.

While reacting to the reports, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund told Politico that it cannot support political activity or campaigns of this sort.

“Our grantees in all three portfolios support a broad range of policy ideas—some align with the Biden administration’s agenda and others conflict. This complexity is part and parcel of our nonpartisan work,” said Sarah Edkins, the fund’s communications director, in a statement.

Who trained the activists? 

Amid the chaos, reports also emerged that some Left-leaning groups also encouraged anti-Israeli demonstrations and even trained them to conduct such protests. According to The Wall Street Journal, longtime protesting groups like National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and veterans of Black Panthers are involved in training these students.

As per the reports, organisers of the protesters went to a community meeting on “gentrification and development” and attended online training sessions which were conducted by the Black Panthers.

“We took notes from our elders, engaged in dialogue with them and analysed how the university responded to previous protests,” said Sueda Polat, one of the organisers. Hence, the support for these protesters indicates the blurred lines of liberal ideology in the United States and around the world.

With inputs from agencies.