Protests in America and Israel: Follow the Money

By Tuvia Brodie

Some argue that the American protest group, Occupy Wall Street, represents an attempt to start a revolution. This revolution apparently aims to dismantle an abusive capitalism in order to create a New World order. We do not know much about this ‘New World Order’ but to many unemployed and underemployed, it sounds pretty good. Why not destroy American capitalism? ‘New’ sounds better than the deal they’ve got now. The problem is, protesters don’t understand that the cure they seek may not be the cure they get—and the cure they get could be worse than the supposed disease.

Protesters talk about economic justice. But this protest may not be about jobs, corporate greed or fair pay. There are simply too many people talking about ‘revolution’. We know all about revolutions. We’ve seen them in the Middle East. They start in the street and they are nasty. Now it could be America’s turn--and America could be vulnerable. This might be important for Israel because we have seen protest elements here. Is there a connection? Let’s take a look at America. Perhaps we can learn something about Israel.

Strong giants who control vast resources often dream of conquest. Ahmadinejad in Iran, Putin in Russia and George Soros in his financial world—all have the resources to fund, sponsor and create disruptions that will favour them. Using instant messaging and millions of dollars, an army of discontents can be formed practically overnight. It doesn’t take much. Invest millions (these dreamers have money) into dozens of start-up groups and millions more for protest support costs (tents, bedding, toilets, food, phone-recharging stations, first aid stations), and you are good to go.

Why invest this money? To disrupt and then dismantle in order to win. Who wins if American capitalism crashes? Follow the money; whenever there is enough money at stake, the winner will get extremely rich. The US has the most money, and if she is the loser, your pockets can fill very quickly (it’s called, ‘investing short’). If the win is big enough, America could become second-rate—and subject to the requirements of the winner. It would be something like when General Motors went bankrupt, only bigger. That’s what General Motors taught us: big can be broken. For the winner, the prize is enormous.

Is America vulnerable? Perhaps. I do not know if Putin or Ahmadinejad have any connection to protests in America. But George Soros has a history. He is a billionaire currency speculator. He has experience taking on big currency bets: he has been accused of collapsing the Malaysian financial system (in the 1990s); he has been called ‘The man who broke the Bank of England’ through currency speculation; and his ‘work’ is sufficiently understood that Paul Krugman has accused him of triggering currency crises for profit. He has become one of the wealthiest men in America. According to the New American (‘Funding of Breton Woods II by George Soros exposed’, Bob Adelman, March 30, 2011), Soros also has a political mission. He has been working to establish a ‘new world architecture’, one that would recalibrate America’s international standing. For Soros, America appears ‘too big for her britches.’ She needs to be pulled down a few notches because, to paraphrase Soros, the main enemy of an open society is no longer communism, but capitalism—and America represents that capitalist enemy. Perhaps to clarify this idea, he has written that, ‘the main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States’ (see The Age of Fallibility). He wants change. He wants a different world order, with a ‘lesser’ America. He has been connected to funding Occupy Wall Street and other anti-capitalist organizations. He has a clear philosophy, a lot of cash and a speculator’s brazenness. If he wants to collapse American capitalism, he has the financial track-record, the political motivation and sufficient experience with currency to try it. If the right circumstances occur (which he might help to create), he might be able to ‘break’ America’s economic strength (and arrogance) by triggering a currency crisis in the dollar. Remember, the Russians and the Chinese have been agitating against the dollar, and that dollar is now weak enough that the International Monetary Fund has already wondered aloud if it might be time to drop the dollar as ‘currency of international trade’. Soros has been involved with these discussions (see Adelman, above). As a currency speculator, he understands the significance of this kind of pressure against the dollar in the international marketplace; and he knows how to gamble with currency fluctuations. Yes, if he loses, it could cost him billions. But then, he earned 3.3 billion dollars in 2009 and is rumored to have earned another seven billion in 2010. He has the money to gamble--and he can afford to lose. He could be the perfect speculator with the perfect ideology to create the perfect scenario for a perfect win—at America’s expense.

More important for Israel, it is no secret that Soros’ name has been associated with significant contributions to the anti-Israel industry. Although exact numbers are difficult to come by, it seems clear that he has donated millions of NIS (and dollars) to Leftist NGOs which have distributed that money to perhaps dozens of anti-Israel groups, including those who support current protests. All of these aim to destroy Jewish Israel, often in the name of ‘democracy’. Protest leader Daphne Leef has already been quoted referring to ‘swinish capitalism’, and other calls of current Israel protesters are strikingly similar to those of America’s Occupy Wall Street. Coincidence?

I can understand how America, with a weak economy, protests in the street and a faltering international reputation would be a target for an experienced, aggressive currency speculator. I can understand why an anti-capitalism ideologue might want to trigger a crisis in the world’s biggest capitalist economy. I can even understand why a financier might invest tens of millions to foment unrest in America -- to enhance economic weakness--when he stands to make billions through shrewd speculation. But Israel? Why would Israel be a target?

Soros has already suggested that Israel (like America) is a stumbling block to an open and just democracy (Washington Post, February, 2011); he wants to create a new world architecture that supports an open and just world society (he has written about this); he has a track-record of political ‘investing’ ( to defeat George W. Bush; to ‘defeat’ American capitalism); he certainly understands that currency fluctuations are often linked to political instability; and he has already been accused of triggering currency crises for profit. By bringing money here to support Leftists who seek to create a crisis by bringing down the Netanyahu government, could this billionaire also be looking at Israel for political and financial goals? Here’s a hint: follow the money—and watch both the Shekel and Leftist NGOs.