The Campaign
The Orbán government had already made critical statements about the world-renowned businessman and his activities in the years following its rise to power in 2010, but the immediate trigger for the nationwide campaign was Soros’s open criticism of the Hungarian government’s position regarding the 2015 European migration crisis.
The campaign portrayed Soros as a threat to national security and depicted him as the organizer of illegal immigration. This was the premise of the alleged “Soros Plan,” which in reality never existed. On posters and online, a smiling Soros – retouched to look unappealing – was accompanied by the slogan “Don’t let Soros have the last laugh!”
The campaign was widely criticized, even beyond Jewish organizations, and not solely because of its anti-Semitic undertones. Undoubtedly, both the content and the graphic elements were reminiscent of the anti-Semitic caricatures that also flooded the country during World War II. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz) condemned the campaign for its potentially anti-Semitic undertones. The Association of United Hungarian Jewish Congregation (EMIH), which maintained a more cordial relationship with the government at the time, did not, however, consider the anti-Soros posters to be anti-Semitic. The government was able to defend the campaign by citing this, among other things; yet, it amounted to an admission that in 2017, during both the Water Polo World Championships and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, the Soros posters were temporarily removed from public spaces.
“I ask you and your government to take immediate action to halt this campaign and remove the posters from our streets and public spaces. You, our elected leaders, have a historic responsibility not to allow hatred to take hold in our country, and not to turn the Hungarian people against one another.”
Open letter of András Heisler, the then President of MAZSIHISZ to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the issue of the poster campaign