Alex Soros Blasts Climate Group for Palestine Focus: 'What the Hell Did They Do?'

Alex Soros, the son of billionaire George Soros and chair of the Open Society Foundations, is publicly venting his frustration with the left-wing environmental group Sunrise Movement—ironically, one of the very groups heavily bankrolled by Soros-backed organizations.

In a recent interview, Soros didn’t hold back, saying, "All they do is talk about Palestine. It’s ridiculous." He went on to ask, "What the hell did they do, by the way? We gave them money, and now all they do is talk about Palestine." It’s not every day you hear a donor so openly roast their own beneficiaries. That’s a level of buyer’s remorse most of us only get at thrift stores.

Back in the 2020 election season, the Sunrise Movement—which claims a mission to end the era of "fossil fuel elites"—received about a third of its funding from Soros-backed Democracy PAC and the Sixteen-Thirty Fund, a hefty sum totaling $750,000.

But after the cash infusion, Sunrise DC, the group’s Washington chapter, dove into controversy by posting a statement boycotting events co-sponsored by "Zionist" Jewish organizations. The chapter called Israel a "colonial project" and argued that Jewish groups supporting Zionism were incompatible with the D.C. statehood movement. The statement was roundly condemned as antisemitic, drawing criticism from Jewish activists like podcaster Blake Flayton, who accused Sunrise of intentionally excluding Jewish people from its movement.

Sunrise DC later apologized—sort of. They admitted they shouldn’t have singled out just the three Jewish organizations, but then doubled down on their anti-Zionist stance, linking it to their broader anti-oppression goals. Critics were not impressed, with one noting that their apology was basically just, "Sorry we singled out three Jewish organizations when we should have singled out everyone who doesn’t hate Israel." That’s not exactly textbook PR recovery.

Fast forward to October, and Sunrise Movement was again in the headlines, this time for a lengthy Instagram post arguing that "climate justice means freedom for Palestinians." The group claimed that Israeli military action was a major driver of climate harm, alleging that it had released more carbon emissions than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries combined. Talk about a bold claim—climate stats just got geopolitical.

While some on the left have long pushed back on criticisms of George Soros as veiled antisemitism, the Soros family's funding of progressive groups vocally opposing Israel has complicated that narrative. Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, even described Alex Soros as a "mirror image" of his father’s anti-Israel stance, and accused the Soros foundation of supporting radical Palestinian organizations that label Israel a "moral sin."

When asked whether Alex Soros would continue to fund anti-Israel activists, Chikli didn’t mince words: "It looks like the son is a replica of his father. We have no expectation that his son will be a big Zionist."

Both Open Society Foundations and Sunrise Movement declined to comment on the latest round of controversy.