Soros, who in recent years has backed groups critical of Israeli government policy, has become a bugbear for the pro-Israel right. In his deleted tweet, Milstein said the $18 billion that Soros’ gift would be “used for civil unrest, dividing Americans and suppressing free speech.” An attached link, to a Wall Street Journal story on the Soros gift, did not provide examples to back up Milstein’s allegations.Antisemites also regularly attack Soros, who they see as part of a Jewish conspiracy to manipulate foreign markets and governments. The image Milstein shared has been appearing on dozens of antisemitic and pro-Russian websites since at least 2015.The image of Jews as tentacled creatures controlling the globe is a classic antisemitic trope, and has appeared in Nazi literature and in the postwar era in cartoons published in the then-Soviet Union and the Arab world. Milstein told JTA he was focused on the IAC conference taking place next month in Washington, D.C.“I didn’t personally select that image,” he said of the tweet.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair last month removed a similar cartoon of Soros following complaints that it was anti-Semitic. In a follow-up tweet, Milstein thanked two of the anti-Israel activists who highlighted his original tweet.“My Thanks to 2 fierce anti-Israel activists who advised me an image I used is similar to this old #Antisemitic cartoon,” said Milstein, tagging Max Blumenthal and Ali Abunimah. “I deleted my tweet.”My Thanks to 2 fierce anti-Israel activists who advised me an image I used is similar to this old #Antisemitic cartoon. I deleted my tweet pic.twitter.com/Z9tJvU9ptP
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) October 20, 2017