Rep. Mary Peltola has more in common with pro-Hamas agitators across the country than Alaskans may know. Like Joe Biden, her campaign for reelection gets contributions from some of the same people who are funding these campus protest groups.
In the complex world of nonprofit foundation and political funding, it’s hard to always see the connection. But it breaks down to a triangulation of interests:
“Donor A donates to Foundation B, which supports a political agenda, and Donor A also donates to Candidate C, as well as Political Action Committee D, which also donates to Candidate C.” A small group of mega-donors often playing a supersized role funding these overlapping interests.
For example, Susan Pritzker, a wealthy Chicago heiress of the Hyatt Hotels family, donated both to Rep. Peltola’s campaign for Congress, and to Fair Shot PAC, which then donated to Peltola’s campaign.
Pritzker is also a backdoor donor to radical pro-Hamas groups; she and her family support at least two major foundations that have been funneling money to campus agitators through their grant making programs.
“Pro-Palestianian protesters are backed by a surprising source: Biden’s biggest donors,” reported Politico over the weekend, in a story that shows the connection between the sources of pro-Hamas protester funding and the funders of Democrats, focusing the story on the president. “Some of the most outspoken groups against Biden and Israel get funding from foundations attached to some of the biggest names in Democratic circles.”
While Politico analyzed the intersection of Democrat donors and the groups trying to make sure Israel loses its war on terror, Must Read Alaska analyzed the juncture between anti-Israel group and Rep. Peltola donors.
“The donors include some of the biggest names in Democratic circles: Gates, Soros, Rockefeller and Pritzker,” Politico wrote, specifically mentioning Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow.
“Both are supported by the Tides Foundation, which is seeded by Democratic megadonor George Soros as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and it in turn supports numerous small nonprofits that work for social change,” Politico reported.
The Tides Foundation, with its focus on “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” is connected to the Arabella Advisors dark money liberal group that has shown a strong interest in controlling the politics of Alaska. Arabella Advisors’ influence in Alaska is written about frequently here at Must Read Alaska.
Tides has given nearly $500,000 over the past five years to Jewish Voice for Peace, which describes itself as anti-Zionist.
NGO Monitor describes Jewish Voice for Peace as a “U.S.-based political organization, which refers to itself as the ‘Jewish wing’ of the Palestinian solidarity movement. JVP provides the façade of Jewish support for BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] and other forms of demonization, including on university campuses and in churches, while also seeking to “drive a wedge” within the American Jewish community and generate polarization over Israel.”
NGO Monitor also says Jewish Voice for Peace is nontransparent about its funding sources: “Limited financial information is available through public IRS documents, which report total income of $3,959,130 in FY2021 (July 2021-June 2022; latest available), $2,882,791 in FY2020, and $3,332,837 in FY2019.” But it is known that the Tides Foundation, whose main funders are the Pritzkers, is a money funnel for this anti-Israel group.
Politico wrote that Jewish Voice for Peace is a leader in disruptive protests against Biden, including shouting “genocide supporter” at his glitzy fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
“It protests on campuses across the country, and its statement immediately following the Oct. 7 attacks said that ‘the source of all this violence’ was ‘Israeli apartheid and occupation — and United States complicity in that oppression.’”
The Tides Foundation also supports the Adalah Justice Project, a frequent partner with the Jewish Voice for Peace and a group at the center of the Columbia University protests, where commencement ceremonies have been canceled this week. Tides Foundation supports Palestine Legal, a legal defense fund that is offers legal assistance to “students mobilizing against genocide,” Politico analysts discovered.
Other Pritzker family members era who have donated to Rep. Peltola include Daniel Pritzker, one of the 13 heirs to the family fortune. In his memo note on his contribution, he wrote “Democracy Summer 2024.” Forbes lists his net worth at $2.6 billion.
Susan Pritzker is also the primary funder of the Libra Foundation, whose ties to the pro-Hamas demonstrations is now clear, thanks to Politico reporting.
“Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity, another group backed by the Libra Foundation, promotes pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its website,” Politico reported.
“Several other groups involved in pro-Palestinian protests are backed by a foundation funded by Susan and Nick Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt Hotel empire — and supporters of Biden and numerous Democratic campaigns, including $6,600 to the Biden Victory Fund a few months ago and more than $300,000 during the 2020 campaign,” Politico wrote.
The Pritzkers are not the only ones funding Biden, Peltola, and civil unrest in America, however.
Billionaire George Soros, who is Jewish and of Hungarian origins, has given money to both anti-Israel groups and to groups that are working directly to reelect Peltola with the pop-up group called “Vote Alaska Before Party,” which reserved $4 million in TV ads for Alaska this fall to ensure that Peltola gets elected again. Must Read Alaska wrote about that group in April.
Both Jennifer and Jonathan Soros (son of George Soros) have also maxed out to Peltola’s campaign.
While Soros, Pritzkers, and Rockefellers are names linked in the Politico story about their support of pro-Hamas groups, their names also appear on the list of donors of the House Majority PAC, which is the Democratic Party’s political action committee, which benefits Peltola’s political fortunes, as well as those of other House Democrats.
| Source name | Recipient | Election | State | Receipt date | Amount |
| PRITZKER, MATTHEW R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | IL | 11/17/23 | $200,000.00 |
| SOROS, ALEXANDER | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | NY | 6/13/23 | $31,913.87 | |
| PRITZKER, JB | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | IL | 9/22/22 | $250,000.00 |
| PRITZKER, JB | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | IL | 10/27/20 | $500,000.00 |
| PRITZKER, MATTHEW R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | IL | 10/27/20 | $55,000.00 |
| PRITZKER, MATTHEW R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | IL | 10/16/20 | $100,000.00 |
| PRITZKER, JB | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | IL | 10/16/20 | $1,000,000.00 |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | ME | 8/24/18 | $5.00 |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | ME | 8/21/18 | $15.00 |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | ME | 8/14/18 | $5.00 |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | ME | 8/4/18 | $5.00 |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | ME | 7/31/18 | $3.00 |
| SOROS, GEORGE | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | NY | 11/3/16 | $38,000.00 |
| SOROS, GEORGE | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | NY | 10/26/16 | $150,000.00 |
| SOROS, GEORGE | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | NY | 10/21/16 | $1,000,000.00 |
| SOROS, GEORGE | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | NY | 10/11/16 | $1,000,000.00 |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 8/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 7/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 6/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 5/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 4/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 3/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 2/28/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 2/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 1/20/15 | $50.00 | |
| SOROS, GEORGE | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | NY | 7/11/14 | $500,000.00 |
| PRITZKER, JB | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | IL | 3/10/14 | $50,000.00 |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | ME | 10/5/13 | $50.00 | |
| ROCKEFELLER, SYDNEY R. | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | ME | 9/29/13 | $250.00 |
| SOROS, GEORGE | HOUSE MAJORITY PAC | PRIMARY | NY | 10/19/12 | $250,000.00 |
| $5,125,696.87 |
