Read the main investigation: Spielberg & Soros Fund Jews for Mamdani
Bend the Arc is the largest domestic-focused progressive Jewish advocacy organization in the United States, with a documented track record of organizing Jewish voters for pro-Palestinian political outcomes, most notably the 2025 election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City. Funded by Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation ($1.2 million) and operationally controlled by Alex Soros as chairman of its 501(c)(4) political arm, the organization has become the lead Jewish institutional voice defending Palestinian activists detained by ICE — organizing national campaigns, congressional advocacy, and mass clergy protests under the banner of opposing what it calls "smokescreen antisemitism."
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
501(c)(3): Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
CEO: Jamie Beran
Board Co-chairs: Ginna Green, Rabbi Sue Reinhold
501(c)(4): Bend the Arc Jewish Action (political arm)
Chairman: Alex Soros — son of George Soros, head of the Soros family philanthropic agenda as of 2025
Operates campaign endorsements, independent expenditures, and voter mobilization
FUNDING SOURCES (2020–2024)
Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation: $1.2 million
EIN 95-4497916 | ProPublica 990
Alexander Soros Foundation: $250,000+
Direct grants to Bend the Arc
Open Society Foundations (George Soros): $1.03 million+
$500,000 (2020) — "to combat antisemitism and build solidarity"
$93,500 (2020) — Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing
$440,000 (2020) — "to support efforts to combat antisemitism"
Ford Foundation: $10.5 million+
Since 2009 for core organizational support and FCYO
October 2024: $600,000 for YO-CARE climate action program
Soros Family Total to Bend the Arc: $1.28 million+ (funding) + operational control via Alex Soros board chair
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Founded 1999 as Progressive Jewish Alliance. Rebranded 2012 as Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice. Rebranded 2020 as Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. Originally positioned as strictly domestic — no Israel/Palestine engagement. That firewall collapsed after October 2023.
POLITICAL PROGRAM
Opposition to IHRA definition of antisemitism • Demand for U.S. arms embargo against Israel • ICE defunding • Police defunding • Supreme Court expansion • D.C. statehood • Palestinian advocate support and defense • Opposition to Israeli occupation • Defense of Palestinian activists detained by U.S. government • Framing of ICE enforcement as "smokescreen antisemitism"
RABBI ABBY STEIN: THE INTERSECTION OF THE NETWORK
Rabbi Abby Stein — born October 1, 1991 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn — is the human intersection of Bend the Arc's progressive Jewish infrastructure, the Palestinian solidarity movement, and the Mamdani political project. Dual Israeli-American citizen. Tenth-generation descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidic Judaism.
Background: Raised Hasidic in the Satmar community of Williamsburg. Ordained as an Orthodox rabbi in 2011. Married, had a son. Left the Hasidic world in 2012. Came out as a trans woman in 2015. Studied gender studies and political science at Columbia University. Published Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman (Seal Press, 2019). Named by The Jewish Week as one of the "36 Under 36" Jews changing the world. Named by The Forward as one of the "Forward 50" most influential American Jews. Named New York Senate Woman of Distinction (2024) by Senator Jabari Brisport — specifically as an "LGBTQ+ Leader & Advocate for Palestinian Rights."
Palestinian rights work: Founding member and organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire — a coalition of 250+ rabbis calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Led a sit-in inside the UN Security Council chambers (January 2024). Led a Passover protest at the Erez Crossing in Israel (April 2024). Spent a month in Palestine on a tour organized by Palestinian groups. Self-described "fierce opponent of Zionism and Israel's Occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians." Daughter of an Israeli immigrant; multiple family members killed in the October 7 Hamas attack — nonetheless has stated: "I'm standing here not in spite of the fact that I'm an Israeli citizen — I'm here because of it."
The Mamdani connection: Stein stood behind Mamdani at the mayor's 100-day event in April 2026, wearing a "rabbis for ceasefire" shirt. Mamdani attended Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah services at Stein's independent synagogue, Congregation Kolot Chayeinu, where Stein served as rabbi from fall 2024 through summer 2025. Stein told JNS that Jews "ought to be impressed" with Mamdani.
Network position: Stein operates within the same Spielberg/Soros-funded progressive Jewish organizational ecosystem — member of Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), which co-organized the UN Security Council action with Rabbis for Ceasefire. JFREJ, like Bend the Arc and T'ruah, draws from the same Spielberg foundation pipeline. Stein's role is the public rabbinic face that gives religious legitimacy to the political operations Spielberg's money funds and Alex Soros's 501(c)(4) executes.
THE KHALIL CAMPAIGN: MARCH 2025 — PRESENT
Who Is Mahmoud Khalil
Mahmoud Khalil is an Algerian citizen born in Syria to Palestinian parents. He previously worked for the British embassy in Beirut. He enrolled at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, obtained lawful permanent resident (green card) status, and married a U.S. citizen, Noor Abdalla.
During the 2024 campus protest wave, Khalil was one of the most visible leaders of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia. He served as student negotiator with the university administration on behalf of the encampment. Columbia suspended him.
The Arrest: March 8, 2025
ICE arrested Khalil at his apartment building in New York City on March 8, 2025. His wife was eight months pregnant. Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally invoked Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act — a seldom-used statute allowing deportation of noncitizens whose presence would have "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences." Khalil was transferred to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana — nearly 1,300 miles from his family and counsel.
Bend the Arc's Response — Funded by Spielberg, Directed by Soros
The organization that Spielberg gave $1.2 million to — and whose political arm Alex Soros chairs — was among the first Jewish institutions to publicly oppose the arrest. Within days:
Rapid-response petition: "American Jews Demand ICE Release Mahmoud Khalil Now." Nearly 5,000 signatures collected and delivered to Khalil's legal team.
CEO Jamie Beran press conference: Generated coverage in Haaretz, CBS News, JTA, Newsweek, Times of Israel, and The New Republic. Hundreds of thousands of social media views.
Haaretz op-ed by Beran: "'Smokescreen Antisemitism': How the Trump-fueled Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil Endangers Jews."
Official Bend the Arc position: "The White House's authoritarian actions are being falsely done in our name as Jews, by a President and politicians who actively use antisemitism and do not speak for Jews. We've been afraid this day would come since campus protests began."
This is what Spielberg's $1.2 million and the Soros family's $1.28 million built: the infrastructure to mobilize nationally within 48 hours for a detained Palestinian activist, frame it through Jewish values language, and command press and congressional attention.
104 Days in Detention
Khalil remained in Louisiana ICE detention for 104 days. On April 21, 2025, his son was born. Noor Abdalla requested ICE grant temporary release for the birth. ICE denied the request. Khalil missed the birth of his first child from a detention facility 1,300 miles away.
On June 20, 2025, a federal judge found that Khalil's First Amendment rights were violated and ordered his release on bail. He arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 21, 2025, greeted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), family, and supporters.
Days after release, Khalil resumed pro-Palestinian activism at a New York City rally opposing U.S. strikes on Iran.
Deportation Order: September 2025
On September 17, 2025, an immigration judge in Louisiana ordered Khalil deported to Algeria or Syria, citing omitted information on his immigration applications. The deportation case remains active. Khalil continues to reside in New York with his family pending appeal.
THE BROADER DETAINEE DEFENSE CAMPAIGN
The Khalil petition was the template. Bend the Arc — using the infrastructure Spielberg and Soros funded — replicated the model for subsequent detainees:
Badar Khan Suri — Georgetown University
Indian national and postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Arrested by masked DHS agents outside his Virginia home in March 2025. DHS accused him of "actively spreading Hamas propaganda." His wife is Palestinian-American; his father-in-law had once advised a Hamas leader. Transferred to detention in Texas. A federal judge found his detention violated the First and Fifth Amendments and ordered his release in May 2025.
Bend the Arc included Suri in its public messaging and congressional advocacy alongside Khalil.
Rümeysa Öztürk — Tufts University
30-year-old Turkish doctoral student at Tufts. Detained by federal officers while walking in Somerville, MA, in March 2025 — she was heading to an Iftar dinner during Ramadan. DHS accused her of supporting Hamas without providing evidence. Her only documented activism: co-authoring a student newspaper op-ed criticizing Tufts' response to student senate resolutions on Gaza. Transferred to Louisiana detention. Released after a Vermont federal judge ordered the government to free her.
Salah Sarsour — Wisconsin
On March 30, 2026, Sarsour — a legal permanent resident, community activist, and President of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee — was arrested by 12 ICE agents. Bend the Arc launched a dedicated petition: "Jews Demand: Release Salah Sarsour." Jamie Beran's position: "Like they have in the past, the Trump regime is falsely, cynically claiming their actions are advancing Jewish safety, but we know ICE does not make Jews safer."
Every one of these campaigns ran through the same Spielberg/Soros-funded infrastructure. The same staff. The same press lists. The same congressional contacts. The same "Jewish values" messaging framework.
FEBRUARY 2026: JEWS AGAINST ICE — LARGEST JEWISH CLERGY PROTEST
On February 11, 2026, Bend the Arc and T'ruah — which received $650,000 from Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation — co-organized the "Jews Against ICE" protest at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Scale: 400+ rabbis, cantors, and lay leaders. 60+ co-sponsoring Jewish organizations, including HIAS, Never Again Action, Keshet, J Street, IfNotNow, Sixth & I, Adas Israel. Simultaneous actions in Minneapolis and Boston.
Framing: Organizers described it as the "largest ever gathering of Jewish clergy protesting ICE brutality." Torah-based symbolism throughout — shofar blowing, prayer shawl overhead, Leviticus/Exodus verses. Signs reading "Resist Pharaoh: Love Your Neighbor" and "ICE is a Shonda."
Jamie Beran at the protest: "Trump and Congressional Republicans are trying to funnel 140 billion more dollars to ICE and Border Patrol at a time when Americans are struggling to stay housed, stay fed, stay employed, and stay healthy."
Coverage: Haaretz, Religion News Service, Washington Jewish Week. The protest concluded T'ruah's 2026 National Jewish Clergy Convening.
May 2026: NYC Action — 10 Rabbis Arrested
T'ruah and Bend the Arc organized a follow-up action outside NYC ICE headquarters. 10 rabbis were arrested. The NYC action was part of a national Jewish day of action across 17 cities, with 70 co-sponsoring Jewish organizations.
THE "SMOKESCREEN ANTISEMITISM" FRAMEWORK
Bend the Arc's central analytical frame — deployed across all detainee campaigns, congressional testimony, and op-eds — is what CEO Jamie Beran calls "smokescreen antisemitism": the assertion that the Trump administration weaponizes claims of fighting antisemitism to pursue an authoritarian immigration agenda unrelated to Jewish safety.
Bend the Arc's position: The administration uses the language of antisemitism to target Palestinian advocates, but the same administration "endangers Jewish life with Nazi salutes and its ties to the white nationalist movement." ICE enforcement against Palestinian activists is "not about Jewish safety" but about "crushing civil liberties."
Congressional testimony: Jamie Beran testified before the House Education Committee in July 2025. Her written statement: "Bend the Arc: Jewish Action is deeply alarmed by the Trump administration's detention of protesters like Mahmoud Khalil, Badar Khan Suri" and that "by the administration's own admission, such action is being taken in the name of fighting antisemitism. We unequivocally reject this premise."
This framework — built by Spielberg-funded staff, directed by the Soros-chaired political arm — redefines antisemitism enforcement as itself an act of oppression. The organization that received $500,000 from Soros's Open Society Foundations to "combat antisemitism" now campaigns against the IHRA definition of antisemitism adopted by the U.S. government, the EU, and 40+ national governments.
ARMS EMBARGO & GAZA ADVOCACY
Bend the Arc is not strictly a domestic organization anymore. Since October 2023, it has expanded its policy program to include direct advocacy on U.S.–Israel military relations.
Biden Administration Letter: Bend the Arc wrote directly to President Biden demanding the U.S. "make good on your own promise to cease sending offensive munitions to Israel." The letter stated: "With over one million Palestinian refugees now being forced to flee Rafah, their last guaranteed refuge, thousands of lives lost, and families of captives being fined in Israel for demanding a ceasefire, it is long past time to end U.S. support for these attacks."
Organizational tension: Bend the Arc explicitly states it has found it "challenging to focus on our strictly domestic priorities" during the Gaza war. The foreign policy expansion is acknowledged internally as a departure from the organization's founding domestic mandate. The original domestic firewall — what made Bend the Arc palatable to foundation boards that avoided Israel/Palestine — is gone.
2025 NYC MAYORAL ENDORSEMENT
September 26, 2025: First-ever mayoral endorsement in organizational history — Zohran Mamdani. The endorsement was made by the 501(c)(4) political arm chaired by Alex Soros.
Bend the Arc's claim of impact: "We helped shape this monumental victory with our air game and ground game."
Mamdani biography: Founded Students for Justice in Palestine at Bowdoin College. November 2023 White House hunger strike demanding Biden cut military aid to Israel. Introduced "Not on Our Dime Act" to bar NY charitable organizations from supporting Israeli communities. Refused to affirm Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.
Election result: November 4, 2025 — Mamdani elected Mayor of New York City.
Spielberg's role: Spielberg hosted Mamdani at his Central Park West apartment on January 5, 2026 — the mayor's first week in office. Spielberg's $1.2 million to Bend the Arc funded the infrastructure that helped elect the mayor he then hosted privately.
Stein's role: Rabbi Abby Stein stood behind Mamdani at his 100-day event. Mamdani attended services at Stein's synagogue. Stein provides the rabbinic imprimatur for the same political project that Spielberg's money built and Soros's chairman directed.
OPERATIONAL STRUCTURE: HOW THE MONEY FLOWS
Bend the Arc 501(c)(3) transfers to 501(c)(4):
FY 2023: $2 million
FY 2024: $1 million
This structure allows foundation grants to the 501(c)(3) to flow into political operations via the 501(c)(4) political arm. Spielberg money goes to the 501(c)(3). The 501(c)(3) transfers to the 501(c)(4). The 501(c)(4), chaired by Alex Soros, conducts campaign operations — including the Mamdani endorsement, the Khalil campaign, and the Jews Against ICE mobilization.
Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO):
Managed by Bend the Arc
Aggregates grants from Ford, Surdna, Hill-Snowdon
$35 million in managed grants
Allows foundations to fund youth activism without direct checks to activist groups
ALEX SOROS & OPERATIONAL GOVERNANCE
Alex Soros serves as chairman of Bend the Arc Jewish Action (501(c)(4)) — the political arm that: Made Bend the Arc's first-ever mayoral endorsement. Ran the Mamdani campaign. Conducts all campaign operations and independent expenditures. Manages voter mobilization. Coordinated the Khalil rapid-response campaign. Organized the February 2026 Jews Against ICE protest.
This is not donor status. This is operational governance. Alex Soros does not write checks and step back. He sits in the chairman's chair of the entity that decides which candidates to endorse, which detainees to defend, and which protests to organize.
The distinction: Spielberg funded the organization. Soros funded the organization AND ran the political operations. Rabbi Abby Stein provides the religious authority. Jamie Beran runs the staff. The output is a unified machine that deploys Jewish institutional legitimacy for Palestinian political objectives.
PAC ACTIVITY
Bend the Arc Jewish Action Inc. PAC (FEC Committee C00573253)
2025–2026 cycle: $42,860.07 raised in total receipts (January 1, 2025 through April 30, 2026)
OPPOSITION TO IHRA ANTISEMITISM FRAMEWORK
April 2025: Bend the Arc co-signed letter with 9 other progressive Jewish organizations opposing the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
Position: "IHRA definition restricts free speech on Israel/Palestine; codifying IHRA would criminalize Palestinian advocacy."
Co-signatories: T'ruah, Jews United for Justice, Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, and 6 others.
The same organization that received $500,000 from Open Society Foundations to "combat antisemitism" now campaigns against the definition of antisemitism adopted by 40+ governments. This is the core contradiction of the Soros-chaired operation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Did Spielberg and Soros directly fund Mamdani's campaign?
No direct campaign contributions. But Spielberg gave $1.2 million to Bend the Arc; Alex Soros chaired Bend the Arc's 501(c)(4) political arm that made its first-ever mayoral endorsement for Mamdani. Together, they built the infrastructure that elected him. Spielberg then hosted Mamdani at his Central Park West apartment on January 5, 2026.
Who is Rabbi Abby Stein and what is her role?
Tenth-generation descendant of the Baal Shem Tov. Dual Israeli-American citizen. Transgender woman who left the Hasidic world in 2012 and came out in 2015. Founding member of Rabbis for Ceasefire. Led UN Security Council sit-in. Led Erez Crossing Passover protest. Stood behind Mamdani at his 100-day event. Mamdani attended services at her synagogue. Stein provides the rabbinic authority that gives religious legitimacy to the political operations Spielberg's money funds and Soros's 501(c)(4) executes.
What is "smokescreen antisemitism"?
Bend the Arc's framework for claiming the Trump administration uses antisemitism as cover to suppress Palestinian advocacy, immigration enforcement, and political dissent. Coined and promoted by CEO Jamie Beran. Deployed across every detainee campaign.
How much money flows from Bend the Arc 501(c)(3) to 501(c)(4)?
FY 2023: $2 million. FY 2024: $1 million. This allows Spielberg's foundation grants to the 501(c)(3) to feed directly into political operations of the Soros-chaired 501(c)(4).
How many detainees has Bend the Arc campaigned for?
At minimum four named campaigns: Mahmoud Khalil (Columbia, March 2025), Badar Khan Suri (Georgetown, March 2025), Rümeysa Öztürk (Tufts, March 2025), and Salah Sarsour (Wisconsin, March 2026). The Khalil case documents references to "at least nine students or scholars" targeted between March and May 2025.
When did Alex Soros become chairman?
Founding chair / board chair designation documented in IRS filings; continuity through 2025. He did not arrive recently — he was there from the founding of the political arm.
