Liberal billionaire George Soros said Monday that Americans must tune out the “siren song” of GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
“Jihadi terrorist groups such as [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] and al-Qaeda have discovered the Achilles heel of our western societies: the fear of death,” Soros wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian.
{mosads}“That discovery explains why jihadi terrorism poses such a potent threat to our societies: the fear of death leads us and our leaders to think — and then behave — irrationally,” he continued.
“The hysterical anti-Muslim reaction to terrorism is generating fear and resentment among Muslims living in Europe and America,” the investor added.
“That is why, as 2016 gets under way, we must reaffirm our commitment to open society and resist the siren song of the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, however hard that might be.”
Soros argued that lashing out at Muslims after radical Islamic terrorism merely helps fuel future violence worldwide.
“The jihadi terrorists’ ultimate goal is to convince the Muslim youth worldwide that there is no alternative to terrorism,” he wrote.
“Terrorist attacks are the way to achieve that goal, because the fear of death will awaken and magnify the latent anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe and America, inducing the non-Muslim population to treat all Muslims as potential attackers,” Soros continued.
“The older generation reacts with fear, the younger one with resentment; the result is a breeding ground for potential terrorists,” the business magnate added.
“To remove the danger of jihadi terrorism, abstract arguments are not enough; we need a strategy for defeating it. But one idea shines through crystal clear: it is a mistake to do what the terrorists want us to do.”
Americans are anxious about national security after multiple terrorist attacks at home and abroad earlier this year. Most recently, a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2 killed 14 people and wounded 22 others.
Trump has proposed a temporary ban on admitting Muslims into the U.S. as a means of preventing similar bloodshed. Cruz, meanwhile, has called for a complete freeze on Syrian refugees entering the homeland until tighter vetting procedures are in place.