Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

George Soros-Founded University Kicked Out Of Hungary By Government

The university founded and funded by Jewish billionaire George Soros is being forced out of Hungary by the far-right government, Forbes reported. It will move its programs to Vienna.

Central European University was founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union to promote principles of democracy and free society. It is being kicked off of its Budapest campus after a two-year struggle with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose government has become more controlling and intolerant of political opposition.

“C.E.U. has been forced out,” Michael Ignatieff, the president of the university, wrote in a statement. “This is unprecedented. A U.S. institution has been driven out of a country that is a NATO ally. A European institution has been ousted from a member state of the E.U.”

Thousands marched in support of the university, The New York Times reported, and for the past week, hundreds of people gathered at Kossuth Square, where the Parliament building sits. Many held signs, with reading the likes of, “Even Voldemort didn’t kick Hogwarts out.”

Central European University has 1,435 students from 118 countries and is considered one of the top schools in the area, according to the Times. It’s U.S.-accredited degree programs will resume in the fall in Vienna.

Soros has long been the subject of several right-wing conspiracy theories, many of uphold anti-Semitic tropes. He has given billions to liberal endeavors and pledged to fund a program that helps people find asylum from civil war, poverty or political oppression.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.