U.S. Nonprofits Gave $220M to Settlements Over Five Years: Report
American nonprofits donated more than $220 million to Israeli West Bank settlements from 2009 to 2013, according to a .
The investigation, published Monday, found that some 50 American organizations gave tax-deductible donations by private individuals to the settlements. The payments went to property purchase, home amenities and, in some cases, support to families of convicted Jewish terrorists.
The organizations named by Haaretz include the Central Fund of Israel, which supports settlement institutions; Honenu, which provided support to the terrorists’ families; and the Hebron Fund, which finances projects in the settler enclave in Hebron.
Donations to the NGOs are tax-deductible even though the United States government considers the settlements illegal.
“Concordant with permanent U.S. policies, this administration never defended or supported any activity associated with the settlements,” a White House official told Haaretz. “It doesn’t support or advance any activity that will legitimize them.”
A message from our Publisher & CEO 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