A lawsuit naming the US Treasury Department and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew aims to revoke the nonprofit status of groups that the litigants claim have given billions of dollars in tax-exempt donations to Israel, reports the Times of Isreal.
A group of American citizens filed the suit December 21 in a US court, Al Jazeera reports. One of the litigants was identified by Al Jazeera as a Palestinian-American writer and human rights activist, Susan Abulhawa.
The Treasury Department has 60 days to respond. It declined to comment to Al Jazeera, citing the pending litigation. The department is led by Lew, an Orthodox Jew.
According to the suit, about 150 nonprofit groups have sent about $280 billion to Israel over the last 20 years.
According ot the Times of Israel, groups such as the Falic Family Foundation, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, American Friends of Ariel, Gush Etzion Foundation, American Friends of Har Homa and Hebron Fund have funneled the tax-free donations to Jewish settlements and the Israeli military, the suit claims.
It says the groups directly contributed to violations of US and international law, subverted US foreign policy, and contributed to crimes and human rights abuses against Palestinians.
“These charities’ agenda is to rid the West Bank and EJ [eastern Jerusalem] of all non-Jews, consistent with perceived biblical imperatives,” the suit charges.
“They have been very successful in that endeavor, as detailed herein, primarily because of the Treasury’s abject and long-standing failure to monitor and prevent their criminal activities for at least the last 30 years.”
-RW
This topic brings up another two topics..
ReplyDeletea)the same restriction on donations might arguably be also be imposed on the Palestinians, so whats good for the goose is good for the gander.
b)Perhaps all donations for charitable causes should be equally tax deductible, provided they are not scams.
More importantly, though I may desire support for Israel (or a man on the moon), that would require me to do more than raise my hand and say i support it. It would rule out me calling up my senator, and demanding others pay for it. Rather, I would actually have to open my wallet, and write a check, with my own money. There is no excuse for politicians to usurp our money, force us to support their constituency's wishes, so they can get voted into office again.