This is huge folks. I am totally completely abundantly amazingly thrilled with J Street!
J Street is calling on the U.S. Treasury Department to launch an investigation into whether American charities that fund Israeli settlement activity have broken the law. A recent New York Times report revealed a connection between an American organization that fundraises for Israeli political activity and "a former executive director of the banned Israeli political party Kahane Chai." Kahane Chai was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 1994.
(my bold)
hat tip Adam Horowitz/Mondoweiss
When I first read the NYT article Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Settlements in West Bank I knew it was groundbreaking. Not because Americans have been unaware of this funding but because it was the first time our MSM has addressed this issue head on (albeit with some obviously skewed framing which is par for the course).
J street has a petition I urge everyone to sign to tell Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to launch an investigation into whether American organizations funding settlement activities in the Occupied Territories have broken the law.
With the explicit goal of undermining a two-state solution, many of these groups raise tax-deductible contributions from the United States to deepen the occupation in the Occupied Territories. Some even fund settlement outposts that the Israeli government considers illegal. Settlement activity over the Green Line is diminishing the chances of a two-state solution and endangering Israel's very future as a Jewish, democratic home. This isn't a question of whether or not these groups have the legal right to raise funds for causes they believe in. The question is whether or not they have broken the law.
(my bold)
Adam's done some research here:
One of the organizations named in Times article has gone on the offensive to clear its name. Sort of. The Central Fund of Israel has a letter in the Times today, but I doubt it swayed too many readers. It reads in part:
Geographic location is not a consideration in our decision to help a worthy cause. We are extremely proud of the work we do, whether it’s in Shomron or Tel Aviv or the Negev.
It is sad that the Obama administration seems to believe that Jews don’t have the right to live in places populated by Jews for more than 3,500 years, and that The New York Times disparages a most legitimate charity. The negative innuendo in your article is appalling.
It was written by Jay Marcus, who is listed as being from New York. That's funny, because when we looked into Jay while researching the Central Fund he lived in the West Bank settlement Efrat. I know they say geographic location isn't a consideration, but this seems to be a very convenient oversight.
(source w/supporting links)