Two New York lawmakers have introduced legislation that would block local charities from funding illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
State assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Queens) and State Senator Jabari Brisport’s (Brooklyn) Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli settler violence Act would amend New York’s not-for-profit corporation law and establish a civil penalty for nonprofits that helped fund settlements in violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
Every year, charities registered in New York State send $60m+ in tax-deductible donations to aid & abet Israeli settler violence.
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) May 16, 2023
Today, we’re launching legislation to ban that.
Tell your legislator to join the fight: https://t.co/YYfNyu93bO () pic.twitter.com/YjVYpxRgdq
“Despite the clear illegality of this pattern of conduct, which has led to the expulsion and dispossession of Palestinians from their land (often in a violent manner), this practice has continued,” reads the bill. “Moreover, these illegal settlement activities have been funded by organizations here in New York State. In fact, between 2017 and 2019 alone, organizations that are known to primarily fund illegal settler activities fundraised over $144 million in New York State..In short, New York State is effectively subsidizing illegal activity abroad, and has been complicit in violent dislocations of Palestinian people.”
The Central Fund of Israel (CFI), a New York-registered non-profit, sends almost $50 million to Israel every year.
The bill has been praised by human rights organizations and local progressives. “Israeli settler violence against Palestinians has reached alarming levels, and we can’t let U.S.-based charities be used as fronts for illegal settlement construction on Palestinian land,” said Adalah Justice Project Director of Strategy Sumaya Awad in a statement. “New Yorkers are becoming increasingly critical of support for Israeli apartheid. It’s long past time our state government caught up and took action to end funding for violence perpetrated against Palestinians.”
“A variegated system of government and private money is used to dispossess Palestinians of their lands and homes. Today, we demand its end,” said Kaleem Hawa, a member of Palestinian Youth Movement’s New York chapter. “The funneling of millions of dollars to settlements from New York-registered charities amounts to a subsidy of Palestinian dispossession by American citizens. It’s time we stop New York’s funding of Zionist settler terror.”
The bill is already facing backlash from pro-Israel lawmakers. The New York Post reports that 25 of them have signed a joint letter condemning the move. “This bill is a ploy to demonize Jewish charities with connections to Israel. It was only introduced to antagonize pro-Israel New Yorkers and further sow divisions within the Democratic Party,” it reads.
“There’s a legislator in Albany who doesn’t believe in Israel’s right to exist,” tweeted Assembly Member Daniel Rosenthal. “That’s why 25 of us are condemning his bill that would stop NY charities from helping victims of terror in Israel. True chutzpah: he introduced this law while rockets were raining down on civilians.”
A 2015 investigation by Haaretz revealed that at least 50 U.S.-based tax-exempt nonprofits funded illegal West Bank settlements to the tune of more $220 million over a four year period. The money was “used for anything from buying air conditioners to supporting the families of convicted Jewish terrorists.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.