More than 150 Palestinian organizations, village councils and activists have launched a petition campaign against the so-called charities registered in the US that are engaged in fundraising for Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Defund Racism petition was launched on Wednesday demanding New York Attorney General Letitia James revoke the charitable licenses of New York-based organizations that fund Israeli settler units.
It specifically targets Israel Land Fund, the Hebron Fund, Ateret Cohanim, Friends of Ir David (Elad), and Regavim, the main organizations working in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhoods of East al-Quds, whose Palestinian residents are at risk of eviction.
“Israeli settler organizations have funneled US charitable money into a political campaign of displacement. Right now, over 100 homes and some 1,500 Palestinians in Silwan are facing displacement in favor of a theme park run on Palestinian lands by the settler organization Elad,” said Sami Huraini, a Palestinian activist with Youth of Sumud. “Clearly, this is not the intended outcome of US charitable tax law.”
Figures show just six US-based “charities” funding Israeli settlements tallied over $392 million in gross receipts on their tax forms between 1999 and 2020.
On July 27, the NY4Palestine, a coalition of Palestine solidarity organizations in New York City and Greater Area such as Samidoun, Al-Awda NY, Within Our Lifetime and American Muslims for Palestine — NJ Chapter, will hold a protest outside James’ office in Brooklyn calling for an end to the recognition of Zionist colonial fundraisers as charities.
Source: Press TV
