Jewish federations in US donate millions to Israel settlements

Millions of dollars have been given to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) over recent years by Jewish federations in the US, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The news is part of a broader investigation by the paper into the activities and finances of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) network, and of the umbrella body itself.

As summarised by Haaretz, “collectively the network of local federations and foundations is one of the biggest charity systems in America.”

From 2012-2015, the paper reports, “Jewish federations gave almost $6 million to Israeli settlement over the Green Line”, excluding “support for settlers from community foundations operating alongside the federations, oftimes under the same executives or from JFNA itself,”

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That can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars more each year, the paper adds.

Haaretz reports that some of these tax-exempt donations “reached hard-line elements among the settlers, including settlers living in Hebron and in Silwan, in East Jerusalem”.

The paper explains that while the federations’ main aim is to support the local North American Jewish communities, “for years the federations managed to keep the specifics of their support for the settlement enterprise out of the public eye”.