That’s right. Seven Congressional Democrats wrote a letter last month to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking her department to investigate the tax-exempt status of American charities which support Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Democratic Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, André Carson, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley and Betty McCollum said they are extremely concerned, “that US charities are funding and providing direct support to Israeli organizations that are working to expand and perpetuate Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise in violation of international law, including supporting the dispossession and forced displacement of Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem neighborhoods.”
“Tax-exempt nonprofit status allows US-based 501(c)(3) entities and their US-based donors to receive an effective subsidy from the US government to support serious breaches of international law and violations of internationally recognized human rights related to the expansion of the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise,” the letter said.
The letter from the Democrat Representatives called out a number of organizations by name, including the Central Fund of Israel and The Hebron Fund, which are among US groups that Haaretz says contributed “$220 million to Israeli settler organizations” from 2009–2013.
This call for investigations is reminiscent of the targeting of pro-Israel groups by the IRS, that went on under the Obama Administration. Then, pro-Israel organizations were reportedly told that they had to undergo additional scrutiny since their organization was "connected to Israel," and that non-profits supportive of Israel that filed for tax exempt status were assigned to "a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization's activities contradict the Administration's public policies," according to The Blaze.
Needless to say, Israel’s right to Judea and Samaria is well founded. The Jewish People have an indisputable connection and right to their Heartland which was recognized many times in the last century by the international community. Today however, the narrative has been twisted, mostly by those who wish to see the Jewish State destroyed.
And there are many things lovers of Israel can do to stand with the Jews of Judea and Samaria. Here are a few: Call your representatives in Congress and tell them to stand strong in support for an undivided Israel, share the truth of Israel in your communities, and buy products directly from the families living in the Heartland of Israel.