| NEWS & V IEWS From a Press Release, July 30, 2023 Ithaca Committee for Justice in Palestine and Ithaca Jewish Voice for Peace, endorsers of “Not On Our Dime” Act: (Valuable legislation has been) introduced by State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and State Senator Jabari Brisport, called the “Not On Our Dime” Bill. The Bill challenges a form of consumer fraud that uses nonprofit status to attract charitable funding for projects which violate international law, a form of bait-and-switch. The Mamdani-Brisport bill would amend New York’s not-for-profit corporation law and establish a civil penalty for nonprofits that fund illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. Thanks to their status as nonprofits, these organizations are not taxed on their income and donations made to them are tax deductible – meaning U.S. state and federal governments are incentivizing and indirectly supporting the illegal Israeli settlement movement. The “charitable” tax evasion means tax dollars that should support the public good in U.S. communities are redirected to settlement construction. In New York State, as noted in the “Not On Our Dime” Bill, “between 2017 and 2019 alone, organizations that are known to primarily fund illegal settler activities fundraised over $144 million. The Central Fund of Israel, the largest “charity” of this type, has nearly doubled in size over the last two years. Currently it sends almost $50 million annually to Israel and its illegal settlements. Friends of Ir David funds the Israeli settler group Elad, which is responsible for countless demolitions of Palestinian homes. Friends of Ir David gave Elad $36 million from 2006 to 2013, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. In short, New York State is effectively subsidizing illegal activity abroad, and has been complicit in violent dislocations of Palestinian people.” “Not On Our Dime” is gathering momentum and popular demonstrations in support of the Bill are being organized. Mondoweiss reports that on July 20, 500 protesters in Manhattan gathered outside the offices of American Friends of Ateret Cohanim, an organization that collects tax-deductible donations for the Ateret Cohanim settler group. Addressing the crowd, Diala Shamas, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, “It is unreasonable to think you can fundraise here in New York to expel Palestinians from their homes without being held accountable under the law.” We hope that AG Letitia James will hear this message and act as the people’s lawyer in support of “Not On Our Dime.” The United Methodist Task Force on Peace with Justice in Palestine-Israel has endorsed the Not On Our Dime!: Ending NY Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act (A6943/S6992). The Act takes on the issue of charitable status for organizations that support illegal activities, and helps stop New York support for Israeli settlements. We want to make sure we do our part to ensure that New York-based groups are not aiding and abetting war crimes. If you haven’t already, please write to your New York state representatives now and ask them to co-sponsor the legislation. You can do that, and read more, here. Thank you! Salaam – Shalom – Peace /> |
