Group that raises money for Israeli soldiers got $2-5 million federal loan

If Americans Knew – by Alison Weir

An organization that holds opulent galas to raise money for foreign soldiers, received a forgivable federal loan of somewhere between $2 million to $5 million, while numerous American mom-and-pop businesses applied in vain for the coronavirus relief program.

The group, Friends of the IDF (FIDF), holds glittering extravaganzas around the U.S. that raise tens of millions of dollars for Israeli soldiers. 

These are held despite the fact that numerous organizations have documented massive human rights violations by Israeli forces (see video below). The U.S. gives Israel over $10 million per day in military aid.

Last year’s FIDF fundraiser in Manhattan raised $37 million, one of 20 chapters around the country. A 2018 gala in Beverly Hills raised $60 million and a 2017 gala raised over $53 million. Its annual chair, billionaire dual citizen Haim Saban, is a major Clinton donor. (video below)

Celebrities like Barbra Streisand, Larry King, Sylvester Stallone, Robert de Niro, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have helped raise money at the events. Among the donors are Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Sandra Spielberg, and philanthropist Tad Taube. FIDF has over $238 million in net assets.

A featured article by Israeli news site Ynetnews reports that Jewish Americans are the wealthiest group in the U.S.

Small businesses & U.S. veterans go without

Many small businesses around the country have been unable to obtain the coronavirus assistance loans.

One U.S. emergency grant program is already out of money, while nearly half of all small businesses worry that they won’t be able to carry on due to the shutdowns.

The loan program accessed by FIDF, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), has been accused of favoritism, as some billionaires received loans while struggling small businesses went bankrupt.

Donations to FIDF are tax-deductible, which means they remove thousands of dollars (perhaps far more) from the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile, 40 thousand U.S. veterans are homeless on any given night, and veterans hospitals are often underfunded.

Numerous other organizations that support Israel also received large grants, many in the $1million+ range.

~1,000 pro-Israel groups received millions of dollars in loans

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reports: “More than 1,000 Jewish organizations received federal coronavirus relief loans totaling approximately $540 million to $1.3 billion.” The vast majority of the organizations, perhaps all, support Israel.

JTA states: “Jewish groups had organized quickly to apply for the loans, with the Jewish Federations of North America, a national umbrella fundraising body, providing guidance on the application process.”

Jewish Federations represents 446 groups around the U.S. One of its major objectives is to “strengthen the State of Israel.” Its website boasted in May that even during America’s “worst health crisis in a century,” the San Francisco Federation had already “earmarked $804,000 for grants to Israel.”

Among other groups receiving the forgivable (don’t have to be paid back) loans are the Zionist Organization of America (net assets $38 million), Israeli American Council ($32 million net assets), Israel Emergency Alliance (gross receipts $17 million), ADL (gross receipts $80 million), Jewish National Fund (net assets $445 million), and Israel on Campus Coalition ($5 million net assets). (Financial information from GuideStar.)

FIDF Gala

Israeli soldiers’ actions:

See the full 8-minute video here.

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Alison Weir is executive director of If Americans Knew, president of the Council for the National Interest, and author of Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel.

If Americans Knew