Major Jewish group demands payment processors cut ties with Palestinian terror-linked group
Gabe Kaminsky
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EXCLUSIVE — The oldest pro-Israel nonprofit group in the United States is calling on payment processors to cut all ties with an American group closely tied to Palestinian terrorism.
The Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice has faced legal criticism over its fundraiser for Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a French partner of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated terror group. Now, a major Jewish group is demanding that all credit cards, banks, and payment processors freeze donations to the U.S. nonprofit group, which in the past has been targeted by certain groups such as PayPal and Discover.
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“Any group breaking the law by funding terrorist groups must be prosecuted and shut down,” Morton A. Klein, president of Zionist Organization of America, the oldest pro-Israel American nonprofit group, told the Washington Examiner. “This is not the first front group trying to raise money for Palestinian terrorists, and it won’t be the last. The enemies of Israel and the Jewish people are determined, which is why we have to stay vigilant and strong in our defense.”
“Under 18 U.S. Code § 2339B(2), payment processors need to freeze funds raised for the PFLP’s agents, and report the transactions to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury,” added Klein, referring to a law surrounding U.S. groups providing “material support” to terrorism. “Payment processors should expand these closures to organizations that raise funds for PFLP agents CPV and Samidoun.”
AFGJ, which the Washington Examiner revealed on Wednesday has received millions from liberal foundations, faced an IRS complaint over its active fundraiser for CPV. The French group is a member of a coalition called the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which AFGJ fiscally sponsors.
Fiscal sponsorship means groups without IRS tax-exempt status can receive services such as legal oversight, donation processing, and payroll. Payment processors, such as PayPal, Plaid, Donorbox, and Discover, have blocked donations to Samidoun through AFGJ because of the network’s ties to the PFLP.
Lawyers have said that AFGJ’s fundraiser for CPV could open the Arizona group up to criminal inquiries and penalties. Those involved with AFGJ could face as high as 20 years in prison for providing material support to terrorism, according to Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog.
Even though some payment processors have cut ties with AFGJ, 11 left-leaning nonprofit groups have donated over $10 million to the Arizona charity since 2019. Those nonprofit groups include the Tides Foundation, Tides Center, Raikes Foundation, Ford Foundation, and others.
Former Enron executive John Arnold’s LLC, Arnold Ventures, gave $5,000 to AFGJ in 2020, according to tax forms. Vijaya Gadde, a former senior Twitter executive who has been criticized for his role in the company’s censorship of the New York Post’s 2020 Hunter Biden laptop story, donated $5,000 to AFGJ in 2020 with Ramsey Homsany, her husband.
“Illegal fundraising activity should always be investigated and prosecuted, as should the individuals who made the actual donations,” Jeff Berk, co-founder of Truth Tells, a Jewish-led group aiming to hold antisemitic politicians accountable, told the Washington Examiner. “But, let’s be honest, Palestinian terrorists are getting plenty of help from legal groups and even politicians that normalize hatred against Israel and Jews.”
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It is unclear whether the IRS will pursue the complaint against AFGJ, which was filed on Tuesday by Zachor Legal Institute, a think tank fighting discrimination and antisemitism.
An IRS spokeswoman previously said federal disclosure laws prohibit the agency from commenting on its investigations.
AFGJ did not reply to a request for comment.