When Charities Betray America: Prevalence of Charities Among These Radical Groups

When Charities Betray America:
How “Pro-Palestinian” Protest Groups Promote Anti-Americanism
(full report)

Executive Summary | Methodology
Examples of Anti-American and Anti-Police Hate Speech
Chronological Analysis | Analysis of Engagement Levels
Three Organizational Examples
Prevalence of Charities Among These Radical Groups
Conclusion | Endnotes
Appendix A: Organizations | Appendix B: Individuals

Prevalence of “Charities” Among These Radical Groups and Activists

The three groups just discussed in detail (Within Our Lifetime, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Code Pink) enjoy the considerable benefits—measured financially and in public sympathy and media support—that America accords to charitable enterprises, and this pattern of charitable ties is found more widely among the radicals analyzed in this study. The Appendixes lists the 78 groups and 30 activists who are the source of the most toxic rhetoric online, and the prevalence of nonprofits among them is notable.

Of the 78 groups listed, 15 have unknown legal status. Another 35 groups are college chapters, which means their government-sponsored or privately charitable schools recognize them as official student groups and in all or nearly all cases also provide them with funds from student fees. Two groups are either a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” nonprofit or a project sheltered under this kind of nonprofit. (Mainstream examples of “social welfare” nonprofits include the League of Conservation Voters and the National Rifle Association.) Sixteen groups are projects operating under the sponsorship of a “charity,” including American Muslims for Palestine, which is fiscally sponsored by the “charity” Americans for Justice in Palestine Educational Foundation.[lxxxii] One last group, Unity of Fields, is a U.S. project of the British group Palestine Action, which is not a registered charity.[lxxxiii]

A similar pattern is found among the 30 individuals who used the most toxic rhetoric in this analysis. Appendix B notes which of these persons are either employed at a college (which could be a private charitable institution or a government-sponsored institution) or serve in the leadership of a charity. More than half (19 ) of the individuals have those characteristics. Some of the charities the individual activists help lead were already listed among the 78 offending groups, such as the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, but other charities tied to activists add to the list of charities tied to this radicalism, such as the Jerusalem Fund.

The average American would be shocked to find so many charities assisting the work of the radicalism featured in this analysis. That is not the image most Americans have of charities and nonprofits, nor is such radicalism necessarily compatible with the laws governing charities. As we observed in an earlier study of radicals in support of the anti-Israel movement,[lxxxiv] citing Daniel Greenfield,[lxxxv] the IRS has disciplined groups in the past that have organized protests “in which demonstrators are urged to commit violations of local ordinances and breaches of public order,” such as to “deliberately block ve­hicular or pedestrian traffic, disrupt the work of govern­ment, and prevent the movement of supplies.”

The IRS ruled that groups whose “activities demonstrate an illegal purpose which is inconsistent with charitable ends” are therefore “not operat­ed exclusively for charitable purposes” and so do “not qualify for exemption from Federal income tax un­der section 501(c)(3) of the Code.”[lxxxvi] The IRS has ruled similarly for 501(c)(4) social welfare nonprofits,[lxxxvii] which means that private universities and charities mixed up in this toxic crusade are vulnerable to state and federal authorities investigating and possibly revoking their nonprofit status. One charity that has fiscally sponsored radical anti-American groups, the Alliance for Global Justice (fiscal sponsor of, among other things, Samidoun), has already become a pariah, banished from major banks and credit card processors[lxxxviii] and declared unfit to enjoy tax-exempt status by the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.[lxxxix]

In the next installment, the conclusion.