« A Shell Game: Washington Post Report on Anxious French Jews | Main | Michigan Public Radio Considers It Controversial to Acknowledge Israel's Birthday »
May 13, 2016
The Money Trail Behind Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace is a fanatical anti-Israel group and a leading proponent of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign to toxify Israel. As CAMERA has documented, the group disseminates the most vicious smears against the Jewish state, including blood libels. For example, in a guest editorial in the Detroit Free Press in 2008, Jewish Voice for Peace repeated a libelous charge that Israeli troops had committed a massacre in the village of Tantara during the 1948 war for Israeli independence. The individual who had fabricated the story, a graduate student under the tutelage of anti-Zionist professor Ilan Pappe, had admitted under oath in a libel suit brought against him that there was no evidence to support the charge of a massacre. Yet the guest editorial writers continued to promote the libelous smear.
Despite ample evidence of Jewish Voice for Peace's mendacity, there is an ongoing effort by Israel's detractors in both the media and academia to portray the cultish group as a legitimate participant in the discussion about Israel and the Palestinians.
On May 12, 2016, CAMERA received information about a course claiming to be affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Global Studies Department that utilized Jewish Voice for Peace as its main information source to teach high school students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the media, Jewish Voice for Peace is cited by journalists and commentators who share the same far left orientation. The New York Times' columnist Nicholas Kristof cited Jewish Voice for Peace in a column on Aug. 3, 2011 in which he discussed Jewish groups "seeking balance" in the United States' involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Kristof depicted the group in benign terms as one that "supports divestment campaigns against companies profiting from the occupation of Palestinian territories."
J Street, a group funded by radical billionaire currrency speculator George Soros and an obscure Asian businesswoman named Consolacion Esdicul, also has engaged with the group. While officially not endorsing Jewish Voice for Peace, J Street has welcomed its representatives to its conferences and co-sponsored various letters promoting the Iran deal and other activities with negative repercussions for Israel.
A recent report by the Israel-based NGO Monitor illuminates those who fund the anti-Israel agitation of Jewish Voice for Peace. They include familiar anti-Israel money sources as well as some surprising additions.
In the 2014-5 period, the largest visible donations were provided by:
Rockefeller Brothers Fund- ($140,000 in 2015)
Tides Foundation- ($49,477 in 2014)
Firedoll Foundation- ($25,000 in 2014)
Schwab Charitable Foundation- ($158,800 in 2014)
Jewish Communal Fund- ($25,100 in 2015)
Most other grants were below $30,000.
The Rockefeller Foundation, along with several other foundation donors found on the list contribute to a variety of anti-Israel pressure groups.
The single largest source was the Schwab Charitable Foundation, but it's important to note that this is a donor-advised fund. Using such a fund individuals make tax-deductible contributions into a special account, and only later direct money from that account to non-profit organizations. Contributions from a donor-advised fund are decided by the donor and not by the company managing the fund, in this case Schwab.
According to NGO Monitor, $448,000 went to Jewish Voice for Peace through such Schwab donor-advised funds between the years 2012-2014.
The NGO Monitor report provides documentation of a money trail that funds an emotion-driven public relations war against Israel. It also exposes the duplicity of those in the media, academia and even the Jewish community who portray Jewish Voice for Peace as a legitimate voice within the Jewish community.
Update: This post has been modified to clarify that contributions from a Schwab donor-advised fund are decided by the donor and not by Schwab.
Posted by SS at May 13, 2016 10:57 AM
Comments
Your comments guidelines say you won't publish "factually inaccurate material." (meaning anything you don't agree with? Because my comments are all factual, while this article is NOT. I am a Jewish Israeli-American and a proud member of JVP.
We are not fanatical, we are passionate about peace, justice, and democracy.
We are NOT anti-Israel, we take issue with the Israeli government's treatment of the Palestinians under its control.
We are Jewish, we're not anti_semitic nor do we hate ourselves or our religion!
BDS, like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, is a legitimate and powerful form of protest. It is peaceful, but you treat it like a form of terrorism. BDS kills no one, it's aimed at ensuring peace, justice, and democracy.Why is peaceful protest against corporations inciting such anger in you? How is it an evil?
Libel? It's no secret that these massacres happened: Look at Israeli documents (no longer classified) for "proof" if you believe these falsehoods.
Who is smearing whom? Who is slandering whom here?
Vilifying the very mainstream Jewish (Zionist) organization JStreet?
And listing the ONLY 5 large donors to JVP as "proof" that we are "anti-Israel"? and calling these 5 mainstream organizations "anti-Israel"? If this article is the best you can come up with against BDS and JVP, you prove my point.
Posted by: Eti Levi at May 14, 2016 02:28 PM
A copy of the letter I just sent to Schwab:
It’s come to my attention that the Charles Schwab Charitable Foundation has been supporting "Jewish Voice for Peace" with substantial financial donations since at least 2014 ($158,800 in 2014).
"Jewish Voice for Peace�? is a highly partisan political organization that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctioning of Jewish-owned companies and institutions that engage in commercial and educational activities in Jerusalem and adjacent territories, the sovereign disposition of which remains to be negotiated between parties with competing claims.
As such, Jewish Voice for Peace is a racist organization and implicitly supports the destruction of one of the United States’ closest and most important allies in the Middle East.
Perhaps you (Schwab) have already received communications about this matter from other clients but I need to advise that given my personal ethical convictions, I will not do business with a company that funds racist and antisemitic organizations. Thus, failing a reply from Schwab that ALL financial donations to Jewish Voice for Peace have or will cease immediately, I will shortly be terminating my account with Schwab.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 17, 2016 09:35 AM
Eli Levy:
You have aligned yourself with people who defend and proudly proclaim to 'Finish what Hitler started'and God in Heaven, Hitler on earth'. Examples of these and legions of other similar sentiments are easy to find (print, video and audio).
These are the people you choose to associate with. These are the people you believe are moral voices. Indeed, your associations and assertions say more about you than it does about the Palestinian leaders you find so worthy. Thus, any of the (specious) merits of your arguments are irrelevant.
To be clear, criticism of Israel is not verboten or even discouraged. The internet is exhibit A of that truth.
What you really object to is being called out for being exactly what you are- and trying to cloak your broken values and the truth with deceit. You want your voice to be sacred and never challenged.
Lastly, let me remind you of a simple truth
The minute the first innocent dies in a war or conflict that war or conflict becomes immoral. Hence, all wars and conflicts are immoral. That said, wares can be just wars. Determining which side is just is fairly straightforward. Just listen to what their leaders, media and school curricula have to say.
The number of causalities sustained does not bestow moral superiority no matter how asymmetrical. The number of causalities does not mute the deafening thunder of promised calls to genocide.
Posted by: MAH at May 19, 2016 11:03 AM
@Eti Levi
I am a Christian US military officer who has worked with the militaries of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. I have worked with the Palestinians on health and economic development. I have also been involved with the Lebanese. Originally, I was hopeful of peace but discovered that there was a profound hatred of Jews, all Jews ,within most of the Arab populations with whom I was involved.
You claim your comments on factual.
Let me deal with the Jewish right given by the international community for "close settlement" of the entire mandate of Palestine. That means that every settler on the West Bank has international right to be there.
Let us dwell on "Israeli control of the Palestinians". First, the Palestinian "refugees" resident in Syria, Lebanon, etc. are under the strict control of the various Arab governments. In many cases they are given no right of employment and certainly no political rights. Secondly, Palestinians in Gaza are under the control of Hamas. On the west bank, the overwhelming percentage of Palestinians are under the direct control of the Palestinian Authority. In the Israeli administered areas the Palestinians numbers are highly inflated for political purposes. But even by the most biased UN and Palestinian Authority inflated estimates the numbers are relatively small. Also my experience has been that whenever employment is offered which would substantially benefit the daily life of the Palestinians, Jewish voice for peace joins with the groups that are hostile to productive efforts such as soda stream.
I will be glad to continue my discussion with you. But in the meantime let me assure you that your efforts, although you may feel they are well-meaning,are destructive to the Palestinian population and to the "peace process" which I'm sure that you claim to wholeheartedly support.
Posted by: JOHN TRAIN at May 19, 2016 04:51 PM
Its very clear that JVP is indeed comprised of
fuzzy-minded, uninformed and somewhat fanatical far-left people, many unfortunately, who belong to the accomplished tribe that's resisted hate, stupidity, and genocide for several thousand years. Sorry, the JVP-BDS axis and their stooges will do real harm given the opportunity. Schwab's support is a reliable litmus test of closeted (?) ani-semittism - no surprise for all who chose to ignore history's painful lessons.
Posted by: orlovitz at February 22, 2018 05:37 PM
Guidelines for posting
This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.