[R-G] Left-wing Israeli NGO Battles Settlements in US

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1248277936821>
Left-wing Israeli NGO battles settlements in US
Jul. 30, 2009
Dan Izenberg , THE JERUSALEM POST

The left-wing organization Gush Shalom is launching a campaign against
organizations soliciting donations in the United States, particularly
those receiving US federal tax exemptions for settlements and illegal
outposts, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The timing of the campaign has been stepped up from September to
August because the Foreign Ministry recently launched its own campaign
to block governments of foreign countries from donating money to human
rights organizations in Israel.

One of the organizations singled out by Gush Shalom is called "Shuva
Israel," which describes itself as "a US non-profit organization with
501c3 IRS tax deductible status."

The organization solicits money for a long list of West Bank
settlements and illegal outposts including Havat Gilad and Havat
Ya'ir, which are on the list of outposts Israel has promised the US to
dismantle.

According to Gush Shalom, which refused to comment on this report,
"while the public launch of the campaign, through publication of the
first reports and legal actions, was originally planned for September
of this year, recent events have prompted us to accelerate the
timetable.

"The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Avigdor Lieberman, in a
grossly undemocratic move and in close coordination with a number of
purportedly independent organizations such as NGO Monitor, has decided
to actively target the operations of Israeli human rights
organizations active in the Occupied Territories by pressuring the
government of friendly nations to cease critical financial support for
them."

According to Gush Shalom, in criticizing the Dutch embassy in Israel
for giving a grant of almost €20,000 to Breaking the Silence for its
controversial report on alleged IDF human rights and war crime
violations during Operation Cast Lead, the government acknowledged
that the organization's actions were legal and legitimate but
allegedly said they were politically incorrect.

On the other hand, "many of the activities of the organizations
targeted by our campaign are illegitimate and/or illegal under
international, US and EU law." In the first phase of its campaign,
Gush Shalom will pressure the US to halt tax exemptions to Israeli
organizations and NGOs which "directly and openly support the
development and operation of illegal outposts.

The organization referred to Shuva Israel as one of them. While it has
an address in Austin, Texas, the organization is located in the West
Bank settlement of Revava.

Asked about the Gush Shalom campaign, David Halevy, the head of Shuva
Israel, said, "This is incredibly outrageous. They have the gall to do
this after receiving so many millions of dollars from foreign
governments supporting left-wing organizations that influence activity
in Israel."

He said the money collected is used to subsidize schools, libraries,
youth activity, women empowerment training and other projects in the
settlements and outposts. Asked how much money his group collects per
year, Halevy replied, "I wish we collected more than we do. If we
could get 10 percent of what these left-wing organizations receive, we
could do a great deal."

Gush Shalom said that in the second stage of the campaign, it will
focus on the financing mechanisms of mainstream organizations such as
Nefesh B'Nefesh, Christian Zionist philanthropies, the Jewish National
Fund and the World Zionist Organization, which are also active in the
West Bank.