The House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees have opened an investigation into six Israeli and American groups that received US federal funding under the Biden administration, to “undermine Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu” during the 2023 anarchist riots against judicial reform.
The committees demand documentation and communications from the organizations in question regarding their funding applications, exchanges between them, details on how the funds were used, and all records and data related to the Biden administration’s grants. The deadline for responding to the inquiries is April 9.
Letters announcing the investigations were sent Wednesday evening by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Brian Mast (R-FL), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to organizations that received federal funding and were reportedly involved, either directly or indirectly, in supporting the protests against judicial reform. The letters were addressed to:
- Jewish Communal Fund
- Middle East Dialogue Network
- Movement for Quality Government in Israel
- PEF Israel Endowment Funds
- Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
- Blue and White Future
A decade ago, V15 (Victory 2015) was established as a non-partisan Israeli movement ahead of the elections for the 20th Knesset. Founded by left-wing activists Itamar Weizmann and Nimrod Dweik, the group aimed to bring about a change in the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Following the elections, V15 merged with the One Voice movement, and together they founded the Darkenu (“Our Way”) movement in November 2015.
A Senate subcommittee found that V15 utilized One Voice’s infrastructure, which had been developed in 2014 with support from the State Department to promote a two-state solution. According to the report, this support was intended for a campaign that included “expanding social media presence, building a larger voter base, and hiring an American political consulting firm to train activists and managers in grassroots campaign management methods in support of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.” The report noted that activists recruited with State Department backing later joined V15’s activities. One Voice routinely informed the US Consul General in Jerusalem about this involvement.
The senators identified failures in how the State Department allocates and oversees funds for nonprofits. Republican Senator Rob Portman, chairman of the subcommittee, condemned the findings, stating that it was entirely unacceptable for American taxpayer money to be used to build the infrastructure of a political campaign—particularly against the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, Reps Jordan and Mast wrote each of the six groups that “According to reports, the Biden-Harris administration directed American taxpayer money to certain Israeli entities in a manner intended to undermine Israel’s democratically elected government. The use of federal grants in this way not only jeopardizes the US-Israel relationship but also violates basic civil rights protections in both countries. Furthermore, the misuse of federal grant money could, in some cases, constitute a criminal offense. As part of our constitutional oversight responsibilities, we seek your organization’s cooperation in reviewing this matter.”
Israeli right-wing media have reported a sharp decline in anarchist demonstrations and riots since President Donald Trump took office, attributing the drop to the termination of U.S. funding for leftist groups that had orchestrated protests against Netanyahu and his democratically elected government over the past three years.
In February, Axios reported that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast directed GOP committee staffers to refer to the West Bank by its Hebrew name, Judea and Samaria. As the head of one of Washington’s most influential committees, Mast issued a memo instructing nearly 50 Republican Foreign Affairs Committee staffers on the language change, while Democratic staffers did not receive the directive.
