The House Ways and Means Committee has called on the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status of nine nonprofit organizations that have caused “chaos and discord” during anti-Israel protests on college campuses, according to letters obtained by The Post. In a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) detailed the committee’s findings on the “illegal activities” committed by these organizations, which have no clear charitable purpose.
These activities included promoting civil disobedience and potentially providing fiscal sponsorship for foreign terror groups. Two of the nonprofits were based in New York, while the other seven had headquarters in Virginia, Texas, and California. The IRS has been urged to scrutinize these organizations more closely, as tax-exempt status is a privilege that comes with the expectation that they operate for stated exempt purposes.
Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation (WESPAC) was identified as a fiscal sponsor of some of the most prominent groups backing anti-Israel protests and pro-terror tent encampments on US university and college campuses in the spring. These demonstrations led to harassment, assault, trespassing, property vandalism, and numerous arrests.
WESPAC was also a fiscal sponsor of National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), which has been sued by lawyers representing both American and Israeli victims of the October 7 massacre for providing “material support” to terrorists through its “pro-Hamas propaganda.” Nerdeen Kiwani, the leader of Within Our Lifetime, was one of 34 people arrested during a June protest at the Brooklyn Museum that saw participants spray-paint antisemitic messages on the museum director’s home.
The Ways and Means panel also warned the IRS about the People’s Forum, whose funder Neville Roy Singham currently supports a network of pro-Chinese Communist Party propaganda. Along with the Democratic Socialists of America, the People’s Forum held a hateful rally in Times Square following an October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, where swastikas were displayed and shouts of “Fuck Jews!” were heard.
Liberal billionaire George Soros has backed many of the anti-Israel tent cities nationwide through third-party, grant-making groups including the Tides Foundation, which was also included in the committee’s list. Jewish Voice for Peace was another major supporter of anti-Israel demonstrations nationwide over the past year.
Five more groups on the list have been flagged for potential ties to terror groups: United Hands Relief, Inc., Alliance for Global Justice, Islamic Relief USA, Americans for Justice in Palestine Educational Foundation, and American Muslims for Palestine. The treasurer of United Hands Relief, Hatem Fariz, was previously convicted of providing material support to the Palestine Islamic Jihad terror group in Gaza and had unusual financial activity reported in 2022.
Islamic Relief USA contributes tens of millions of dollars to Islamic Relief Worldwide, with whom the State Department has cut ties over concerns about antisemitism in its leadership. The Alliance for Global Justice previously sponsored the Israeli-designated terrorist group Samidoun, which is also connected to Hamas proxies in Gaza.
Chairman Smith vowed that the Ways and Means Committee would continue putting pressure on the Biden-Harris Administration until it stands up against the “pro-Hamas wing” of the Democratic Party and stops this antisemitic and anti-American behavior. The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did any of the other organizations listed in the committee’s findings.
