Rep. Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, wrote a series of letters addressed to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, which emphasized the support of anti-Israel groups for designated terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as well as their inflammatory rhetoric and incitement.
The letters referred to information on these groups published, among others, by The Jerusalem Post, especially following the Hamas-led massacre of Israel last October. In a tweet he posted, the Republican congressman from Missouri emphasized: “Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right. Groups that work to sow discord in American society, subsidize violence, and support terrorism shouldn’t enjoy this privilege.”
He further commented: “The Ways and Means Committee will continue putting pressure on the Biden-Harris administration until it stands up to the pro-Hamas wing of the Democrat Party,” Smith stated.
Smith’s inquiry specifically mentions groups such as American Muslims for Palestine, a lobbying and advocacy group reportedly related to the Hamas-affiliated Holy Land Foundation, as well as the Alliance for Global Justice, which has faced scrutiny for its connections to and support for the PFLP.
In AFGJ’s case, an investigation prompted payment processors to sever ties, and the Anti-Defamation League has also called for an IRS inquiry into the organization.
The letter also mentioned Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which was accused of engaging “in conduct that includes inciting riots and violence, supporting illegal activity, and conducting other activity contrary to the public good.” The WESPAC foundation, which supports SJP and its New York offshoot, Within Our Lifetimes, both tied to violent protests and acts of vandalism in the past year, was also noted.
Another group mentioned in the letter is The People’s Forum, a New York-based group that is related to and financed by sympathizers of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and which has also been linked to anti-Israel protests and anti-American rhetoric.
Smith’s letters invoked IRS guidelines that mark organizations involved in activities related to foreign countries with civil unrest, asserting that these groups pose a higher risk for terrorism. He underscored the importance of scrutinizing these organizations, arguing that tax-exempt funds should not support groups that threaten national security or promote violence.
Activists’ replies to the letters
The People’s Forum posted a comment to Smith’s letters on their X account, rejecting what they deemed a “major political attack designed to criminalize dissent and silence those who oppose the Israeli genocide in Gaza” and drawing parallels with “the worst part of the McCarthy Era.”
The CCP-related organization also claimed that their only sin was “exercising their First Amendment right to speak out against the US government’s policy,” calling on “people from all political backgrounds and positions” to “stand together in defense of free speech rights” and against the “assault on democracy.”
Marc Greendorfer, founder and president of the Zachor Legal Institute, a non-profit civil rights legal organization combating discrimination and terrorism, commented:
“I am happy to see members of Congress taking action. For many years, terror groups have been using US 501(c)(3) organizations as fronts for not only fundraising but also rallying other types of support, such as PR.
It’s a clear violation of 501(c)(3) rules and should have never been allowed. Not only is the work of the 501(c)(3) fronts a violation of US anti-terror laws (e.g., providing material support to terror), it essentially forces US taxpayers to subsidize terror.
Worse, these terror groups and their 501(c)(3) fronts advocate for the destruction of the United States, so it is very much like the apocryphal quote attributed to Lenin, “The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we’ll hang them.”
He concluded, “In this case, the American taxpayers are subsidizing the activism that aims to destroy not just Israel but America as well.”