Israeli far-right groups accused of attacking aid convoys to the Gaza Strip have raised more than $200,000 on crowdfunding sites from donors in the US and Israel, where the contributions can be deducted from the individuals’ taxes.
Donations to the groups have poured in on Givechack, an Israeli crowdfunding site, and JGive, a US and Israeli crowdfunding site, according to a report by the Associated Press and the Israeli investigative site, Shomrim, based on open source inspections of the websites and other public records.
Charitable contributions are tax-deductible in the US and Israel.
Groups working to get aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave told the AP and Shomrim that “incentivizing these donations by making them tax-deductible runs counter to America’s and Israel’s stated commitments to allow unlimited food, water and medicine into Gaza”.
One of the groups, Mother’s March, raised the equivalent of over $125,000 on Givechack and $13,000 on JGive.
Tzav 9 raised over $85,000 from around 1,500 donors in the US and Israel on JGive.
The Tzav 9 group has been blocking aid convoys en route to Gaza since January, arguing that Palestinians should not be able to access aid until the hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023 are released.
The group has claimed responsibility for blocking aid shipments from Jordan in the occupied West Bank and ransacking the aid deliveries from trucks. In June, the US sanctioned Tsav 9, which also has ties to Israeli army reservists and settlers in the occupied West Bank, saying its activities included the blocking, harassing and damaging of aid shipments.
US sanctions freeze any assets held by the group under US jurisdiction, and also bans Americans from dealing with the group. JGive told the AP that donations made to Tzav 9 were frozen before the US sanctions were implemented and no funds were delivered to the group.
But even groups not sanctioned by the US have used crowdfunding sites to platform their call for a siege and collective punishment against Palestinians.
“No to ‘humanitarian’ aid that grants fuel to the enemy who kills us! No to the hundreds of trucks that pass every day through Kerem Shalom – and drag out the war!” Mother’s March said in recent attempt to crowdfund.
According to the report, the Israeli far-right group, Torat Lechima, whose Hebrew name translates roughly to “combat doctrine”, is continuing to crowdfund on behalf of Mother’s March on JGive in the US.
Human rights organisations have said that the groups attacking aid convoys are at times receiving information and tacit support from the Israeli government, which has choked aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Israeli human rights organisation B’tselem said that an attack in May took place for hours in front of Israeli soldiers who did not intervene.
“This flies in the face of the @CIJ_ICJ [International Court of Justice], that issued provisional measures to force Israel to enable humanitarian assistance,” the organisation said.
