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Story Publication logo December 26, 2015

Where Do Tax-exempt U.S. Donations to the Settlements Go?

Author:
Silwan neighborhood..
English

U.S. administration defines Jewish settlements as an obstacle to peace, yet allows millions in...

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Haaretz SettlementDollars investigation: Explore a map showing the main benefactors and recipients in the flow of tax-free donations from non-profits in the U.S. to Israel's West Bank settlements

From illegal outposts to academic research, from legal aid for Jewish terrorists to yeshivas, the tens of millions of dollars that U.S. non-profits send each year to the settlements support all sorts of activities in Jewish enclaves across the West Bank.

As part of the Haaretz investigation into the flow of tax-exempt dollars to the settlements, here is a map showing some of the key donors and their main beneficiaries.  

The months-long investigation by Haaretz correspondent Uri Blau focused on some 50 U.S.-based organizations that funnel money to the settlements or to Israeli non-profits that support them. 

The American charities, known as 501(c)(3) organizations under the Internal Revenue Code, are granted tax-exempt status by U.S. authorities and donors to them can claim a tax deduction on their gift.

Between 2009 and 2013, the last year for which there is extensive data, these organizations reported combined revenues of more than $281 million (over one billion shekels). Most of these funds came from donations, while some came from returns on capital investments.

Some $224 million of this income was transferred to the occupied territories as grants, mostly through Israeli non-profit groups.

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