Milwaukee Jewish Federation Funds Genocide

Last week we published an article on how the Milwaukee Jewish Federation invited State Senators to a meeting potentially in violation of open meetings law. Given the scope of the article, we were not able to dive deeper into exactly what the Milwaukee Jewish Federation does and why it is particularly concerning that they are meeting with State Senators. Perusing their website, one would have the impression that they generally support Jewish cultural organizations in Wisconsin, while also being concerned with combating ‘antisemitism’ and providing aid to Israel. What none of the documentation listed on their websites mentions, though, is their explicit financial support of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people (beyond their general ‘humanitarian aid’ for Israel.) Thanks to some excellent research done by the folks at UWM Belong, we are able to draw a line directly from Israel’s illegal West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements to funding provided by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. This funding is concentrated across three organizations: Hebron Fund Inc, Friends of Chabad of Hebron, and American Friends of Ateret Cohanim.

Hebron Fund Inc

Hebron is an area of the West Bank captured and occupied by Israel since it invaded and captured the space from Jordan during the Six-Day War. This is an area where Palestinians live under apartheid conditions and Israeli settlements in this area are widely considered illegal by the international community. Hebron Fund Inc’s website features some frankly disgusting Zionist propaganda about how Israelis have a god-given right to be on this land and are the true victims here. The full and complex history of this region is beyond the scope of this article; there was a massacre of Jews in this region in 1929, but the Hebron Fund deliberately ignores Palestinian and Arab perspectives. The Fund also highlights their full-throated support and funding for child murders, the Israel ‘Defense’ Force. Reviewing their 990 forms from across the years reveals the following funding provided by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation: 

Friends of Chabad of Hebron

Also located in Hebron, this organization explicitly serves IDF soldiers and has the nerve to purplewash their activities by highlighting their services for female IDF soldiers. Not much more deserves to be said about these murderers. The Milwaukee Jewish Federation has provided the following donations to this organization:

American Friends of Ateret Cohanim

This organization (founded by a former IDF soldier) is based in New York and focuses on “transferring” Palestinian-owned properties in East Jerusalem, including the Muslim and Christian Quarters of the Old City, into Jewish Israeli hands (these settlements are also considered illegal by the wider international community). Their webpage also has the typical amount of one-sided Zionist victimization propaganda and anti-Arab racism that you would expect. The Milwaukee Jewish Federation has provided the following donations to this organization:

We recognize that the regions these organizations operate in have a complex and nuanced history that goes well beyond the scope of this article. That being said, without a doubt, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation has blood on their hands considering their funding of organizations that explicitly support IDF murderers and the displacement of Palestinians. The United Nations cited Israel’s policies in the West Bank (the area where these organizations operate in) as a genocidal act. And, as previously mentioned, even countries that are afraid to use the word ‘genocide’ still generally view these settlements as illegal. While reviewing their website, we could find no documentation highlighting their support for these organizations, leading me to suspect that MJF are well aware of the harm they are funding, and may be trying to hide this support from their donors and funders. 

Again shout out to the folks at UWM Belong for bringing this to our attention. Unless someone has done this research, there is no way one could know that MJF are directly funding the genocide of Palestinians (having given over $400,000). MJF are clearly trying to hide this funding, and we must shine a light on it. State Senators should be aware that MJF is not some innocent organization trying to combat anti-semitism (which we fully recognize exists and are against*) and foster Jewish culture (something we wholeheartedly support). They are instead supporters of an increasingly far-right and fascist government with a long and escalating history of committing genocide against Palestinian people. This makes the Milwaukee Jewish Federation a far-right and fascist organization, and they need to be treated as such. 

*For anti-zionist resources to combat anti-semitism see https://www.antisemitismcurriculum.org/