On The Issue of Tax-Exemptions

Haim Dov Beliak, is a rabbi serving Hawaiian Gardens and a Jewish religious leaders in California who is trying to block the flow of funds to the settlers.

According to the UK Guardian:

Beliak helped launch the Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens & Jerusalem to stop the flow of money from the bingo hall to the settlements. Its investigations of tax records show that the Moskowitz Foundation's donations include grants to Beit Hadassah, a militant Jewish settlement in the heart of the West Bank city of Hebron.

...Beliak is particularly angered that the fundraising takes place without interference from the American authorities. In contrast, he says, Muslim charities which raise money to help Palestinians have been targeted for investigation, shut down and some of their administrators jailed because providing welfare to Gaza indirectly helps Hamas.

"After 2001 there was a whole discourse about how supposedly Muslims [in America] used these charitable donations to support violence.

"There was never ever in the US anything substantially that made that case. But here they did have a case where somebody was using money to support settlers, money that fosters extremism and violence, and they completely ignored it," said Beliak.

First off, there sure was much made of illegal "charitable" covered funding going to Islamic terror groups that kill Jews. It wasn't "supposedly".

Secondly, money donated to schools, synagogues, welfare for the elderly, educational institutions, etc. in Judea and Samaria does not foster extremism and violence. The Rabbi lies.

Thirdly, a Rabbi, being a Jewish leader, should know that Jews have the right to live in their homeland. You want, Haim Dov, a "Palestinian state"? Fine. But why does that preclude Jewish residents? If I preclude Arabs from living in Israel pre-67 would you condone that?

Fourthly, this tax-exempt matter is popping up, first David Ignatius (and this, too) and then some Israeli expatriate with both Canadian and American citizenship. It needs to be addressed. But we needn't worry too much despite complaints already filed.

Back in 1989:

A coven of witches has won tax-exempt status in Rhode Island as a legitimate religious group. Tax Administrator R. Gary Clark said he overturned the state's initial ruling, which denied the Rosegate Coven a sales-tax exemption

And I wonder, are all the Hadassah Mt. Scopus and Hebrew University Mt. Scopus buildings totally within the former Mt. Scopus enclave or are they across the Green Line for the IRS? Kuppat Holim in Ramat Eshkol, French Hill, etc.? I'm sure this would affect a lot of monies.