Two powerful congressional committees are investigating whether the New Israel Fund illegally used its US tax-exempt status to influence Israeli elections and help remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office.
The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, and the Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Jason Smith, demanded records concerning millions of dollars transferred to Israeli organizations allegedly involved in political campaigning during the 2019 elections.
The committees highlighted approximately $356,000 provided to Zazim, which organized transportation that brought thousands of Bedouin voters to polling stations. They also cited roughly $95,000 transferred to Adalah, which provided legal representation to the Joint Arab List during an election campaign centered on replacing Netanyahu with Benny Gantz.
The lawmakers also allege that the New Israel Fund participated directly in efforts to disqualify an Israeli election candidate. Jordan described the activity as “obvious electioneering” intended to alter Israeli political outcomes and undermine an elected prime minister.
