The Biden-Harris administration is under scrutiny following new allegations that it misused taxpayer funds to support protests in Israel opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform plan. A memo released by the House Judiciary Committee outlines a complex financial trail linking U.S. grants to organizations that played a role in the Israeli demonstrations ahead of the October 7 Hamas attacks.
According to the committee, U.S. grant money — funneled through both American and Israeli non-governmental organizations — contributed to opposition efforts against Netanyahu’s proposed reforms, which aimed to reduce the power of Israel’s judiciary. “The Biden-Harris Administration provided grant funds to groups that contributed directly and indirectly to the judicial reform protests that sought to undermine the Israeli government,” the memo claims.
Netanyahu responded on X (formerly Twitter), calling the findings “astonishing” and accusing the prior U.S. administration of orchestrating a “massive foreign intervention” aimed at replacing his right-wing government. He shared a chart from the committee memo purporting to show nearly $1 billion in U.S. funding distributed to Israeli left-leaning NGOs.
Earlier this year, the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees sent document requests to six NGOs — including Blue White Future (BWF), the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG), and the Jewish Communal Fund (JCF) — asking for records related to federal grants from USAID and the State Department. So far, 380 documents have been provided.
Among the memo’s findings:
- BWF allegedly received funding from U.S.-backed entities and reportedly used the money to support protest headquarters.
- MQG was granted $42,000 to run activism training in Israeli high schools.
- PEF Israel Endowment Funds is accused of transferring over $884 million to groups tied to the protests.
- Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors reportedly distributed a portion of its $20 million in U.S. grants to similar groups.
- JCF allegedly contributed $42.8 million to protest efforts and their main funders.
- Middle East Peace Dialogue Network (MEPDN) is suspected of violating its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status by allegedly supporting anti-government activity.
Responding to the accusations, BWF CEO Rotem Perelman-Farhi strongly denied receiving any government funding. “All donations to the organization originate from private donors,” Perelman-Farhi said, urging the committee to verify its claims with USAID records.
JCF also disputed the memo’s assertions, saying it has fully cooperated with the investigation but disagrees with the conclusions. It emphasized that donor-advised funds are distributed based on the recommendations of private donors, not at the discretion of the organization itself.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the committee signaled that more NGOs — both American and Israeli — may be scrutinized in the coming weeks.
