NY Bill to Stop Charities That Fund Israeli Settlements Expanded to Include Gaza War

By Matis Glenn

A bill introduced last year in the New York State legislature aimed at stripping the non-profit status of charities that donate money to settlements in Yehudah and Shomron was expanded recently to include funding the IDF’s operation in Gaza, alleging that Israel is carrying out a “genocide” in its war against the Hamas terror group there.

If passed, the law would make New York the first state in the country to effectively sanction support of Israel’s military.

State Senator Jabari Brisport and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, both members of the Democratic Socialists of America, drafted the original bill last year, arguing that since the United States’ position is that settlements in Yehudah and Shomron are not legal, funding that is used for that purpose should not be tax-exempt. The bill had only a handful of supporters; three in the State Senate and four in the Assembly, but picked up one more respectively this year.

None of the signatories have withdrawn their support for the new version of the bill, despite it being a radical deviation from state and national law.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez voiced her support for the augmented bill on Monday, as did Region 9A of the United Auto Workers.

State Assemblyman Sam Berger (D-27) slammed the bill as antisemitic and said that the charities being targeted supply aid to terror victims, and support orphans and widows.

“As dozens of innocent Israeli citizens and children approach their 175th day in Hamas captivity, so called ‘leaders’ are again pushing A6943 the “Not on Our Dime!: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act,'” Berger told Hamodia. “Despite hundreds of helpless men, women and children being heinously murdered, beheaded, abused, or ripped from their homes for simply being Jewish, state elected officials with no purview in foreign policy continue to champion blatantly antisemitic legislation. 

“The bill aims to target Jewish organizations that serve diverse missions, including feeding the poor, providing emergency medical care for terrorism victims, and clothing orphans. This legislation affects them all, and we again firmly respond with, ‘Not on our watch.'”

State Sen. Simcha Felder (D-22) said that the bill is an example of how antisemitism invades society.

“This absurd bill is the latest example of the antisemitism invading our society. Of all the nations in the world, why always Israel?” Felder told Hamodia. “The list of nations truly and grossly abusing human rights is very long, but the world is eerily silent until Israel is called to defend its citizens and its very right to exist.

“Why only Israel? We know the answer. We just read it from the Haggadah on Pesach, in every generation antisemites will try to destroy us- and they will fail- just like this bill will fail, spectacularly.”

The New York State Republican Working Group on Antisemitism called the legislation “disgusting.”

“The so-called “Not on Our Dime” bill is intended solely to penalize not-for-profits who are committed to combating antisemitism at a time when we need to fight hate,” the group said in a statement. “In the wake of the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7th, we have witnessed a disturbing rise of antisemitism, including recent protests in support of terrorist organizations like Hamas on college campuses in New York and across the nation.

“The Not on Our Dime bill is the latest in a disgusting trend of antisemitic sentiment and is a clear attack on the State of Israel and the Jewish people. It is more critical than ever that our elected officials stand against dangerous policies like this and protect our Jewish communities,” the statement continued.