Last
Tuesday (December 1 2009) an investigative report
in Haaretz revealed that Machanaim
a US 501c3 tax exempt charity is funding the Task Force to Save
the Nation and the Land (aka SOS
Israel)
"...the
organization that offered every soldier refusing to evacuate a
settlement, and the Kfir Brigade soldiers who publicly demonstrated
their opposition to evacuation, NIS 1,000 for every day they spend in
military prison."
The
report criticized the Government for not taking action
against a registered association inciting mutiny, noting also that it
might be a good idea to ask the US to cease providing tax-exemptions
for the funder.
Perhaps
in an attempt to improve its image in the eyes of the Israeli public,
SOS Israel has expanded its range of monetary awards to IDF soldiers.
Arutz Sheva, a settler news service, reports
that
A
soldier holding the rank of Corporal, was awarded 1,800 shekels
($475) by the SOS Save the Land of Israel group Sunday for shooting a
terrorist who tried to kill two Jews at a gas station 10 days ago.
This
was too much even for the IDF leadership, which usually
avoids any kind
of confrontation with the fundamentalist establishment:
Channel Ten TV News reported Monday night that legal action could be
expected against SOS
Israel.
Still
no word on the tax-exempt funding from the US, however.
UPDATE: December 9 2009 - Israeli attorney general orders
investigation of SOS Israel. Better late than never. Will that be
enough for the IRS to rescind tax-exempt status for the US charity
funding it?
Posted
at
9 Dec 2009 7:03 AM
by