An American charity that has raised a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} by promising to fulfill the emergency wants of Israeli troopers after the struggle in Gaza broke out is now going through inner turmoil over allegations of monetary mismanagement, cronyism, and a poisonous office tradition.
The disaster at Pals of the Israel Protection Forces facilities on the group’s chairman, Morey Levovitz, who’s accused of consolidating energy, awarding contracts to associates with out oversight, and authorizing lavish spending that some insiders say betrays donors’ belief.
The accusations had been made public not too long ago in an article printed by Ynet, a significant Israeli information outlet, which cited a report from an inner investigation commissioned by the group’s board earlier this yr.
Following Ynet’s protection, the FIDF acknowledged the existence of the report, an 18-page doc written by a staff of two board members and a longtime lawyer to the group, and stated it’s getting ready a response.
“Once we had been made conscious of the allegations, FIDF instantly started an inner investigation,” the group stated in a press release it launched to the Jewish Telegraphic Company. “We take these issues extraordinarily significantly. Our board and management staff are actively evaluating and addressing the issues raised and taking applicable steps to reply swiftly and responsibly.”
The group has employed a regulation agency and a public relations firm to cope with the disaster, based on an inner e mail despatched to workers on July 7 by the manager committee of the FIDF board.
“Our Government Committee had already engaged a regulation agency that focuses on not-for-profits to look into methods to bolster our insurance policies and procedures internally,” reads the e-mail, which was obtained by JTA.“We additionally employed a public relations agency to assist us navigate our communications with the scenario for our donors, workers and the media.”
Based in 1981 and headquartered in New York Metropolis, FIDF is a big Jewish charity that raises funds for the good thing about Israeli troopers. The group has 25 chapters throughout the nation and a whole bunch of workers and volunteers.
Its fundraising occasions have drawn main celebrities, together with retired boxer Mike Tyson, Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher and musical artist Pharrell Williams. The donor pool has featured among the most distinguished billionaire philanthropists within the nation: the Adelson household, House Depot founder Bernie Marcus, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and leisure mogul Haim Saban, who sits on the group’s board.
The group noticed an unprecedented windfall after launching an emergency fundraising marketing campaign in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
The overall raised for 2023 was about $280 million, based on FIDF’s audited monetary statements. That quantity is sort of triple the $100 million FIDF anticipated elevating at the beginning of that yr, based on an inner finances doc obtained by JTA.
Already one of many high fundraising organizations amongst American Jewish establishments, FIDF possible collected more cash in help of Israel after Oct. 7 than another particular person charity. The one marketing campaign identified to have raised extra is that of the whole Jewish federation system, which raised $850 million throughout dozens of organizations representing 400 Jewish communities throughout North America.
The extraordinary enhance in donations to FIDF mirrored a widespread want amongst American Jews to indicate help after the Israeli army misplaced a whole bunch of troopers on Oct. 7, with a whole bunch extra casualties in subsequent preventing throughout an ongoing struggle that has demanded an nearly unprecedented mobilization of the army’s reserves.
“I’m one of many many rabbis who firmly consider in what FIDF does, and I make certain my congregants find out about their work — we attempt to do no matter we are able to to help them,” Joshua Kalev, who leads a Southern California congregation and has longstanding ties to FIDF, instructed JTA final yr.
A number of of Kalev’s congregants have youngsters serving within the Israeli army as lone troopers, who obtain help from FIDF as a result of they don’t have household in Israel like typical troops.
That program is one in all a number of longstanding FIDF initiatives supporting troopers off the battlefield. The group’s emergency marketing campaign has helped pay for medical tools, toiletries and clothes, the rebuilding of a army base that was broken by Hamas, and therapy for PTSD from fight. The group’s year-end report for 2024 says it has transferred $101 million to Israel in emergency funding whereas committing a complete of $250 million over a multi-year interval.
Alongside the surge in help, the FIDF additionally attracted criticism over its public messaging and its spending.
Final yr, Arnie Draiman, a marketing consultant who vets charities for donors trying to help Israel-related causes, appeared into the FIDF on behalf of a consumer.
He dug up the FIDF’s tax returns and requested the group for added data, simply as he has performed for a whole bunch of charities up to now. Draiman didn’t just like the view from beneath the hood. He questioned why the group was sitting on massive reserves whereas asking donors to present extra.
“Right here is an instance of a nonprofit holding a lot cash they don’t know what to do with it,” he wrote in a word summarizing his ideas. “They simply maintain on to it for the proverbial wet day … even though the hurricane is outdoors. Will your cash be used in any respect? Who is aware of. Will it sit someplace for years? In all probability.”
When he requested the FIDF for a proof, he was instructed the cash had been earmarked by donors and couldn’t be used for emergency wants.
“It boggles my thoughts that the FIDF has that amount of cash after which says, ‘We are able to’t contact it.’ However did you ask the donor for those who couldn’t contact it? There’s a struggle happening,” Draiman instructed JTA on the time.
Michael Pycher, a former FIDF supporter, grew to become so disillusioned with the group that he ultimately determined to denounce it in a extensively shared put up on Instagram.
“There have been and proceed to be tens of 1000’s of Israeli troopers begging American households for fundamental provides throughout a important time of want, whereas FIDF takes benefit of a beneficiant and panicked Jewish inhabitants, elevating a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for itself,” he posted final April. “Disgraceful and pathetic.”
Maybe probably the most persistent and vocal critic of FIDF has been Daniel Mael, a New York–primarily based entrepreneur who runs Unit 11741, a casual initiative to offer Israeli troopers with donated helmets and different fight gear.
Mael is a part of a world grassroots effort that has donated a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}’ price of protecting tools and battlefield provides to particular person troopers, aiming to deal with persistent shortages. The army formally denies that shortages exist and prohibits troopers from receiving such donations, however in follow, commanders have usually both participated in unauthorized fundraising themselves or turned a blind eye to it.
As a result of FIDF is an official associate of the Israeli army, it can’t — and doesn’t — donate fight gear, focusing as an alternative on off-battlefield help that the army says is required. The group was not all the time diligent about following army directives. In 2010, the military instructed FIDF to cease bringing donors into contact with troopers with out permission. A 2016 report from Israel’s state comptroller discovered that FIDF ignored the order and continued the follow in violation of army directives.
Mael and different critics cost that FIDF will not be clear when it says it’s offering for the troopers’ most pressing wants whereas troopers proceed soliciting cash on-line for helmets as a result of their army-issued ones are a long time previous and broken. Critics additionally say that because the FIDF toes the army line that there are not any shortages, it additionally disparages various grassroots donation drives, making donors cautious of contributing.
“I’m not even asking FIDF to take accountability for fixing the tools disaster, although it’s telling that they keep away from it,” Mael instructed JTA, summarizing his views. “I’m merely asking them to cease gaslighting troopers and the general public. Troopers, widows, and orphans deserve a company that helps them truthfully, with out spin, deception, or self-serving narratives.”
Mael has aired his complaints in opposition to FIDF by means of YouTube movies and a Substack weblog. He sprang into motion after Ynet revealed final week that the group had accomplished an inner investigation uncovering allegations of mismanagement. Whereas the report didn’t tackle issues about FIDF’s ballooning money reserves or its coverage in opposition to donating protecting gear, Mael cited it as additional proof of the “ethical failure” he has lengthy denounced.
“How FIDF raised a fortune, hoarded it, and handed out flip-flops throughout Israel’s darkest hour,” reads the subhead to a current weblog put up by Mael.
Writing in a punchy, muckraking model, he constructed a following throughout the FIDF, main insiders to offer him with a gentle stream of leaked correspondence involving board members and donors.
In inner emails, FIDF has cited the rising drumbeat of concern in commissioning an investigation earlier this yr, and acknowledged that its workers is studying the protection of the disaster by information shops and blogs.
The report that got here out of the investigation paints an image of a company gripped by dysfunction and centralized management, based on Ynet. On the heart of the turmoil is Levovitz, the board chairman, who’s accused of sidelining senior executives, bypassing inner controls, and treating the charity as his private area.
Based on Ynet’s protection, Levovitz assumed efficient day-to-day management of the charity, marginalizing FIDF’s CEO Steve Weil and steadily declaring to workers, “I run the present.” The report reportedly particulars how contracts had been allegedly steered towards people and corporations with private or skilled ties to Levovitz, together with a journey contract awarded with out aggressive bidding to Ortra, an Israeli firm that has organized FIDF donor delegations.
The report additionally described a sample of lavish spending by Levovitz himself, together with practically $53,000 in private reimbursements for high-end journey and lodging — bills that board members later stated might have violated the group’s personal monetary insurance policies, Ynet reported.
Tensions have spilled into FIDF’s regional chapters. In San Francisco, one of the crucial beneficiant donor communities, the native chapter froze its contributions after its director was dismissed with out rationalization. The report described the transfer as a strategic failure that risked alienating donors and undermining regional morale, based on Ynet’s protection.
Additionally alarming to longtime supporters was the departure of the group’s authorized counsel, Stephen Rubin, who resigned after being excluded from inner deliberations, Ynet reported. Rubin had been with the group for over 4 a long time. His absence, the report warned, left the board susceptible to authorized lapses and weakened institutional oversight.
Staff interviewed throughout the investigation described a office marked by concern, dysfunction and unclear management, based on Ynet. Some instructed the committee they had been hesitant to talk up internally for concern of retaliation. Employees turnover had accelerated, and morale was reportedly low throughout a number of departments.
At the very least some donors have known as for Levovitz’s resignation or ouster, however the board has but to convene because the leak of the report.
For Mael, although the report doesn’t tackle his most important criticism and adjustments have but to be made, the present scrutiny of the group is a welcome growth.
“FIDF has admitted to the world that its home will not be fully so as,” he not too long ago wrote. “Now comes the tougher job: cleansing it up.”
For more information, go to JTA.org.