Gaza and Charities at War: Lishay Lavi v. UNRWA USA National Committee
A civilian runs for her life during the October 7th attack on Israel
We previously posted about reports that Hamas fighters have infiltrated the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). We followed up with a report that the U.S. and other countries want more evidence before those countries permanently terminate support for the international relief organization. Last week, victims and relatives of victims of Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 filed suit against UNRWA USA National Committee Inc. That organization describes itself thusly:
UNRWA USA is an independent 501c3 nonprofit that supports the work of UNRWA through fundraising, education, and advocacy in the United States. UNRWA USA aims to educate the American public about the plight of Palestine refugees and generate financial support for specific UNRWA programs.
The doctrinal teaching point, by the way, is that UNRWAUSA is like a “friends of” organization, apparently. “Friends of” organizations exemplify one of four common ways to work around the domestic organization requirement for charitable contribution deductions. Here is a concise summary from ClarkNuber, a west coast law firm specializing in nonprofits, among other things:
There are many U.S. “friends of” organizations, such as the American Friends of the Paris Opera, the American Friends of the London Business School, and the Friends of China Heritage Fund. All these organizations were founded to raise domestic (U.S.) funds to support their corresponding foreign charity organization described in the United States code section 501(c)(3). Similar to the DAF sponsor, a common concern for U.S. “friends of” organizations is to avoid becoming merely a channel for funding a foreign organization. The donation must be a completed gift to the domestic “friends of” organization and under its dominion and control. For the gift to qualify as tax deductible, the domestic organization must control the timing and amount of transfers to the foreign organization, and they must maintain a two-way communication with the foreign organization on charitable activities, fundraising, etc. “Friends of” organizations often have close relationships with the foreign organizations they support and effectively fundraise substantial support and awareness for their programs within the United States.
Ten plaintiffs are suing UNRWA USA for damages under the Anti-terrorism Act. They all have tragic and permanently life altering stories. Here are two from the complaint:
- Plaintiff Lishay Lavi is an Israeli citizen. Her husband, Omri Miran, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, after the terrorists broke into her home in Kibbutz Nachal Oz in southern Israel. Ms. Lavi’s husband remains a Hamas hostage to this day. As a result, Ms. Lavi and her family have suffered and continue to suffer unbearable trauma, severe mental anguish, extreme emotional pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.
- Plaintiff Noach Newman has dual citizenship in the United States and Israel. On October 7, 2023, Mr. Newman’s brother, David Yair Shalom Newman, also a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, attended the October 7 Nova Festival and was brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists. As a result, Mr. Newman and his family have suffered and continue to suffer severe mental anguish and extreme emotional pain and suffering.
Plaintiffs necessarily challenge UNRWAUSA’s tax-exempt status, buttressing calls by others to revoke UNRWA’s exempt status. From the summary:
INTRODUCTION
501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations generally do good work. They feed the hungry, help the poor, and house the homeless. But on some very rare occasions, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization finances an international terrorist plot that kills over 1,200 innocent people. This case involves one of those rare occasions.
On October 7, 2023, the foreign terrorist organization Hamas launched a surprise attack on the innocent civilians of southern Israel. This attack resulted in the murder of over 1,200 Israelis and over 6,900 injured civilians. During this attack, Hamas terrorists brutally beat, tortured, raped, and murdered men, women, and children. But Hamas did not carry out these attacks alone. Rather, they were financed and aided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Defendant UNRWA USA National Committee, Inc. (“UNRWA USA”).
Operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States, Defendant UNRWA USA has the stated mission of “supporting the humanitarian work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) through fundraising, advocacy, and community engagement in the United States.” Defendant UNRWA USA has been and is fully aware that UNRWA works with and for Hamas, providing operational and financial support for their activities, and UNRWA USA aids, abets, and provides material support for those activities under the guise of humanitarian assistance.
Defendant UNRWA USA collects donations in the United States and then transfers nearly all its funds to UNRWA, which has significant operations in the Gaza Strip. Once the funds reach the Gaza Strip, UNRWA redistributes those funds to Hamas members on their payroll, some of whom are directly engaged in acts of terrorism, including but not limited to, the October 7th atrocities; to schools that are used to store Hamas’s weapons and other equipment; and to the production of educational materials that promote violence against Jews, including the destruction of the state of Israel. UNRWA USA raises and transfers such funds knowingly, willfully, and with the intention that the funds be used by a designated foreign terrorist organization and its members for terrorist purposes. Indeed, it knowingly, willfully, and intentionally works directly and indirectly in confederation and agreement with UNRWA, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations to provide material support to the designated foreign terrorist organizations and their members and for their terrorist activities.
In sum, Defendant UNRWA USA is not operating a legitimate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It is operating a terrorist-financing scheme in violation of federal law and thereby misleading its donors, the United States government, and the international community.
darryll k. jones