(ConservativeSense.com) – The US government is funneling taxpayer dollars to left-wing anti-government groups in Israel. Funding documents reveal that $38,000 has been given to a group called the Movement for Quality Government (MQG) which is actively engaged in campaigning against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is even accused of targeting his family members. The State Department has confirmed the funding and has been criticized by lawmakers for meddling in the country’s affairs.
Rep. Jim Banks (R. Ind.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said, “The State Department should never fund foreign partisan organizations in allied democracies.” He added that the Biden administration would not accept the situation if it were Israeli groups campaigning against the White House.
The funding began in 2020 during the Trump administration, but a former official of the administration said it is likely to have gone under the radar and been facilitated by civil servants. Trump would have stopped it, he said.
The MQG group has been protesting at reforms being introduced by Netanyahu aimed at the country’s judiciary. The government is seeking to give itself more power to elect judges and to limit the ability of the judiciary to rule against government policy. Justice Minister Yariv Levin said it would restore the balance between the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Left-wing groups claim it will hurt the rights of minorities.
The funding revelation could have a negative impact on the already cool relationship between the White House and Israel. In 2021, the Biden administration restored funding to Palestinian groups that had been halted by Donald Trump. The $235 million included $75 million for economic development in the West Bank and Gaza, and the rest is shared between the US Agency for International Development and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa).
Israel has objected to the funding and said that Unrwa “in its current form perpetuates the conflict and does not contribute to its resolution.”
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