New York state assemblyman introduces bill to stop funding of Israeli settlements

Legislation would block state charities from supporting settlement activity

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa in the southern part of East Jerusalem. AFP

A New York assemblyman has introduced a bill that would bar charities registered in the state from providing financial support to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

Zohran Mamdani, who represents a district in Astoria, Queens, introduced the legislation at the New York State Assembly in Albany this week.

“What we are doing here today is introducing the Not On Our Dime Act that will make it explicit that violating the Geneva Convention to aid and abet Israeli settler organisations is not in keeping with New York state law,” Mr Mamdani said on Wednesday.

The act would prohibit non-profit organisations from providing “unauthorised” support for Israeli settlements, which the UN has deemed illegal.

The bill has won the backing of several advocacy groups including the Centre for Constitutional Rights.

“Aiding and abetting war crimes is not charitable, period. This bill goes a long way toward ensuring that New York is not inadvertently subsidising war crimes, but rather creating paths for accountability,” Vince Warren, the centre's executive director, said in a statement.

US charities are some of the biggest supporters of Israeli settlement activity.

According to a 2015 report in Israel's Haaretz newspaper, from 2009 to 2013, US-based charities donated more than $220 million to settlement organisations.

New York-registered charities “that are known to primarily fund illegal settler activities” raised more than $144 million between 2017 and 2019, the bill said.

In a Twitter post, Mr Mamdani singled out the Central Fund of Israel, a New York-registered non-profit organisation that is exempt from paying federal income tax.

The organisation has given millions annually to aid Israel and settlement activity.

In 2020, it gave more than $42 million to various Jewish charities and causes, according to its financial disclosure that year.

Mr Mamdani acknowledged that it would be an uphill battle to get the bill passed.

“We understand that this bill is going to be a journey,” he said.

“It's going to be a battle to get this bill to the point of passage, but we are introducing it with the full commitment of organising such that we create an undeniable coalition around this bill.”