Nonprofit that runs funding for US anti-Israel groups says it’s at risk of closing due to lawsuits

Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.

NYU students participate in a anti-Israeli protest led by the 'Students for Justice in Palestine' at Washington Square Park, New York City, October 25, 2023. (Ed Jones/AFP)
NYU students participate in a anti-Israeli protest led by the 'Students for Justice in Palestine' at Washington Square Park, New York City, October 25, 2023. (Ed Jones/AFP)

A New York nonprofit that facilitates funding for anti-Israel groups across the US says its survival is threatened by lawsuits.

WESPAC, a progressive nonprofit in Westchester County, serves as a financial clearinghouse for leading anti-Israel groups including National Students for Justice in Palestine and Within Our Lifetime.

Since the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, Jewish groups and Congress have pressured WESPAC due to its anti-Israel activities. A lawsuit in New York court, for example, is suing WESPAC, NSJP and the leader of Within Our Lifetime for damages related to protests at Columbia University.

WESPAC sends out an “urgent request” to its supporters asking for funding to cover legal expenses, claiming the group is named in four lawsuits.

“WESPAC’s work has taken on enormous significance since October 7, 2023, as the injustice of apartheid has turned to genocide in Gaza,” the group says. “The well-funded forces of darkness are now waging legal warfare against us.”

“The threat to WESPAC’s survival is real,” the message says, asking for $90,000 from supporters to “protect WESPAC from the precipice.”

In addition to private lawsuits, members of Congress have called for investigations into WESPAC’s nonprofit status, saying members of its network support Hamas, a US-designated terror group.

WESPAC serves as a fiscal sponsor for anti-Israel groups that do not have nonprofit status themselves, an arrangement that allows WESPAC to receive and disperse tax-exempt donations for those groups. Fiscal sponsorships do not require financial disclosures from the recipients, allowing the anti-Israel groups to keep their finances out of public view.

WESPAC had nearly $2.4 million in revenue between September 2022 and August 2023, the most recent period for which tax filings are available.

The group has served as a fiscal sponsor for more than a dozen anti-Israel groups across the US in recent years.

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