Actions have consequences we are often told, and that includes tax-exempt groups that provide support to terrorists’ organizations, area Congressman Brad Schneider believes. So far, so do a majority of members of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The tax-writing committee, of which the 10th District congressman is a member, unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution late last week co-sponsored by Schneider and Tennessee Republican David Kustoff to revoke the tax-exempt status of any U.S.-based organization that offers funding, training or other resources to designated terrorist groups. In this case, the terrorists are members of Hamas, but may include ISIS and Hezbollah, based in Lebanon.
Hamas is the Palestinian terror organization responsible for the brutal Oct. 7 killings of more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping more than 240 hostages, including some Americans. The Israeli Defense Force is now attacking in force members of Hamas, with Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire. The coordinated raid on Israelis last month, Hamas authorities say, was in response to what they say has been decades of Palestinian repression by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza.
The Schneider-Kustoff measure now goes before the full House. Like driving, tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right, in the U.S.
“We cannot allow tax-exempt organizations to exploit their privileged status to provide support to terrorist organizations,” the Deerfield Democrat said in a statement. “In the weeks following Hamas’ barbaric massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, America has witnessed a dramatic increase in incidents of hateful speech, threats of violence and, shockingly, support for the Hamas terrorists.”
He pointed out tax-exempt status is a privilege afforded to charities and organizations that support communities, universities, places of worship and other organizations, and play beneficial roles across the nation. The Chicago region has one of the largest Palestinian populations in the nation.
The U.S. Treasury Department is supposed to identify nongovernmental organizations which are granted the special tax status. It also enforces the tax code, and can revoke a group’s tax-exempt status if it breaks the rules for 501(c) 3 status.
The congressman isn’t the only one to question using government money to finance groups backing Hamas, and those who have praised the October atrocities. Germany announced last month it froze funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which doles out funding for Palestinian refugees. The country has been the largest benefactor of the agency.
That action followed similar moves in Europe after the Hamas raids. The European Union is withholding 39 million euros from dozens of Palestinian nonprofits, including some which have incited antisemitic hatred across the continent. There have been reports of UNRWA members and employees, along with graduates of U.N.-funded schools, supporting via social media or participating in the Oct. 7 atrocities. Switzerland, too, is withholding money from nearly a dozen Palestinian nonprofits.
The U.S. has funneled more than $153.7 million to aid Palestinian refugees, with President Joe Biden renewing that funding in June, according to officials. The money goes toward humanitarian assistance, protection of refugees and keeping 700 schools and 140 health centers open across the Mideast.
As U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the administration of President Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, now a Republican presidential candidate, led an effort to cut U.S. finding to UNRWA after reports emerged that schools run by the organization were distributing antisemitic books to Palestinian schoolchildren.
Schneider said the measure removes bureaucratic red tape from efforts to stop terrorist financing, but includes safeguards to ensure due process. “We must do our part to hinder the flow of resources to Hamas terrorists and fulfill our duty as stewards of the U.S. tax code,” he noted.
Surely, most of us don’t want our taxpayer money financing terrorist organizations. Drying up financial support for such groups goes a long way in the global fight against terrorism.
One way to do that is through Schneider’s measure, which yanks tax-code preferential treatment when it is determined our money is used against our allies, or in this instance kidnapped Americans who found themselves pawns in the ongoing fervor and fanaticism in the Middle East.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
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