A Washington Free Beacon investigation revealed that the Department of State subsidized a left-wing group supporting protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with more than $38,000 in public funds.
According to Israeli documents, the State Department granted the money to the Movement for Quality Government (MQG) with the purpose of "conducting workshops in high schools" in Israel. However, the MQG is an "non-profit organization" known for supporting anti-Netanyahu protests across the country .
A State Department official commented to the Free Beacon:
The State Department has provided small grants to the Movement for Quality Government, including a grant signed in 2020 during the previous administration and continued under the Biden administration that focused on teaching civic education and supporting good governance.
MQG, a "non-partisan" group calling for Netanyahu's removal
The State Department describes MQG as "a respected, independent, non-partisan, grassroots non-governmental organization committed to promoting values of democracy, transparency, good governance, and civic participation."
However, despite defining themselves as an "independent" and "non-partisan" organization, they have publicly participated in the protests against the prime minister. In February, the group petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to remove Netanyahu from office, claiming that he is "unfit" to perform his duties due to ongoing investigations into allegations of political corruption and bribery.
The United States is the only foreign donor
The filings detail that the MQG received grants of between $10,000 to $15,000 between 2020 and 2022. In each of these years, the U.S. Department of State was listed as the only foreign donor in the group.
The majority of MQG's funding comes from payments made by group members and donations from charitable organizations. The MQG claims that it is "not willing, by principle, to receive any assistance from the governmental system." However, it does prohibit funding from foreign governments.
MQG did not respond to a request for comment made by the Free Beacon on how the U.S. funds were used.
This is not the first time that the U.S. has funded groups that oppose Netanyahu
The State Department has been criticized in the past for subsidizing groups that opposed Netanyahu. Under the Obama administration, the department was found to be deleting emails showing funding given to the OneVoice Movement, a group leading a smear campaign against the prime minister.
Gerald Steinberg, founder of NGO Monitor, a group that reports on the activities of international NGOs, noted that despite the fact that grantees report how they supposedly spend the money they donate, there are few safeguards to prevent the funds from being spent in other ways:
Few if any funders even attempt to monitor the actual use of grants.
From Israel to the U.S., there are concerns over funding
Israeli political observers have expressed concern about whether U.S. funding is helping to foster and sustain opposition to the Netanyahu government. Journalist and writer Caroline Glick told the Free Beacon:
The Movement for Quality Government (MQG) has worked for decades to subvert Israeli democracy. ... It is a slap in the face of the Israeli public and an expression of contempt for Israeli democracy that the State Department is funding this radical group.
In the U.S., Republican Jim Banks, a memberof the House Armed Services Committee, commented that Congress should review "potential State Department funding for partisan politics in Israel."
The State Department should never fund foreign partisan organizations in allied democracies. ... If the shoe were on the other foot, the Biden administration would accuse Israel of interfering in our elections. Congress should absolutely review potential State Department funding of partisan politics in Israel.
