Congressman Jason Smith: ‘Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right.’
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Missouri Congressman Jason Smith, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, urged the IRS to revoke the tax-exempt status for anti-Israel groups that have been fomenting antisemitism.
Representative Smith wrote to Daniel Werfel, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and requested that the IRS investigate nine organizations that are “fueling chaos, illegal conduct, and antisemitic activity.”
He explained that the organizations are either connected with terrorism, involved in illegal activities or fail “to operate for stated exempt purposes.”
“American taxpayers are rightfully outraged by what has transpired on American college campuses this past year, and they are even more disgusted to learn their tax dollars have subsidized the groups organizing this illegal activity at home and potentially terrorist organizations overseas,” Smith stated.
He emphasized, “Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right, and in exchange, organizations must operate for stated exempt purposes.”
Smith is requesting that the IRS investigate the following organizations: Americans for Justice in Palestine Educational Foundation, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine, Alliance for Global Justice, Islamic Relief USA, Jewish Voice for Peace, The People’s Forum, Tides Foundation, United Hands Relief, and Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is designated as a terror group, and Smith cited it in his letter for its “conduct that includes inciting riots and violence, supporting illegal activity, and conducting other activity contrary to the public good.”
The Anti-Defamation League has also called for the revocation of the tax-exempt status of Alliance for Global Justice.
The People’s Forum is connected to the Chinese Communist Party and has been criticized for anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric.
The People’s Forum took to X to complain about Smith’s letter to the IRS and characterized it as a “major political attack designed to criminalize dissent and silence those who oppose the Israeli genocide in Gaza” and drawing parallels with “the worst part of the McCarthy Era.”