A fundraising company based in the United States has suspended the account of the umbrella organization promoting boycotts of Israel over the group’s ties to terror groups, The Times of Israel reported Friday.
Donorbox, which makes fundraising management software, suspended the account of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, due to its ties with “Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine” (CINF), which includes all Palestinian factions including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. All of these groups are designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S.
Donorbox took the action of temporarily suspending the BDS account, based on a complaint filed by Shurat Hadin, the Israel Law Center.
“We have no intention to allow terrorist organizations and their accomplices to raise money online without interference,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of Shurat HaDin.
A statement from Donorbox said that it has not made a final determination.
“This decision does not mean that we consider BDS to be a nefarious organization. We are merely reviewing evidence following this complaint. Their donation forms were closed as a precautionary measure,” the statement said.
An investigation by Tablet Magazine in June found that the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, a non-profit that is based in Virginia and serves as an umbrella group for U.S.-based BDS organizations, made donations to the Palestinian BDS National Committee, an organization that includes CINF.
Former Treasury Department official and current Senior Vice President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Jonathan Schanzer testified before Congress in April 2016 and said that the leadership of “three organizations that were designated or shut down, or held civilly liable for providing material support for the terrorist organization Hamas … appears to have pivoted to leadership positions within the American BDS campaign.”
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