People hold Israeli flags during a demonstration as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist coalition government presses on with its contentious judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 11, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Nir Elias

A new US congressional memo has accused the former Biden administration of indirectly funding anti-government protests in Israel targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform agenda.

The memo, released by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, alleges that US taxpayer dollars were channeled through the State Department, US Agency for International Development (USAID), and other federal agencies for use by a network of US and Israeli NGOs to support demonstrations opposing the Netanyahu government’s proposal to overhaul Israel’s judiciary.

The memo levels allegations against six organizations: Blue White Future, Movement for Quality Government in Israel, PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Jewish Communal Fund, Middle East Peace Dialogue Network, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The committee claims these groups received US grants or served as intermediaries for federal funds, which were ultimately used to finance anti-reform activities in Israel.

According to the committee, these efforts “contributed directly and indirectly to the judicial reform protests that sought to undermine the Israeli government.”

The memo specifically sites activities by Blue White Future, which allegedly used donor-advised funds from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to help establish the protest headquarters in Tel Aviv. Another group, the Movement for Quality Government, reportedly received over $40,000 from US sources for so-called “civic activism training” in Israeli high schools. Critics allege these activities were politically charged.

Republicans also flagged concerns over PEF Israel Endowment Funds and the Jewish Communal Fund, which funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations linked to the protest movement. Some of the NGOs under scrutiny have also been accused of having indirect ties to extremist groups, a charge that, if proven, could constitute violations of US laws governing nonprofit funding and anti-terrorism statutes.

The committee alleges that the Biden administration “potentially funded groups with ties to US-designated terrorist organizations.”

The Bayader Association for Environment and Development, a NGO that operates within Gaza, has received grant funding from American taxpayers despite openly collaborating with Hamas officials, according to the committee.

“These ties are not new,” the committee states. “For instance, in 2021, Bayader’s annual report notes ‘coordination’ and ‘meetings’ with Hamas’s Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Social Affairs, and Ministry of Agriculture.”

The allegations follow a broader political battle in Israel, where Netanyahu’s judicial reform efforts, which include limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to review legislation and giving the ruling coalition greater control over judicial appointments, triggered mass demonstrations across the country. Biden administration officials had publicly criticized the reforms, warning they could undermine Israeli democracy.

Following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, the Israeli public’s attention largely shifted to the conflict and the hostages kidnapped by Hamas, ending most of the protests over the judicial reforms.

The US House Judiciary Committee is expected to escalate its inquiry in the coming weeks, presenting additional document requests and potential subpoenas. While no criminal activity has been established, observers have noted the investigation raises significant questions about oversight of foreign aid, nonprofit transparency, and the boundaries of US involvement in the domestic affairs of foreign allies.