The U.S. State Department provided just under $40,000 to a group that has been leading protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
The State Department confirmed that $38,000 in funding has gone to the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which describes itself as "an independent, non-partisan, grassroots, non-profit organization that has been defending Israeli democracy since 1990."
The group has recently emerged as one of the leaders of the ongoing protests against Netanyahu's government over the plan to weaken the country's judiciary, according to Haaretz.
"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," an unidentified State Department official told the Free Beacon.
The official added that the Movement for Quality Government in Israel is "a respected, independent, non-partisan, grassroots non-governmental organization committed to promoting values of democracy, transparency, good governance, and civic participation."
However, Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., criticized the funding and claimed that the group is partisan in nature.
"The State Department should never fund foreign partisan organizations in allied democracies," Banks told the Free Beacon. "If the shoe was on the other foot, the Biden administration would accuse Israel of interfering in our elections. Congress should absolutely review the State Department's potential funding of partisan politics in Israel."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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