JCF Responds to Misleading Ad
March 1, 2012 – Today, the Emergency Committee for Israel paid for an ad in The New York Times that unjustly attacked more than a dozen organizations, including the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties (JCF) — both within and outside of the Jewish community—for giving money to Media Matters and the Center for American Progress. We are outraged by this attack.
JCF is now—and has always been—one of Israel’s strongest supporters. The grants in question come from our Donor Advised Funds (DAF) program. These are charitable gift accounts established by donors. While owned and ultimately controlled by JCF, DAFs do not involve communal funds, but rather reflect the interests of individual donors. Furthermore, we follow strict guidelines when authorizing grants to organizations that are recommended by donors participating in our Donor Advised Fund Program. Recipient organizations of Donor Advised Fund grants must be public charities or government entities eligible to receive charitable funds under IRS regulations.
In addition, our Federation was the first in the country to adopt a funding policy which explicitly prohibits any Federation grants from being used to promote bigotry or activities that delegitimize Israel, because such grants are inconsistent with our core values. For example, grants cannot be made to any organization that opposes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state or that advocates for boycotts, divestments and sanctions of Israel.
The Federation—as reflected in its funding priorities, activities and decades of deep commitment—is unambiguously committed to a strong Israel and a strong relationship between American Jews and Israel.
