US: ADL files federal complaint against pro-Palestinian Jewish group
The pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has filed a complaint in the US with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace Action's political action committee (JVP-PAC) of violating campaign finance laws.
The complaint accuses JVP-PAC of "financial discrepancies" and is calling on the Federal Election Commission to levy sanctions against the organisation.
“Simply put, JVP PAC’s numbers do not add up, and despite repeated warnings from the FEC, the PAC has failed to correct the record,” Steven Sheinberg, ADL's chief legal officer, said in a statement.
The ADL has long been denounced by pro-Palestinian groups for describing Palestinian rights movements as antisemitic. The organisation has also in the past worked with US law enforcement to spy on and target Arab-American groups and has also facilitated and funded US police training trips to Israel.
The complaint from the ADL also comes as pro-Israel groups launched plans to spend more than $100m in the current election cycle in an attempt to unseat a number of progressive lawmakers who have also been supportive of Palestinian rights and critical of Israel.
In March, Jewish Voice for Peace joined a coalition of 20 different progressive organisations in order to protect pro-Palestinian lawmakers and take on the powerful Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac).
The coalition, which calls itself Reject AIPAC, promised to launch a “seven-figure electoral defence campaign” for lawmakers who have been targeted by Aipac for their criticism of Israel.
Outside of its political action committee, JVP has faced numerous attacks for its pro-Palestinian advocacy in recent months.
In November, Columbia University suspended JVP's student chapter alongside Students for Justice in Palestine after mass student protests erupted on campus against the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
The suspension led to widespread outrage among students and faculty, who called on the university to reinstate the groups.
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