BDS Q&A: Who Funds BDS?

We have no clear answers to this question. Many of the groups supporting BDS lack the transparency typically associated with American non-profit organizations.

But research by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) shines light on a troubling financial connection. In recent Congressional testimony, FDD Vice President Jonathan Schanzer highlighted an organization called AMP – American Muslims for Palestine – that is one of the leading supporters of the BDS campaign in America. Schanzer noted the following:

At least seven individuals who work for or on behalf of AMP have worked for or on behalf of organizations previously shut down or held civilly liable in the United States for providing financial support to Hamas. ⁷

Hamas is a terrorist organization⁸ that is openly dedicated to Israel’s destruction.⁹ Hamas has proudly claimed credit for suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of innocent Israeli Jews and Arabs. Hamas has also claimed credit for firing thousands of rockets and missiles into Israel cities and towns.

These connections between Hamas and BDS should be a flashing red light for anyone truly interested in peace.

^{7 Jonathan Schanzer, “Israel Imperiled: Threat to the Jewish State,” testimony at a joint hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, April 19, 2016.

8 See U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations

9 See the Hamas Covenant, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it…”}

Media Resources
Schanzer Transcript

Webcast of Schanzer speech