T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights asks IRS to suspend tax exempt status of American Friends of Ateret Cohanim, urges assemblyman Dov Hikind to distance himself from group.
NEW YORK – T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, today filed two complaints in response to reports that Ateret Cohanim, an organization that seeks to drive Palestinian residents out of Jerusalem, has been using means that include offering prostitutes to entice prospective home sellers.
T’ruah asked the Internal Revenue Service to suspend the tax exempt status of American Friends of Ateret Cohanim in light of this illegal activity, and also filed a complaint with the New York State Board of Elections regarding Assembly Member Dov Hikind’s use of campaign funds to support this organization, which is led by his wife.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah, commented, “Offering women in exchange for property violates both Jewish law and all moral codes, as well as the laws of the State of Israel and of the United States. It is unacceptable both for a U.S. tax exempt organization to support such behavior and for a New York State elected official to support such practices out of his campaign funds.”
Earlier this month, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz secured a tape of Mati Dan, the leader of Ateret Cohanim, explaining that he offers Palestinian home owners prostitutes in exchange for surrendering their homes. Ateret Cohanim has long used methods that include bribery, straw companies, and the exploitation of legal technicalities in order to gain ownership of Palestinian homes, and to transfer these to Jewish settlers, according to both press reports and publicly-available court documents. The group aims to push Palestinians out of Jerusalem, to transform Palestinian neighborhoods into Jewish ones, and to put facts on the ground that will make an eventual peace agreement impossible.
While the tape apparently records conversations that took place 20 years ago, the organization has not indicated that they have ceased the practice of offering prostitutes in exchange for houses. Dan remains the chairperson of the organization. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the head of the group’s yeshiva, has authorized the continuation of this practice.
In the transcripts published in Haaretz, Dan is heard telling a a Palestinian property owner on the tape:
“I’ll give you the money . . .Take whoever you want. You want a girl? Take a girl with you.” They discuss how many girls and the desired age (18 to 22). The Palestinian specifies a “Russian” girl. Dan also offers Viagra.
After the seller leaves the room, Dan tells another person, “It went well, eh?” The other person says there will be no problem getting “a prostitute,” a room for the meeting and Viagra.
At that point, Dan sets a condition: “Don’t bring a Jewish girl.” The other man responds, apparently referring to prostitutes, “There are no Jewish girls in Israel today, all the girls are non-Jewish Russians.”
Trading in prostitutes violates IRS regulations, which permit recognition of charitable status provided that “the activities are not illegal, contrary to a clearly defined and established public policy, or in conflict with express statutory restrictions” (Rev. Rul. 80-278, 1980-2 C.B. 175)
Additionally, Hikind appears to have violated Board of Elections policies by making gifts from his campaign coffers to an organization led by his wife, Shani (Susan) Hikind. A 1997 Board of Elections opinion allows candidates to donate excess campaign funds to non-profits “as long as the recipient organization does not use the funds to compensate individuals associated with the political committee or members of their families and as long as such individuals do not exercise control over the disposition of the funds by the charitable organization.”
Shani Hikind is the Executive Vice President of Friends of Ateret Cohanim, and the only officer compensated by the organization. According to public records, in 2017, Assemblyman Hikind donated $3,500 from his campaign budget to Jerusalem Chai, also known as Friends of Ateret Cohanim. Assemblyman Hikind has been closely associated with this group for years, including serving as an honorary chairperson of the group’s 2016 dinner, and being photographed touring Jerusalem with Mati Dan, the leader caught on tape attesting to the group’s use of prostitutes to entice home sales.
Media Contact:
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About T’ruah
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, brings together rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism, together with all members of the Jewish community, to act on the Jewish imperative to respect and advance the human rights of all people. Grounded in Torah and our Jewish historical experience and guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call upon Jews to assert Jewish values by raising our voices and taking concrete steps to protect and expand human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
