Dear Donald, give Bibi a gift today, cut federal
funding to HIAS and help yourself too, by Ann Corcoran 3/5/18
[On refugees] right now we’re setting a very bad
example. (HIAS
CEO Mark Hetfield told the Israeli press last month)
It
really is outrageous. Taxpayers shelled out $24,493,743 in federal grants
to the ‘non-profit’ Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society according
to its most recent Form 990 available and the group is in Israel
community agitating and badmouthing the Trump Admin at the same time.
HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield at the White
House last month protesting the Trump Administration refugee policy which
reduces his organization’s income.
HIAS
(they changed their name a few years ago, dropped the Hebrew) is helping
organize protests in Israel against the deportation of illegal aliens.
I’m
not challenging their right to free speech elsewhere in the world, but
shouldn’t there be some law against using taxpayer dollars to do it!
I’m
sure they will say they have great bookkeepers working to keep their pots of
money separate. However, their taxpayer funding makes up half of
their budget each
year and they couldn’t exist without it (and they sure couldn’t pay these huge salaries,
below).
Here
is news directly from the HIAS
horse’s mouth:
The
diverse coalition of Israeli and North American groups calling for more humane
treatment of asylum seekers is gathering momentum at a critical juncture, with
the first wave of deportations scheduled to begin in April.
While
in Israel for a visit, HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield told the Israeli
newspaper Haaretz that he felt encouraged the narrative was finally beginning
to shift back in favor of the asylum seekers.
“Israelis
are beginning to realize these are people with asylum claims, and they should
be given a fair asylum hearing,” he said.
“If
the government is unable to set up a system that is fair, it should give these
people social and economic rights until it is safe for them to go back home.
We’re not talking about a lot of people anymore.” [Last figure I saw was 37,000, a very high number for a small country
to absorb—-ed]
HIAS,
along with partners at the New Israel Fund, T’ruah, and Right Now, organized a
call-in day last week in coordination with the #LetUsHelp Campaign, urging
North Americans to call their local Israeli consulates and ask them to stop the
deportation plans.
In his interview with Haaretz, Hetfield spoke about the relationship
between Israel’s policies and attitudes back home in the United States.
“In the eyes of the American-Jewish community – particularly the
younger generation – this is very upsetting and it’s just going to cause
further alienation from Israel,” he warned. [He hopes it will!—ed]
Hetfield also noted that Trump Administration’s policies may be playing
a role. “The United States often sets
examples for how refugees and asylum seekers should be treated, and that’s
what’s happening now. We either set a good example or a bad example – and right
now we’re setting a very bad example. And, to think that we help pay his exorbitant salary!
From
that recent Form
990:
Come on Mr. President, turn off their pipeline to the US Treasury! Looking for something
to do? Contact the White House and tell the
President to cut HIAS loose!
For new readers:
HIAS is one of nine federal resettlement contractors. The original Refugee Act of 1980 that
set up this monstrosity, envisioned a public-private partnership that over the
years has almost completely morphed in to a federal program.
The
number in parenthesis is the percentage of their income paid by you (the
taxpayer) to place the refugees and get them signed up for their services (aka welfare)! From most recent accounting, here.
Ethiopian
Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular) (93%)
International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular) (66.5%)
US
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular) (98%)
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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