Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 2008, pages 22-23

Special Report

One Last Effort to Undermine Faith, Hope And Charity in the Middle East

By Delinda C. Hanley

	Palestinian refugees in Rafah transport sacks of food they received from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Aug. 20, 2008 (AFP Photo/Said Khatib).

AMERICANS are losing their jobs, homes and retirement savings, and many can’t afford health care, food, gas or heat. Palestinians have faced those same hardships for years. There is now worldwide financial chaos, thanks primarily to the George W. Bush administration’s relentless deregulation of financial institutions. In the final days of Bush’s term, the White House is slamming through a series of new rules to further relax federal regulations on the economy, environment, emissions of pollutants, mining exploration, commercial fishing, and even workers’ safety.

That makes it even more perplexing that, in this climate of loosening government controls, the Bush administration is promoting tough new regulations that could suffocate charities operating in the Middle East. American humanitarian agencies which for decades have provided economic, social and emergency assistance—and hope—to people in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel may be in jeopardy. And big-hearted Americans have no idea what is happening.

In the months following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush ordered the assets of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and five other U.S.-based Muslim charities frozen and their doors closed. Federal officials claimed the charities supported terrorists—a charge no jury has agreed with. In fact, no jury has found the groups guilty of any wrongdoing.

The first trial against the Holy Land Foundation ended Oct. 22, 2007 in a mistrial, with an acquittal on most charges. In the course of that trial, the government did not argue that Holy Land directly supported terrorist groups. Instead, prosecutors claimed that the charity provided money to committees in the West Bank and Gaza that were controlled by Hamas and, in doing so, created goodwill toward the organization, helping it recruit members.

“The whole case was based on assumptions that were based on suspicions,” juror Nanette Scroggins told the Los Angeles Times. “If they had been a Christian or Jewish group, I don’t think [prosecutors] would have brought charges against them.”

That’s not stopping them from trying again, however. As we go to press, federal prosecutors are retrying the Holy Land case in Dallas.

The stigma of these legal actions has had a chilling effect on donors and volunteers alike. Donations to U.S. Muslim charities providing assistance in war-torn or earthquake-ravaged regions have dropped, even though recipients continue to need help.

Bush’s faith-based initiatives were a cornerstone of his 2000 campaign, when he argued that grassroots efforts can be more effective than big government in delivering services to the needy. He praised religious organizations which provide help to the needy. But when it comes to Muslim religious organizations, or even non-religious do-gooders in the Middle East, the Bush administration suspects they are up to no good.

Israel also has stepped up efforts to close faith-based Palestinian charities operating in the occupied territories. Israeli soldiers have seized school buses and sewing machines, emptied warehouses, and destroyed ovens used by the Islamic Charitable Society, established in 1962 in the West Bank city of Hebron to take care of orphans. It is more important than ever for American charities to step in to help.

Americans have plenty of ways to send relief across the globe to Palestinian and now Iraqi refugees, to Lebanese trying to rebuild after Israel’s attacks, or to victims of earthquakes or hurricanes. But the U.S. government is making charities jump through more and more hoops before financial assistance, school supplies and medical aid are able to reach the needy.

U.S. charities are required to take “precautionary measures” in “high-risk areas,” and vet their local employees, partners and grantees. In November 2002 the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued onerous “Anti-terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-Based Charities.” Its 16 pages cover governance, disclosure, transparency and financial practices and include procedures for groups that distribute funds to foreign organizations. The Guidelines were revised in December 2005 and again in September 2006, and one last revision is expected before Bush leaves office.

Each new edition adds arduous requirements for nonprofits. For one thing, charities must make sure aid recipients or organizations are not on the latest version of “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons,” a 404-page list of names and organizations issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). These are the “bad guys,” in Bush-speak, suspected of having links to terrorism, according to this administration. There is no way to determine how people or groups got on the list or how they can clear their names.

Short-staffed charities painstakingly comb this OFAC list before sending urgently needed relief. They also must check alternative spellings. (Hizballah, for example, is on the list—but not Hezbollah, which is how this magazine spells the name of this political organization.) For more bewildering information visit <www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac>.

The United Nations has another global blacklisting system, which the European Court of Justice said in September 2008 lacked accountability. Because the U.N. keeps the evidence against the 503 individuals, businesses and groups on its list secret, it is impossible for people to challenge their inclusion.

One 78-year-old Italian Muslim businessman, Youssef Nada, was mistakenly blacklisted by the U.N. His goods were seized and he has been barred from leaving his home in Switzerland for more than six years, even though law enforcement investigations found no evidence against him. Nevertheless, he’s still on the U.N. list. The European Union and Britain have their own blacklists, but the U.N. sanctions list is the only one governments and banks are compelled to enforce.

Not surprisingly, these lists are inconsistent and sometimes clash. Hezbollah is included on the U.S. and British blacklists, but is not considered a terrorist group by the Europeans. The political wing of Hamas is on the European Union and U.S. blacklists, despite its 2006 victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections. It’s also easy to get a “false hit” and find a person with a similar name on the blacklists.

A Quasi-Governmental Charity

Instead of simplifying guidelines for charitable giving in the Middle East, the U.S. government appears to be adding a new quasi-governmental charity. The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), an advocacy group established in 2003 by retired physician Dr. Ziad J. Asali, recently launched a new sister non-profit 501(c)(3) organization called American Charities for Palestine (ACP). On Aug. 1, 2008, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ACP to “channel charitable donations from U.S. individuals and entities to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” USAID Administrator Henrietta H. Fore, who presided over the signing ceremony, described this achievement as “historic” and “the first of its kind.” This joint project, she said, will provide a “secure and efficient means of transferring charitable donations from individuals and entities in the U.S. to humanitarian programs for the Palestinians.”

This marks the first time that private contributions will fund USAID projects in any region. Private donations made to ACP will be controlled and distributed by USAID. USAID has funded numerous water, hospital and educational projects carried out by private charities, but this is the first time private donors will contribute to USAID. This could blur the line between private and U.S. government aid and add yet another confusing layer to charitable giving in the Middle East.

In addition, this new partnership is based on the false assumption that independent aid distribution mechanisms operated through foundations and U.S. charities are not as “safe” or “effective” as those provided by the government. But since Washington can’t keep track of U.S. government aid in Iraq and Afghanistan, why will it be easier in the occupied Palestinian territories?

On Aug. 15, 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department brought together U.S. officials and representatives of Arab and American-Muslim organizations for a “Charity Roundtable.” Participants tried to point out vague language and several poorly defined key notions in the Charitable Guidelines. On Sept. 22, the Treasury Guidelines Working Group and the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence held a conference call with a group of foundations, charities, grant makers, NGOs and law firms to discuss charitable giving in “hot spots” and the new ACP model. Participants expressed their deep concerns.

Most charities working in the Middle East—even explicitly apolitical and secular organizations—are worried about what new restrictions may be put in place before Bush leaves office. Charities which have been doing good deeds and winning friends for America in the Middle East for decades may be in jeopardy.

This year more than ever, please don’t be afraid to give generously to your favorite charities, many of which are listed on pp. 77 and 78 of this issue. They are doing their best to repair the damage our government’s foreign policy has wrought in that region, to the detriment of donors and recipients alike.

Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

SIDEBAR

Help “Valentino’s Ghost”

Your support for a landmark film, now in post-production, is needed. “Valentino’s Ghost, Portraits of Arabs and Muslims; the Politics of Imagery” is a film that will connect the historical and political dots that have created America’s current relationship with the Middle East.

Produced by Michael Singh, who previously wrote and produced an award-winning series for Discovery, “Valentino’s Ghost” explores the images of Arabs and Muslims in American media. It shows how the portrayal of this ethnic and religious group has changed over the years and how these changes have mirrored America’s political agenda in the Middle East. In addition, it examines the questions surrounding the 9/11 attacks, the reasons behind them, and how the attackers’ main stated motivation—hatred of our Israel policies—is rarely, if ever, discussed in America.

“Valentino’s Ghost” is funded in part by the Park Foundation; Corporation for Public Broadcasting affiliate CAAM; Skirball; Gerbode; and the California Council for the Humanities.

To provide financial assistance, please visit the website for the New York Foundation for the Arts, <www.nyfa.org>, and select “contribute to sponsorship.” Make the contribution to: Artist: Michael Singh, Project: Valentino’s Ghost.

For more information, please e-mail director/producer Michael Singh at < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > or phone the production office at (323) 466-2198 or (310) 486-1314 (mobile).—DCH

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