A newly released memorandum from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee has ignited a firestorm in Washington and Jerusalem, raising serious concerns about the Biden-Harris Administration’s involvement in funding non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that worked to destabilize Israel’s democratically elected government. The memo, titled “The Biden-Harris Administration’s Funding of Anti-Netanyahu Non-Governmental Organizations,” outlines a troubling pattern of foreign interference, with U.S. taxpayer funds channeled—often indirectly—into Israeli protest movements and groups with alleged ties to terrorism.
The memo, released Thursday by Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), follows a months-long investigation into six U.S. and Israeli NGOs that received funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department, and other federal agencies. The findings suggest that U.S. dollars—under the banner of democracy promotion—were used to underwrite protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s judicial reform initiative, and potentially to support extremist actors in the region.
Among the most notable findings:
- Blue White Future, a prominent Israeli NGO advocating for a two-state solution, received substantial funding through U.S.-linked intermediaries, including the Middle East Peace Dialogue Network (MEPDN) and PEF Israel Endowment Funds. The group reportedly funded coalition headquarters for the anti-Netanyahu judicial reform protests, playing a central role in the organization of mass demonstrations.
- The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a group with longstanding ties to the Israeli Left, was given $42,000 by the U.S. State Department to conduct “Civic Activism Training” in Jerusalem high schools. Critics say this funding effort was aimed at shaping young Israeli minds to oppose the Netanyahu government, in what many are calling a covert campaign of political indoctrination.
- The PEF Israel Endowment Funds, a U.S.-based nonprofit, channeled a staggering $884 million to organizations involved in what the House memo characterizes as “anti-democracy protests.
- The Jewish Communal Fund (JCF) similarly provided over $42.8 million to protest hubs and the primary financial backers of the movement seeking to topple Netanyahu’s judicial reforms.
- The Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which received $20 million in federal grants from the Biden administration, is also suspected of passing funds to groups organizing Israeli street protests.
In addition to political meddling, the memo raises concerns that 501(c)(3) nonprofit laws in the United States may have been violated. The Middle East Peace Dialogue Network (MEPDN), in particular, is under scrutiny for potentially breaching IRS rules prohibiting nonprofit involvement in foreign political activity. The report stops short of formal legal conclusions but notes that the evidence warrants further investigation and oversight.
The House committees are also examining whether some of these groups—or their intermediaries may have ties to extremist or terrorist-affiliated organizations, which would constitute a violation of U.S. anti-terror funding laws. While these allegations are not yet substantiated, their inclusion in the report underscores the seriousness of the situation and the growing unease on Capitol Hill about the weaponization of foreign aid.
In Jerusalem, the revelations have sparked outrage among supporters of the Netanyahu government and broader pro-Israel circles. The report has reinforced longstanding suspicions that the Biden administration is using backdoor funding and NGO networks to destabilize Israel’s political institutions, while publicly claiming neutrality.
“What we’re seeing is an orchestrated campaign of regime change by diplomatic proxy,” said a senior Israeli official close to the Prime Minister’s Office. “This is not democracy promotion. It is targeted political subversion.”
The House memo also highlights the stark double standard in how U.S. aid is allocated and monitored. While Israel is a close ally and the region’s only stable democracy, the Biden administration appears to have funneled money to groups actively seeking to undermine its government—even as it failed to provide adequate oversight or accountability.
As of July 2025, the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees continue to probe the scope of the Biden administration’s actions. Additional document requests, subpoenas, and hearings are expected in the coming weeks. Legal action has not yet been taken, but calls for stricter Congressional control over foreign aid programs are growing.
This is not the first time a U.S. Democratic administration has been accused of interfering in Israeli politics. In 2015, the Obama administration—through the State Department—was caught funding OneVoice, an NGO that worked with the Israeli group V15 (“Victory 15”) to oust Netanyahu in that year’s elections. V15 was backed by operatives with ties to Obama’s campaign and used State Department-funded resources to mount an aggressive anti-Netanyahu campaign under the guise of voter education. Though a U.S. Senate probe found no laws were technically broken, it did conclude that the State Department failed to adequately prevent the misuse of its funds for political purposes.
The echoes of that incident are unmistakable in the current House investigation, with lawmakers suggesting that the Biden administration has continued this precedent of covert political influence—now with even greater sums of taxpayer money and broader networks of NGOs.
In 2013, Obama’s State Department provided One Voice with almost $350,000 in grants. Soon after the end of the grant period, OneVoice embarked on a political campaign titled “Victory 2015 (V15),” a campaign seeking to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the March 2015 elections. Because of its tax-exempt status, OneVoice is legally prohibited to campaign against Netanyahu directly. V15 was assisted by Jeremy Bird, President Obama’s deputy national campaign director in 2008 and national campaign director in 2012. A U.S Senate investigation concluded that none of the money was used to influence Israel’s elections.
In 1996, President Bill Clinton acknowledged that, in the wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, he interfered on behalf of Shimon Peres against Benjamin Netanyahu.
