Cracking down on tax-exempt organizations that fund terrorism

On June 8, the Israeli military launched a daring mission to free four hostages who were held captive for months by evil Hamas terrorists in Gaza. I’m incredibly grateful that these innocent people are safe and back at home with their families, and I pray that the other hostages – including Americans – will also come home soon.

Following the successful rescue mission, we learned that a so-called “journalist” working for a publication called The Palestine Chronicle – part of an organization, the People Media Project, that enjoys tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the United States – was holding Israeli hostages in his home in Gaza, including three of the four hostages recently rescued. It appears that this individual – who previously served as a spokesman for the Hamas-run labor ministry – may have been getting paid by the People Media Project using tax free dollars. He isn’t a reporter. He is a terrorist.

At the very least, the People Media Project is complicit in supporting Hamas. At worst, it’s a full-fledged financier of terrorism in the Middle East. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the tax code, I’m leading the fight to stop the flow of special tax benefits to groups like this.

On June 10, I sent a letter to the IRS demanding the agency revoke the tax-exempt status of the People Media Project because of its potential links to the terrorist activities of Hamas. The facts we’ve uncovered suggest that this organization is not being operated exclusively for its charitable purpose, as required under the Internal Revenue Code. Instead, it is circumventing its tax-exempt charitable purpose by supporting the terrorist organization, Hamas. The letter I sent is the latest step in the investigation, which I launched after the October 7th terror attack against Israel, into U.S. tax-exempt groups financing terror.

The investigation has uncovered that one of the organizations pushing Hamas propaganda, organizing hate-filled rallies, and setting up illegal tent cities on college campuses enjoys tax-exempt status in the U.S. One of the radical groups is Students for Justice in Palestine. It’s the student wing of American Muslims for Palestine, which has been sued in federal court for operating as an alter ego of an organization that funneled $12.4 million from Americans to fund Hamas before it was shut down by the U.S. government back in the early 2000s.

Earlier this year, the House passed bipartisan legislation I helped lead that would revoke the tax-exempt status of entities that provide material support to terrorist organizations. This crucial bipartisan legislation is an important step in going after the financial networks on which terror organizations rely. I’ll continue urging the Senate to do what’s right and pass this bill as soon as possible.

The American people will not stand for allowing their tax dollars to go toward support of Hamas terrorists and violence against Israelis and people of Jewish faith. Neither will I. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I’ll continue fighting tooth and nail to cutoff special tax treatment for organizations that fund terror.

Jason Smith (R-MO) represents the eighth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.