Here are the grounds for which a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity’s status can be revoked:

(1) Their Form 990 tax returns provide inaccurate or incomplete information, generally regarding attempts to influence legislation. 501(c)(3) organizations are allowed to do a limited amount of lobbying but they are required to report all expenditures to the Internal Revenue Service. Concealing information from the IRS is not a good way to stay in favor with that organization so, if one of these pro-terrorist groups has done that, we should rectify their omission for them.

# Al-Adwa, Palestinian Right to Return Coalition

http://www.al-awda.org/thankcongressmemberswhorefused/
15 July 2004 [Time period covered by the Form 990 in question]
For Immediate Release

Thank Congress Members Who Refused!

The House of Representatives voted for Resolution 713, which deplores the International Court of Justice advisory opinion finding that the Apartheid Wall Israel is building in the West Bank is illegal. There were 361 yeas, 45 nays, 13 presents, and 14 not voting.

Although the resolution passed, a significant number of Members of Congress REFUSED to condemn the International Court of Justice for upholding the standards of human rights and international law in regards to the Wall.

ACTION REQUESTED

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition calls on its members and all supporters of human rights to phone and thank the members of Congress who voted NAY or present against House Resolution 713.

House members can be reached through the Capitol switchboard toll free at: 1-877-331-2000

The Web page in question also lists the Members of Congress who voted “Nay” or “Present”

# A Jewish Voice for Peace

Here is what A Jewish Voice for Peace actually did in 2003. It speaks for itself. The following was no longer available online but it was still cached by Google (and I have downloaded it to make sure it does not get lost.)

San Francisco, April 7, 2003 – Members of A Jewish Voice for Peace, together with other Jewish activists in the anti-war affinity group called “Slicha: Stop the War”, will demonstrate in front of the office of Congresswoman and Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi. They will be demanding that Pelosi strengthen her stand for peace in the Middle East. …Specifically, the demonstrators issued three demands of Pelosi:
1. To support House Resolution 141, which affirms that the United States possesses the right to defend itself against imminent or actual attack, but disavows the doctrine of preemption.
2. To support House Concurrent Resolution 111, which expresses sympathy to the family of Rachel Corrie, who was recently killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip and calls for a U.S. investigation into her death.

# Middle East Children’s Alliance

Here is what the Middle East Children’s Alliance is actually doing. (The pages may have changed since we first began writing about MECA but all of this information has been downloaded and saved offline.)

http://www.mecaforpeace.org/CommunityActivism.html (click on the link to see the entire Web page, relevant excerpts appear below)

VOLUNTEERS, ARTIST, VETS, AND SOCCOR MOMS LETS MEET IN THE STREETS!!

Support Cindy Sheehan!!! [antiwar protester outside the Bush ranch]

24 hour Vigil & Camp Out
San Fancisco
Noon Aug 20 - Noon Aug 21
SF War Memorial Building Sat

National March in San Francisco
Saturday, September 24,

Bring the Troops Home Now
STOP the War on IRAQ

End Colonial Occupation: Iraq, Palestine, Haiti…
Support the Palestinian People’s Right of Return
Military Recruiters Out of Our Schools

Stop the Racist, Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Labor Offensive
U.S. Out of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Afghanistan
Stop the Threats Against Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea

The Wheels of Justice Bus Tour:
Members of Voices in the Wilderness, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, the Middle East Children’s Alliance, and affiliates of the International Solidarity Movement
An on-going ( two years on the road!) nonviolent educational tour against war and occupation in Iraq and Palestine and for justice and universal human rights

* http://www.mecaforpeace.org/CommunityActivism.html calls for antiwar activism and condemns U.S. foreign policy
o Support Cindy Sheehan (antiwar protester camped out by the Bush ranch)
o “Bring the troops home now, stop the war in Iraq”
o “Support the Palestinian people’s right of return”
o “Military recruiters out of our schools”
o “U.S. out of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Afghanistan”
* http://www.mecaforpeace.org/IssuesIsrael.html promotes an academic boycott of Israel
* http://www.mecaforpeace.org/aboutmeca.html says MECA is on the ANSWER (anti-Iraq war organization) steering committee
* http://www.mecaforpeace.org/FactSheets.html calls the U.S. “occupation” of Iraq illegal
o It also accuses the U.S. of “purposefully” targeting civilian areas
o “The Human Cost of War in Iraq” also makes this accusation: “In March 2003, the US, backed by the UK and Spain, launched an illegal ‘pre-emptive’ attack on Iraq. Since then the US and UK have illegally occupied the nation…”
* http://www.mecaforpeace.org/Protest%20Photos.htmlis a photo gallery of anti-U.S. and anti-Israel protests. They are connected with the Wheels of Justice Bus Tour, which opposes U.S. policy in Iraq. An “Apartheid Wall” was put up outside MECA’s own office; that is, MECA apparently used its own office facilities for an anti-Israel demonstration.

# Middle East Cultural and Charitable Society (Parent of Electronic Intifada)
Electronic Intifada distributes libelous propaganda (”An Israeli bulldozer driver murdered Rachel Corrie”). Propaganda as opposed to education is cause for revocation of a tax exemption. Our own site, Omdurman.org, admittedly uses strong language as well but it not a tax-exempt entity. Furthermore, the information it presents is accurate.

(2) They promote civil disobedience. (Planning and promoting even nonviolent lawbreaking is contrary to public policy and not a suitable activity for a charitable organization).

IRS REV RULE 75-384, J. ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ILLEGAL OR CONTRARY TO PUBLIC POLICY 1985 EO CPE Text http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicj85.pdf

(1) Substantiality Test
Violation of constitutionally valid laws is inconsistent with exemption under IRC 501(c)(3).As a matter of trust law, one of the main sources of the general law of charity, planned activities that violate laws are not in furtherance of a charitable purpose.” A trust cannot be created for a purpose which is illegal. The purpose is illegal …if the trust tends to induce the commission of crime or if the accomplishment of the purpose is otherwise against public policy….

(4) Planning Illegal Acts
Not only is the actual conduct of illegal activities inconsistent with exemption, but the planning and sponsoring of such activities are also incompatible with charity and social welfare. Rev.Rul.75-384 holds that an organization formed to promote world peace that planned and sponsored protest demonstrations at which members were urged to commit acts of civil disobedience did not qualify for IRC 501(c)(3) or (4) exemption. G.C.M.36153, dated January 31,1975, states that because planning and sponsoring illegal acts are in themselves inconsistent with charity and social welfare it is not necessary to determine whether illegal acts were, in fact, committed in connection with the resulting demonstrations or whether such a determination can be made prior to conviction of an accused. However, it is necessary to establish that the planning and sponsorship are attributable to the organization, if exemption is to be denied or revoked on this ground.

# American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
AFSC’s Web pages include resources on “tax resistance” against the war in Iraq, which hardly seems like the best way to stay on the IRS’s good side.

# Global Exchange

http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mideast/palestine/2002/gxPR040402.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, April 4, 2002
Global Exchange
Contact: Jason Mark, 415-255-7296 x 230 or
Ted Lewis in Washington, 510-551-9685 (cell)
On Friday, April 5, human rights and peace activists will stage a civil disobedience protest outside the US State Department to call on US policy makers to insist that Israel end its occupation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank and Gaza.
The protest, which will include people engaging in non-violent civil disobedience, will occur at 1:00 p.m. on Friday in front of the US State Department, located at 23rd and C Streets in Washington, DC. The demonstration has been organized by Global Exchange, an international human rights group.

# The Muslim-American Society (MAS)

http://www.masnet.org/takeaction.asp?id=1144 says MAS has a “Freedom Foundation Civil Disobedience Campaign”

ALERT: MAS Freedom Director Released, Vows to Continue Civil Disobedience Campaign
Religious and Peace Activist to join MAS Freedom Foundation Civil Disobedience Campaign

# Pax Christi

http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_events_more.asp?id=308

Sign Pax Christi USA’s Iraq Peace Pledge/Iraq Pledge of Resistance. For those considering civil disobedience when Pax Christi USA initiates the signal, please prepare by organizing or participating in a nonviolent direct action training session.

# Tikkun.org (Michael Lerner’s group of DHIMMIs)

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:Mp5HFR_5yT4J:tikkun.org/
community/index.cfm/action/current_projects/article/2.html+site:tikkun.org+%22civil+disobedience%22&hl=en

* One step we need to consider to get the U.S. government to change its policies and support this more balanced perspective for peace and justice is to engage in civil disobedience. Would you join us in doing so were we to call for such a day of civil disobedience, either in your own town or in D.C. If you would, let us know immediately–email RabbiLerner@tikkun.org and let us know if you’d come to DC for such or whether you’d organize a group of people in your own community to participate at a local public place.

Tikkun.org is actually a project of the Institute for Labor and Mental Health.

# U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation (Education for Just Peace in the Middle East)

http://endtheoccupation.org/article.php?list=type&type=80&printsafe=1

Civil Disobedience

Civil disobedience is non-violent direct action that could end in arrest.

• Common forms of civil disobedience are sit-ins or administrative “take overs.” Before you plan any civil disobedience be sure that you have chosen a date, event and action that are noteworthy. Each person participating in the action should have a “support person” who will be responsible for taking care of school, work, family, and media issues for them. Have a media team that will not be participating in the “arrestable” part of the action send out a press release right before it happens and then run video tapes and press statements to news channels afterwards. Contact the media. Establish channels to get the word out about civil disobedience and possible arrest ahead of time (i.e. e-mail lists or phone trees) and provide phone/fax numbers of City Council and the police department for concerned individuals to call and demand you be treated fairly and released. Be sure to select members of your group that are not participating in the action to advocate for you among the student body and be in charge of media.

• Get trained. Before participating in civil disobedience it will be important to be properly trained. There are a number of organizations that provide free or inexpensive non-violent resistance training. It is also essential that everyone participating in the action has agreed on what you are going to do- play out different scenarios and decide what your collective response will be in the different situations. When one person acts out in the moment, everyone’s safety is compromised. Role-playing and practice is important. So is keeping things confidential so that the police won’t find out ahead of time and show up before you do.

These are a few groups that give trainings. They will also be able to point you to more training opportunities or groups in you area . . .

www.forusa.org/progam/nvtraining/nv.html
www.warresisters/nv_training.org
www.trainingforchange.org
www.nonviolenceinternational.net/datr.html
www.ruckus.org

• Be smart. Before participating or planning civil disobedience get in contact with a lawyer at the National Layers Guild or the American Civil Liberties Union to know your rights and what you or members of your group are getting into. Check Out: www.aclu.org, www.nlg.org, and www.midnightspecial.net. Before your action, decide together what you will or will not say to the police if you get arrested- the police are legally allowed to lie in order to manipulate people so get your stories straight with each other.

The group has not yet, as far as we know, actually orchestrated any civil disobedience but it sounds like they might want to. The instant they do it, they should be reported to the IRS.

# Voices in the Wilderness advocates tax resistance and participates in civil disobedience

http://vitw.org/archives/317
§ January 15 (1996) - VitW notifies Attorney General Janet Reno of their intention to deliberately violate the US/UN sanctions against the people of Iraq by soliciting and transporting medical supplies to Iraq.
o http://vitw.org/archives/992 (excerpt enclosed)
§ September 26, 2005 | category: Recent Updates • Nonviolent Direct Action Many friends of Voices in the Wilderness joined with War Resisters League members and were arrested today for acts of civil disobedience in front of the Pentagon.

(3) They funnel tax exempt money to nonexempt entities for purposes like promoting “direct action” abroad. This relates specifically to the Middle East Children’s Alliance and Brecht Forum. (MECA has recently stopped doing this.)

# Brecht Forum

Per ISM-NYC’s Web page,

To contribute, simply make a check payable to “Brecht Forum” and send it to:

Your financial contribution allows us to provide grants for individuals who travel to Palestine to support Palestinians in their non-violent struggle for freedom and human rights. ISM New York City has already provided financial assistance for over 100 people. With your help we can continue to send new activists, as well as support long-term activists who may stay there for months at a time.

ISM-NYC is a nonprofit organization, and your contribution is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Our organization is run entirely by volunteers so the funds we raise can all be used to help send activists to Palestine.

To contribute, simply make a check payable to “Brecht Forum” and send it to:

ISM New York City
P.O. Box 6366
Astoria, NY 11106

As far as we know– and we checked the IRS registry of tax-exempt organizations– ISM-NYC is NOT a nonprofit organization although it may be a project of the tax-exempt Brecht Forum.

# Middle East Children’s Alliance
Until recently, MECA was accepting tax-exempt donations on behalf of the International Solidarity Movement. This seems to have stopped but we recently found this:

As shown by the enclosure (http://www.pcr.ps/donate.htm), the Middle East Children’s Alliance is also channeling money to the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement Between People. Note that the organization’s Web site is actually based in Palestine, per the .ps Web address. Furthermore, per http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78 (searching for “Palestinian Centre” and “Palestinian Center”) this organization is not tax-exempt.

For Tax Exempt (501 c) donations please send (Checks) to the following account:
Middle East Children’s Alliance
901 Parker Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
USA
For direct donations to PCR’s bank acount, please send your funds at:
PCR Bank Account
The Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People
Bank Hapoalim - Main Branch Tel Aviv 600
Account No. 360883
Swift: HAPOALILIT
Palestine Investment Bank
76-411
Account No. 78244
Note: The Bank info looks like (two banks), but infact this is one address, so please use all the italics bold bank account info.

Here are the relevant contact addresses:
Remember, these are regulatory agencies and they will act only on factual evidence of an abuse of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt money as described above: filing inaccurate tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, orchestrating civil disobedience, and diversion of tax-exempt funds for nonexempt purposes. Involvement in any political campaign (as opposed to lobbying for legislation) is absolutely forbidden as well. We have yet to see examples of funding political campaigns with tax-exempt funds, although it was probably the reason the Million Mom March had to liquidate in 2001.

Also, provide the agency with the street address and Employer Identification Number (EIN) of the organization in question. This can be obtained through Guidestar.org and possibly Charity Navigator.

Internal Revenue Service
Exempt Organizations Examination Division
1100 Commerce Street
ATTN: SE:T:EO:E
Dallas, TX 75242

New York-based charities such as the Brecht Forum

NYS Dept. of Law, Charities Bureau
120 Broadway, 3rd Floor
New York NY 10271

California-based charities like the Middle East Children’s Alliance

Registry of Charitable Trusts
P.O. Box 903447
Sacramento, CA 94203-4470