AIPAC's donor base

 
"According to the special IRS release of AIPAC’s 2009 Schedule B [.pdf] there were only two $5,000-plus donors. Donor number one gave $48,842,187. Donor number two chipped in $13,503,472. This means small donors contributed only $2,261,755 for total year 2009 public support of $64,607,414."  Anti-War

-------------------------

This is cool.  Rosen has them tied in knots in court and this has cut down small scale giving from the membership at large.  To make up for the loss in donations, AIPAC magically "found" two "individuals" who donated over 62 million dollars in 2009?

A suspicious mind might wonder if these were "laundrymen" for some foreign government or agency.  pl

http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2011/08/09/does-aipac-have-only-two-major-donors/

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

Assuming the gifts were tax deductible all of US other taxpayers contributed indirectly to this organization.

[John Kirkman]

Where can find the specific list of Congressmen who are going to Israel this summer?

[Fred]

I'm reminded of the movie Casablanca, when asked about the roulette table, "Are you sure this place is honest? "
Carl's reply:
"Honest? As honest as the day is long! "

So who is "Donor #1 and Donor #2"? Surely the innocent have nothing to hide ….

[The beaver]

Well, on the other hand guess who is getting money from the State Dept:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/08/170397.htm

[securecare]

contributions to 501(c)(4) organizations such as AIPAC (which actively lobbies Congress, the executive, and numerous government agencies) are not tax-deductible

"Laundrymen" indeed.

One wonders how much US aid to Israel might be funneled back via this conduit (should it exist)

[Medicine Man]

Not even bothering to hide it anymore, are they...?

John Kirkman:

It would be a good list -- I've read that 20% of congress is in Israel for the summer.

[IRmep]

Donor #2 is the American Israel Education Foundation, the same org that is bringing 20% of Congress to Israel. Since it receives tax-deductible contributions, and AIPAC is a 501 (c)(4) lobbying org, various complaint filings are now underway. That cash infusion from AIEF was the only thing that kept AIPAC from reporting a large revenue decline.

Donor #1 is probably some purpose built "bundler," designed exclusively to hide the ever smaller distribution curve and median of AIPAC's top donor pool. But it could also be an individual. Inquiring minds are pursuing it. Don't touch that dial!

[Lee]

@ John Kirkman:

This was the best I could do with some sleuthing:

Mo Books R-5 AL
Eric Cantor R-7 VA
Russ Carnahan D-3 MO
Steve Chabot R-1 OH
David Cicilline D-1 RI
Yvette Clarke D-11 NY
Mark Critz D-12 PA
Chuck Fleischman R-3 TN
John Garamendi D-10 CA
Kay Granger R-12 TX
Janice Hahn D-36 CA
Jaime Herrera Buetler R-3 WA
Steny Hoyer D-5 MD
Jesse Jackson Jr. D-2 IL
Patrick Meehan D-7 PA
Bill Owens D-23 NY
Steven Palazzo R-4 MS
Peter Roskam R-6 IL
Loretta Sanchez D-47 CA
Adam Smith D-9 WA
Steve Southerland R-2 FLA
Betty Sutton D-13 OH
Frederica Wilson D-17 FL

I am having surprising difficulty finding the actual full list - I'll need some time.

[charlie]

AIPAC itself is 501(c)(4) -- tax exempt but not tax deductible.

I don't know about AIEF. Pretty typical structure (c3 donating to a c4). However, the question is whether the c3 donation falls into the exempt purpose.

AIPAC has always had a very small base of donors. From my conversations with them, mostly it was 10 or 15 jewish guys in the midwest who felt they were being squeezed out.

[Patrick Lang]

Lee

e-mail me the whole list when you find it and I will make a post of it. pl

[[email protected]]

Tell me who refuses to go on this little trip to Israel and i'll vote for him/her. Otherwise, it appears that our country is continuing down a path to nowhere. "Leadership"? Sorry, the word is irrelevant in our country.

[highlander]

I'm going to Israel this summer. I'm the only one around here, who ever defends the obnoxious pricks, and I have to pay retail. Go figure? Oy Vey!

[William R. Cumming]

Any on the list "dual citizens"?

[R Whitman]

Highlander:

When you are there, please notice the enormous number of security personnel everywhere. It has become a real police state.

[J]

R Whitman,

You also forgot their 'bugs', both animate and inanimate. Does the x-pression 'ChEEze' ring a bell?

Just imagine all that wonderful footage collected on our Congresso types.

[William R. Cumming]

R. Whitman! SPARTA?

[Roy G.]

I understand Col. Lang's point about Obama's lavishments in the later post, however, I think it pales in comparison to this unseemly junket. These congresscritters feel they need to appease AIPAC more than their home constituencies. MJ Rosenberg was right: shine a light on 'em.

What would really be interesting would be a hidden camera/microphone to capture the Yad Vashem 'passion play,' and the Potemkin encounters with the 'so-called Palestinians' as well as the patronage meetings with the likes of the Ofer Brothers, and the exotic arrangement of carrots and sticks they will be shown.

[Margaret Steinfels]

Mussogorski: Or vice versa? They aren't going and they don't want anybody to know that!

[SAC Brat]

Dammit. When doing my morning reading yesterday or before I chuckled at a story at Firedoglake or Crooksandliars that talked about a Fox News poll started by Greta Von Sustern asking watchers/listeners/whatever about if they thought their congress critters should be home or on the Israel junket and it was running about 9 to 1 stay home. Now I can't find it.

It sounded like something that got off the ranch, and I wouldn't be surprised if it got squashed. Please post if found.

[J]

Oh here's a jewel -- seems that Steny Hoyer is lobbing U.N. Ambassadors on behalf of the Israeli government on how they are supposed to vote this fall at the U.N. regarding the Palestinian statehood issue. Guess who sooo conveniently brought those 19 U.N. Ambassadors to Israel, while at the same time aIPAC's arm the Tulsa OK based AIEF brings 81 U.S. Congress types at the very same moment in time & space, why its the Israel Project. Convenient or what?

So my inquiring mind wants to know two things --

Did Hoyer step over the legal line working on behalf of foreign government on foreign soil while he is officially representing the U.S. Government spelled Congress?

Is the Israel Project the other blanked out entity on the AIPAC 2009 IRS form?

Again, my inquiring mind wants to know.

http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=hsJPK0PIJpH&b=689705&ct=11106915

The Israel Project's Key TIP Staff both in D.C. and Israel
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.689731/k.A173/Key_TIP_Staff.htm

The Israel Project's Board of Directors
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.905863/k.7D42/TIPs_Board_of_Directors.htm

And this one is really juicy, seem that we have sitting Members of Congress as the Israel Project's 'Advisors'
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.689733/k.A44B/Board_of_Advisors.htm

Again, do we have Members of the Congress stepping over the 'legal lines' regarding their participation in and with the Israel Project? Is the Israel Project a 'store front' organization for the Israeli Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Look at the Israel Project's Staff and such, you're talking a good size paycheck roll, who is paying their salaries? I seriously doubt they are doing their work pro bono.

Again, my inquiring mind wants to know.

[The beaver]

SAC Brat

This is what I found:
http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2011/08/10/please-tell-me-congress-is-not-doing-this-they-could-not-be-that-tone-deaf-no-one-could-be/

[MRW]

@mussogorski | 13 August 2011 at 11:03 AM

Then everyone needs to call their congressman on Monday and find out where he or she is. Ask specifically if he or she went to, or is in, Israel.

[Anna-Marina]

Excellent paper on how Israel has been conditioning its have-nots for racism

http://www.truth-out.org/israeli-tent-protests-ignore-link-between-neoliberalism-occupation/1312913708 :

[MRW]

SAC Brat | 13 August 2011 at 12:53 PM

The reason why you couldn't find it is because you spelled her name wrong. It's Greta VAN SUSTEREN.

"Here are some poll results about whether Members of Congress should return to DC"
http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2011/08/10/here-are-some-poll-results-about-whether-members-of-congress-should-return-to-dc/

[Patrick Lang]

MRW

BTW, I have banned Moussa----- for calling me a hypocrite in my criticism of Obama. WTF? pl