Jewish Voice for Peace, which I think of as “Jews for Jihad,” EIN 90-0018359 per public records, is 501(c)(3) tax exempt.  This means that donations to it are tax-deductible.  Jewish Voice for Peace tweeted recently, emphasis is mine, “We shut down congress to draw mass attention to the U.S. complicity in Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians.  But our work isn’t done.”  The tweet also stipulates that numerous people were arrested.

While I cannot give legal advice, numerous January 6, 2021 defendants were charged under 18 USC 1512(c)(2), which says, “Whoever corruptly ... (2) obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.”  Jewish Voice for Peace stipulated openly, “We shut down Congress,” which is pretty much what the January 6 defendants were charged with doing.

Nobody has been charged yet, as far as I know, with a violation of the federal law in question, although some were charged with assaulting police.  “Capitol Police say demonstrators inside the Cannon Rotunda will be charged with illegally protesting inside a House Office Building.  They say among the arrests, three people were charged with assault on a police officer during processing.”  Illegally protesting could violate 18 USC §1752 — Restricted building or grounds, which is a misdemeanor if done nonviolently.  Again, I don’t know the specific charges.  I do know that the Internal Revenue Service’s Exempt Organizations (E.O.) Topic 85 has plenty to say about illegal activities, and none of it bodes well for JVP’s tax exemption.  Emphasis is mine.

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.

The document elaborates regarding the last sentence, “However, in determining whether illegal activities are substantial, it must be borne in mind that actions by members and officers of an organization do not always reflect on the organization. Because organizations act through individuals, it is necessary to distinguish those activities of individuals that are done in an official capacity from those that are not. Only (1) acts by an organization’s officials under actual or purported authority to act for the organization, (2) acts by agents of the organization within their authority to act, or (3) acts ratified by the organization should be considered as activities ‘of the organization.’”  This means, and it is common sense, that if some JVP people decided on their own to shut down Congress or violate 18 USC §1752 — Restricted building or grounds, JVP cannot be held accountable.  That is not, however, what happened.  JVP’s official Twitter account said, “We shut down Congress.”

This assertion also appears on JVP’s Facebook page, which they apparently shut down or made private, but it was on Google Cache.  “We shut down congress to draw mass attention to the U.S. complicity in Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians.  But our work isn’t done.”  I downloaded and backed up a copy in case the cache changes.

I do not know if JVP actually succeeded in shutting down Congress, but hundreds of arrests were made, so there are credible allegations of unlawful activity in which JVP claims to have played a role.  This can be (and probably has been) reported to the Internal Revenue Service’s E.O. Division via Form 13909.  I don’t know if the IRS will do anything, but it has revoked 501(c)(3) status for unlawful behavior in the past.  We can only hope that JVP screwed the pooch for a change, and this is the end of the line for them.

Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way.  The author is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to “cancel culture” for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.

Image: pasja1000 via Pixabay, Pixabay License.