Letter to Patrick Reddan, Acting Director of FBI Counterterrorism Division - Burchett, Colleagues Call for Investigation Into PACBI's Financial Links to Terror Groups
Letter
Dear Acting Director Reddan,
Thank you for your efforts to combat acts of terror and prevent its financing in the United States and around the world. We write today to request an investigation into the relationship between U.S.-based groups aligned with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and foreign terrorist organizations.
The state of Israel has a right to exist and the United States' unwavering support for Israeli democracy is crucial for stability in the Middle East. This is a stance supported by both Republican and Democrat administrations. The current U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, confirmed that the BDS movement runs counter to the interests of the Biden Administration and our nation.
Unfortunately, BDS unapologetically engages in discrimination against Israeli-owned businesses, discouraging individuals and organizations from working with these companies or purchasing their goods. The movement ultimately hurts thousands of innocent Palestinians employed by Israeli businesses while simultaneously claiming to be their advocates. Moreover, the Ramallah-based Palestinians BDS National Committee (BNC) serves as an umbrella organization for designated terror groups like Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
There are serious concerns that Americans who donate to BDS-affiliated causes could be unknowingly financing terror. Some Americans donate to organizations like the Palestinians Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which supports the BDS movement, but appears to coalesce under BNC. If PACBI is financially linked to BDS, BNC, and terrorist organizations, donations by Americans to PACBI would be a federal crime under 18 U.S. Code § 2339B.
Donating to terrorist groups has no place in our free and democratic nation. We strongly urge you to investigate all potential connections between PACBI and terrorist groups. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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