IRS Scandal Expands to Include Pro-Israel Groups
Has BDS culture infected the Internal Revenue Service?
While the IRS assault on Tea Party groups is well known, another equally disturbing development is taking shape at the beleaguered agency.
Alana Goodman of The Washington Free Beacon reported…
Lawsuit Alleging IRS Discrimination Against Pro-Israel Groups Moves Forward
A lawsuit alleging that the IRS discriminates against pro-Israel groups will be allowed to move forward, a federal judge ruled this week in Washington, D.C.
The IRS has been fighting to quash the lawsuit filed in 2009 by pro-Israel group Z Street, claiming the court does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter.
However, Judge Ketanje Brown Jackson rejected the agency’s request to dismiss the case on Wednesday and ordered the IRS to respond to Z Street’s complaint within the next 30 days.
Z Street says its constitutional rights were violated by an IRS policy that allegedly singles pro-Israel groups out for stricter scrutiny when they apply for tax-exempt status.
According to the lawsuit, an IRS official told Z Street’s lawyer in 2009 that the group’s application for tax-exempt status would be “sent to a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the administration’s public policies.”
Eugene Volokh provides more insight at The Washington Post…
Did IRS illegally specially scrutinize “Israel-related organizations”?
That’s the ultimate question in the Z Street litigation; yesterday, the district court rejected some of the government’s preliminary procedural objections, and allowed the case to go forward (Z Street v. Koskinen (D.D.C. May 27, 2014)). Here’s a summary of the claim (some paragraph breaks added):
Plaintiff Z Street … is a non-profit corporation in Pennsylvania that is dedicated to educating the public about various issues related to Israel and the Middle East…. The complaint alleges that the Internal Revenue Service … violated the First Amendment when it implemented an internal review policy that subjected Israel-related organizations that are applying for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the U.S. Code to more rigorous review procedures than other organizations applying for that same status. Plaintiff maintains that this so-called “Israel Special Policy” represents impermissible viewpoint discrimination on the part of the federal government, and has requested declaratory and injunctive relief….
Read Volokh’s entire post for more background on the case.
This news began brewing well over a year ago but these recent revelations are stunning.
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Comments
Did IRS illegally specially scrutinize “Israel-related organizations”? Yes. Obama has allowed the infiltration of the US government by Muslims who have no problem acting to secure Islamic interests. Just as the FBI cannot use training materials discussing Islam, Jewish organizations were subjected for scrutiny because of how their action would affect Islamic interests.
As a certifiable red neck, all I say is: Bizarre.
Jews vote overwhelmingly for anything with a (D) and especially voted for The One. Yet he sets his jackbooted thugs on them. And they are OK with it.
I know that being Jewish does not mean one is Pro-Israel, but I can’t say I really understand it. Especially when it morphs into anti_Israel.
Go figure.
“… whether the organization’s activities contradict the administration’s public policies.”
Can this be any plainer?
The time has come to revamp the entire taxing system. Slash the income taxes or find an alternative way of financing the gov. Get rid of all these tax deductions for all those “charitable” and campaign deductions. We would see a decrease in those political action groups and non-profits/foundations which exist to give morons a job fundraising and do practically nothing charitable.
I have a list of perhaps 10-15 books I reread every five years or so and I’m halfway through one of them right now. Unfortunately it is scaring the crap out of me because I’m rereading Orwell’s 1984. The parallels are remarkable.
These jackasses are going to force a citizen uprising.
Let’s hope so!
So the anti-Israel agenda implemented immediately, in 2009. Of note: Jarrett, the real POTUS, was born in Iran and has Jewish ancestry. This so-called administration has backed Iranian Shia and Iran-allied Sunna (e.g., MB/Hamas) consistently from the start. Probably the papers are long-since signed. 0’s father was a protege of CIA. There has always been about 0 himself the air of a clandestine government. And for this Jews voted overwhelmingly. It is beyond my comprehension.
Hard Left partisans have been been seeded through the entire Federal Civil Service, every department. “BDS culture” is only the tip of the iceberg. And this is only the beginning: The recently hired gusanos are the managers of the future no matter who is President.
“sent to a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the administration’s public policies”
This is a very significant line. I know of nothing in American’s founding documents which would justify anything like this. No American group, organization, or corporation should be a slave to administration policies. This must be one of those “fundamental transformations” Il Duce bragged about.
I’m not too wild about
einsatzgruppen“special units” in general, either. Very bad “optics”, there.