Apple accused of sending employee donations to the Israeli military
Some of its employees and shareholders have accused the American technology company Apple of sending employee donations to the Israeli military and to Israelis who are seizing Palestinian lands.
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According to a report by the US-based news site The Intercept, 133 people, identifying themselves as "a group of shareholders, current and former employees," have written an open letter to the tech company regarding the organizations to which employee donations are being sent.
In the letter, Apple is accused of sending employee donations to the Israeli military and to organizations linked to Israelis who are seizing Palestinian lands.
The letter, which demands an immediate investigation into these allegations, asks Apple to stop making "donations" to all such non-governmental organizations.
Like many large institutions, Apple employees can donate to non-profit organizations through a platform called "Benevity" and receive a "matching contribution" from their employer in return.
HERE ARE THOSE ORGANIZATIONS
Among the institutions on the donation list are organizations such as "Friends of the IDF (FIDF)," which collects donations for soldiers in the Israeli military, and "HaYovel," "One Israel Fund," "the Jewish National Fund," and "IsraelGives," which contribute to Israelis seizing Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
Apple management has not responded to questions on the matter.
Apple employees, organized under the name "Apples4Ceasefire," had previously objected in April to the disciplining and firing of Apple Store employees who "expressed their support for the Palestinian people with keffiyehs, pins, bracelets, or clothing."
'APPLE MUST ENSURE IT IS NOT SENDING FUNDS TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT WAR CRIMES'
A group in New York called "Not With Our Money" is working to ensure that non-profit organizations in the state lose their fundraising authorization and non-profit status for their activities related to Palestinian lands seized by Israelis in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Diala Shamas, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, described the institutions named on the donation list as "the worst actors" in a statement, saying, "Unfortunately, there has been very little scrutiny of organizations that openly support illegal activities in the West Bank and Gaza."
Shamas stated that laws against financing activities that violate international human rights law are not being adequately enforced by the US Internal Revenue Service, and therefore, companies and individuals must ensure that their contributions are not going to organizations potentially engaged in illegal activities.
'AIDING IS ILLEGAL'
Noting that companies often rely on the fact that an organization has "501(c)(3)" status, which indicates it is exempt from federal income tax and is a non-profit, Shamas said, "However, regardless of whether an organization has non-profit status, aiding and abetting war crimes is illegal."
Shamas said Apple must ensure it is not sending funds to any of these organizations.
WERE 34.5 MILLION DOLLARS SENT?
The conduct and discipline of the Israeli military have come under particular scrutiny, not only because Israeli soldiers are accused of torture, extrajudicial killings, and other abuses against Palestinians, but also because many soldiers have shared footage of looting and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees on social media.
"Friends of the IDF," which is on Apple's donation list, is registered as a non-profit organization to collect donations for the Israeli military and claims to have transferred 34.5 million dollars (approximately 1 billion 114 million 249 thousand Turkish Lira) in donations to the Israeli military in the first weeks after the war began.
According to a report by The Guardian newspaper in December 2023, the crowdfunding platform "IsraelGives" had received over 5.3 million dollars (approximately 171 million 180 thousand Turkish Lira) in donations within two months after the war to support "military, paramilitary, and settlement" activities in the West Bank. This money came disproportionately from American donors.
Like many other technology companies, Apple expresses its corporate commitment on its website to a framework of "respect for internationally recognized human rights," including the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
However, since Israel's attacks on Gaza began, the UN Human Rights Office has repeatedly condemned the attacks by the Israeli military.