Anti-Israel nonprofit under federal investigation over financial dealings: report
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a nonprofit with connections to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for potentially providing donor funds to a sanctioned Palestinian group, the New York Post reported Friday.
The report says federal authorities are probing the U.K.-based organization known only as PFF, which has a roughly $100 million war chest used to support anti-Israel causes. It also may have contributed donor funds to Al-Haq, a Palestinian group sanctioned by the U.S., the Post reported.
"A new fund set up by Arabs across the US, UK, and Australia has been built to take on Israel," one source familiar with the operation told the Post.
One source who spoke to the Post described one Bassema Yousef as the "lynchpin" for the PFF's fundraising. Born in New York, Yousef is a longtime ally of Mamdani and a prolific Democratic donor, though she now lives in London, according to the Post.
MAMDANI'S POLITICS LINKED TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IDEOLOGY AS NEW YORK VIOLENCE ESCALATES: REPORT
Her social media presence shows multiple anti-Israel rants, claiming Israel is committing "war crimes with U.S. tax dollars," among other things.
Sources told the Post that Yousef established the PFF with backing from two wealthy donors: Austin, Texas-based investing executive Basil Qunibi and Palestinian-Australian motorsports magnate Yasser Shahin.
Corporate filings in the U.K. confirm Shahin's role in supporting the PFF, the Post reported. The IRS also confirmed the PFF has a nonprofit arm based in Delaware.
Sources with direct knowledge of the PFF's operations told the Post the organization's executives work to finance anti-Israel messages and defend pro-Palestinian activists.
"PFF is a strategic foundation that is large, well-funded, and institutional in quality," the foundation says on its website. "We partner with organisations that we believe have an ability to consistently deliver results that align with our strategic objectives."
"PFF and its partners are unequivocally committed to justice, peace, inclusion and non-violence," the nonprofit said.
The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The DHS declined to comment in a statement to the Post.
"HSI does not comment on the existence or status of specific investigations, nor on investigative methods, intelligence sources, or potential enforcement actions," a DHS spokesperson told The Post, referring to the Homeland Security Investigations unit.
The Post went on to note that the reported DHS investigation does not indicate any criminal wrongdoing.