MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger Firmly Opposes H.R. 9495 as Threat to Free Speech
Following the passage of H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act by the U.S. House of Representatives, the Jewish anti-hunger nonprofit MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger condemned the legislation as a threat to the nonprofit sector and free speech. The organization strongly urged the Senate and White House to block the bill’s advancement.
Abby J. Leibman, President & CEO of MAZON, stated:
“We are deeply disappointed in the House of Representatives today for passing this bill, which would give the Treasury Secretary excessive, unilateral authority to designate any American nonprofit as a ‘terrorist supporting organization’ and revoke its tax-exempt status without any form of due process. No matter which party is in office, justice-oriented organizations like ours will always need to speak truth to power. It is incredibly concerning that this legislation would put that right to speak freely in jeopardy. At a time when we have a new President preparing to take office who has promised retribution against those who have opposed him, this is a chilling threat for any number of nonprofit organizations, including our own.
“There is a reason why a wide range of Jewish organizations have spoken out against this legislation, which cloaks itself in the false promise of fighting antisemitism. Tax-exempt organizations from across the wide spectrum of nonprofits have all agreed that this legislation would damage the sector irrevocably. We call on Congress to reject anything that resembles this now and in the future.”
Earlier this week, MAZON signed a letter to Congress from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism alongside 55 other Jewish organizations opposing H.R. 9495; that letter can be found here.