An American charity that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars by promising to meet the emergency needs of Israeli soldiers after the war in Gaza broke out is now facing internal turmoil over allegations of financial mismanagement, cronyism, and a toxic workplace culture.
The crisis at Friends of the Israel Defense Forces centers on the group’s chairman, Morey Levovitz, who is accused of consolidating power, awarding contracts to associates without oversight, and authorizing lavish spending that some insiders say betrays donors’ trust.
The accusations were made public last week in a news article published by Ynet, a major Israeli news outlet, which cited a report from an internal investigation commissioned by the group’s board earlier this year.
Following Ynet’s coverage, the FIDF acknowledged the existence of the report, an 18-page document written by a team of two board members and a longtime attorney to the group, and said it is preparing a response.
“When we were made aware of the allegations, FIDF immediately began an internal investigation,” the group said in a statement it released to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “We take these matters extremely seriously. Our board and leadership team are actively evaluating and addressing the concerns raised and taking appropriate steps to respond swiftly and responsibly.”
The group has hired a law firm and a public relations company to deal with the crisis, according to an internal email sent to employees on Monday by the executive committee of the FIDF board.
“Our Executive Committee had already engaged a law firm that specializes in not-for-profits to look into ways to reinforce our policies and procedures internally,” reads the email, which was obtained by (JEWISH REVIEW).“We also hired a public relations firm to help us navigate our communications with the situation for our donors, employees and the media.”
Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, FIDF is a large Jewish charity that raises funds for the benefit of Israeli soldiers. The group has 25 chapters across the country and hundreds of employees and volunteers.
Its fundraising events have drawn major celebrities, including retired boxer Mike Tyson, Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher and musical artist Pharrell Williams. The donor pool has featured some of the most prominent billionaire philanthropists in the country: the Adelson family, Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and entertainment mogul Haim Saban, who sits on the group’s board.
The group saw an unprecedented windfall after launching an emergency fundraising campaign in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The total raised for 2023 was about $280 million, according to FIDF’s audited financial statements. That amount is almost triple the $100 million FIDF anticipated raising at the start of that year, according to an internal budget document obtained by (JEWISH REVIEW).
Already one of the top fundraising organizations among American Jewish institutions, FIDF likely collected more money in support of Israel after Oct. 7 than any other individual charity. The only campaign known to have raised more is that of the entire Jewish federation system, which raised $850 million across dozens of organizations representing 400 Jewish communities across North America.
The extraordinary increase in donations to FIDF reflected a widespread desire among American Jews to show support after the Israeli military lost hundreds of soldiers on Oct. 7, with hundreds more casualties in subsequent fighting during an ongoing war that has demanded an almost unprecedented mobilization of the military’s reserves.
“I’m one of the many rabbis who firmly believe in what FIDF does, and I make sure my congregants know about their work — we try to do whatever we can to support them,” Joshua Kalev, who leads a Southern California congregation and has longstanding ties to FIDF, told (JEWISH REVIEW) last year.
Several of Kalev’s congregants have children serving in the Israeli military as lone soldiers, who receive support from FIDF because they don’t have family in Israel like typical troops.
That program is one of several longstanding FIDF initiatives supporting soldiers off the battlefield. The organization’s emergency campaign has helped pay for medical equipment, toiletries and clothing, the rebuilding of a military base that was damaged by Hamas, and treatment for PTSD from combat. The group’s year-end report for 2024 says it has transferred $101 million to Israel in emergency funding while committing a total of $250 million over a multi-year period.
Israeli army forces stand outside a house that was hit by rockets fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon in the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona on Nov. 26, 2024. (Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)
Alongside the surge in support, the FIDF also attracted criticism over its public messaging and its spending.
Last year, Arnie Draiman, a consultant who vets charities for donors looking to support Israel-related causes, looked intothe FIDF on behalf of a client.
He dug up the FIDF’s tax returns and asked the group for additional information, just as he has done for hundreds of charities in the past. Draiman didn’t like the view from under the hood. He questioned why the organization was sitting on large reserves while asking donors to give more.
“Here is an example of a nonprofit holding so much money they don’t know what to do with it,” he wrote in a note summarizing his thoughts. “They just hold on to it for the proverbial rainy day … despite the fact that the hurricane is outside. Will your money be used at all? Who knows. Will it sit somewhere for years? Probably.”
When he asked the FIDF for an explanation, he was told the money had been earmarked by donors and couldn’t be used for emergency needs.
“It boggles my mind that the FIDF has that amount of money and then says, ‘We can’t touch it.’ But did you ask the donor if you couldn’t touch it? There’s a war going on,” Draiman told (JEWISH REVIEW) at the time.
Michael Pycher, a former FIDF supporter, became so disillusioned with the group that he eventually decided to denounce it in a widely shared post on Instagram.
“There were and continue to be tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers begging American families for basic supplies during a critical time of need, while FIDF takes advantage of a generous and panicked Jewish population, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for itself,” he posted last April. “Disgraceful and pathetic.”
Perhaps the most persistent and vocal critic of FIDF has been Daniel Mael, a New York–based entrepreneur who runs Unit 11741, an informal initiative to provide Israeli soldiers with donated helmets and other combat gear.
Mael is part of a global grassroots effort that has donated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of protective equipment and battlefield supplies to individual soldiers, aiming to address persistent shortages. The military officially denies that shortages exist and prohibits soldiers from receiving such donations, but in practice, commanders have often either participated in unauthorized fundraising themselves or turned a blind eye to it.
Because FIDF is an official partner of the Israeli military, it cannot — and does not — donate combat gear, focusing instead on off-battlefield support that the military says is needed. The group was not always diligent about following military directives. In 2010, the army instructed FIDF to stop bringing donors into contact with soldiers without permission. A 2016 report from Israel’s state comptroller found that FIDF ignored the order and continued the practice in violation of military directives.
Mael and other critics charge that FIDF is not transparent when it says it is providing for the soldiers’ most urgent needs while soldiers continue soliciting money online for helmets because their army-issued ones are decades old and damaged. Critics also say that as the FIDF toes the military line that there are no shortages, it also disparages alternative grassroots donation drives, making donors wary of contributing.
“I’m not even asking FIDF to take responsibility for fixing the equipment crisis, though it’s telling that they avoid it,” Mael told (JEWISH REVIEW), summarizing his views. “I’m simply asking them to stop gaslighting soldiers and the public. Soldiers, widows, and orphans deserve an organization that supports them honestly, without spin, deception, or self-serving narratives.”
Mael has aired his complaints against FIDF through YouTube videos and a Substack blog. He sprang into action after Ynet revealed last week that the organization had completed an internal investigation uncovering allegations of mismanagement. While the report did not address concerns about FIDF’s ballooning cash reserves or its policy of against donating protective gear, Mael cited it as further evidence of the “moral failure” he has long denounced.
“How FIDF raised a fortune, hoarded it, and handed out flip-flops during Israel’s darkest hour,” reads the subhead to a recent blog post by Mael.
Writing in a punchy, muckraking style, he built a following within the FIDF, leading insiders to provide him with a steady stream of leaked correspondence involving board members and donors.
In internal emails, FIDF has cited the growing drumbeat of concern in commissioning an investigation earlier this year, and acknowledged that its staff is reading the coverage of the crisis by news outlets and blogs.
The report that came out of the investigation paints a picture of an organization gripped by dysfunction and centralized control, according to Ynet. At the center of the turmoil is Levovitz, the board chairman, who is accused of sidelining senior executives, bypassing internal controls, and treating the charity as his personal domain.
According to Ynet’s coverage, Levovitz assumed effective day-to-day control of the charity, marginalizing FIDF’s CEO Steve Weil and frequently declaring to staff, “I run the show.” The report reportedly details how contracts were allegedly steered toward individuals and companies with personal or professional ties to Levovitz, including a travel contract awarded without competitive bidding to Ortra, an Israeli company that has organized FIDF donor delegations.
The report also described a pattern of lavish spending by Levovitz himself, including nearly $53,000 in personal reimbursements for high-end travel and lodging — expenses that board members later said may have violated the group’s own financial policies, Ynet reported.
Tensions have spilled into FIDF’s regional chapters. In San Francisco, one of the most generous donor communities, the local chapter froze its contributions after its director was dismissed without explanation. The report described the move as a strategic failure that risked alienating donors and undermining regional morale, according to Ynet’s coverage.
Also alarming to longtime supporters was the departure of the group’s legal counsel, Stephen Rubin, who resigned after being excluded from internal deliberations, Ynet reported. Rubin had been with the organization for over four decades. His absence, the report warned, left the board vulnerable to legal lapses and weakened institutional oversight.
Employees interviewed during the investigation described a workplace marked by fear, dysfunction and unclear leadership, according to Ynet. Some told the committee they were hesitant to speak up internally for fear of retaliation. Staff turnover had accelerated, and morale was reportedly low across multiple departments.
At least some donors have called for Levovitz’s resignation or ouster, but the board has yet to convene since the leak of the report.
For Mael, even though the report doesn’t address his main criticism and changes have yet to be made, the current scrutiny of the organization is a welcome development.
“FIDF has admitted to the world that its house is not entirely in order,” he recently wrote. “Now comes the harder task: cleaning it up.”
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