Questionable grants are drawing fresh scrutiny after a Washington Free Beacon review found billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott sent millions to a nonprofit network backing some of the most aggressive anti-Israel and anti-Semitic groups operating in the United States. The donations, disclosed in Scott’s own writing, highlight how such grants are fueling organizations already under congressional investigation.
Scott recently acknowledged giving at least $5 million to the Solidaire Network, which funds what it calls “the front lines of social justice movements.” Those recipients include Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine, the US Palestinian Community Network, and the Palestinian Youth Movement. Several face House and Senate probes over alleged coordination with Hamas-linked actors.
Scott described her motivations in an essay titled We are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For, invoking spirituality and collective action. “Generosity and kindness engage the same pleasure centers in the brain as sex, food, and receiving gifts,” Scott wrote.
Unlike traditional philanthropy, Scott allows recipients to spend funds “however they choose.” Solidaire used that flexibility to support groups that have praised or justified Hamas violence. One grantee, the US Palestinian Community Network, called Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre “justified” and part of a “self-defense operation.” That attack killed 1,200 Israelis and saw hundreds taken hostage.
Another recipient, the Palestinian Youth Movement, drew condemnation after its leader urged supporters to sabotage the U.S. F-35 supply chain. Sen. Tom Cotton pressed the FBI to investigate the “virulently antisemitic” group.
Attorney Dan Schlessinger, who represents the family of a teen murdered in a Hamas attack, said, “It is difficult to fathom that Ms. Scott would help fund the leading Hamas-supporting organization in America.”
Since 2019, Scott has donated $26 billion through Yield Giving, often through opaque fiscal sponsorships. Critics argue these grants now raise serious questions about accountability, transparency, and the downstream impact of billionaire activism.
