Report: Patagonia Sent Funds to Palestinian Terror Groups

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Patagonia, the U.S.-based outdoor clothing retailer, funneled tens of thousands of dollars to a progressive organization linked to Palestinian terror groups, according to the Washington Examiner.

Citing tax records, the outlet reported that the global brand’s tax-exempt private foundation in California has donated more than $139,000 since 2016 to the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), an Arizona-based group that has connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The relationship between the Alliance for Global Justice and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has come under increased scrutiny from Congress and has reportedly caused donors and payment processors, such as PayPal, to sever ties with AFGJ.

In a statement, Patagonia said it has launched an internal review of the funding.

“Patagonia remains committed to rigorous stewardship of our philanthropic efforts and is evaluating continued funding of local efforts through AFGJ,” Hans Cole, Patagonia’s vice president of environmental activism, told the Examiner.

The company’s grants to AFGJ in 2023 totaled $30,000 and went toward climate-related projects, Cole said, including “community cleanup around a defunct oil refinery site” and “building activism among Black TLGBQIA+ individuals through climate advocacy and community gardening.”

In its publicly-available policies on awarding grants, Patagonia says it does not support groups that promote “discrimination based on ethnicity, race, religion, color, [and] sexual orientation,” among other factors.

With $11 million in reported assets, AFGJ sponsors 140 projects, including Samidoun, an Israeli-designated terror coalition that has shared staffers with the PFLP, according to the Examiner. AFGJ has also previously fundraised for the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a French partner of the PFLP.

Marc Greendorfer, a terrorism financing analyst and attorney, said that Patagonia has an obligation under the law not to fund terrorism, even indirectly.

“Patagonia now knows that it is part of the terror funding apparatus and must take swift action,” Greendorfer, president of Zachor Legal Institute, told the Examiner. “If Patagonia is truly committed to not sponsoring or otherwise supporting terror, it will carefully assess its relationship with AFGJ, an organization that has done nothing but increase its activities in support of terrorism since the Oct. 7 massacre.”

The situation also highlights the transparency issues posed by fiscal sponsorship, a type of legal arrangement that allows charities like AFGJ to manage projects without filing separate financial disclosures with the IRS.

Watchdog groups say fiscal sponsorship is a “dark money” loophole that makes tracking tax-exempt donations extremely difficult. Zachor Legal Institute said in a memo last year to Congress that the arrangement seemingly allows Palestinian terror groups to fundraise in the United States through proxy groups.

Newsmax reached out to Patagonia for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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