This Week
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FUNDING HATE
Insight
from page 31
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The Auxiliary and Benefactors
of the Jewish Home & Aging Services
cordially invite you and your family
to a Benefit supporting
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older adults.
unda'January 25, 2004
Max M. Fisher Music Center
connected Shkirat. He is a prominent
attorney and activist who represents
Marwan Barghouti, the West Bank
Fatah leader who is on trial in Israel
for allegedly masterminding terror
attacks that killed dozens of Israelis.
"I believe it depends on what the
Palestinian Authority wants," said a
Palestinian attorney representing
European donors.
"If the Palestinian Authority rea
wants to arrest the right people —at'
will happen quickly. But if they do
not, then the investigation will take
long time, and then not much will
happen.
.
"
3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit
Audit Report
1:00 pmBeatlemania Brunch
dietary laws observed
3 :00 pmClussical Mystery Tour:
A Tribute to the BeatIes
**Ole Detroit Syniphony
Ordiestra
Event Chairpersons:
Marty. Begun Robin Eisenberg w
Howard Kowalsky Zina Kramer
Jill Stone
This incredible Beatles retrospective features
original members of the Broadway sensation
Beatlemania performing such tunes as Penny
Lane, Yesterday, and A Day in the Life with
orchestral accompaniment by the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra, as they were recorded
by the Fab Four.
. 4
for more information or to order tickets,
call:
248-661-2999
A United States-based official of Ernst
& Young, an international business
consulting and accounting firm, said
Qupti's office had asked for the docu-
mentation supporting the firm's 60-
page special investigative audit of
LAW's finances.
That report, which was issued in
March, concluded that about 40 per-
cent of LAW's $9.2 million in foreign
charitable funding had been diverted
and misappropriated.
Ernst & Young told Qupti that it
would release the documentation only
with a subpoena to do so, according
to an American Ernst & Young
source.
Although the Ford Foundation was
a major donor, the foundation has not
joined the European criminal com-
plaint. But Wilde said the Ford
Foundation would cooperate with
government inquiries about this case.
Wilde also confirmed that the foun-
dation previously had suspended a
$60,000 individual grant extended to
Shkirat in September 2001 to support
his participation in a Harvard
University human rights program.
He said that grant was made a year,
before accounting issues surfaced that
led the Ford Foundation and other
donors to commission an audit of
LAW's finances. .When Shkirat failed
to complete the Harvard academic
program, the foundation placed him
on a list of people prohibited from
receiving foundation funds and recov-
ered the unspent funds from the indi-
vidual grant.
Efforts to contact Shkirat were not
successful.
Di erence Of Opinion
Meanwhile, in the Jewish community
and in the U.S. Congress, opinions
were split over whether the Ford
'=- 41tM:t 73-
12/26
2003
32
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FOR JEWISH HOME I/
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Foundation had done enough to
reverse its multimillion-dollar funding
of anti-Israel agitation and whether a
congressional investigation should go
forward.
Rep. Nadler's administrative aide,
Brett Heimov, said that the Ford
Foundation "should be given a chance
to correct their mistakes before a full
and-coinplete investigation takes
-
-
-ortimer-Zuckerman, past chair-
ofthe Conference,of Presidents
of Major American Jewiih
Organizations and one'd the leaders
who consulted with Ford Foundation
officials, agreed.
"They should have a reasonable
time deadline to deal with these issues
and be very transparent," he said.
"If they do so, fine. If not, we
should seek -another (approa.ch: For
now, I think they are making a good-
faith effort and should be taken at
their word until proven otherwise."
Abraham Foxman, national director
of the Anti-Defamation League,
agreed.
"At this time, I don't believe a full-
scale investigation is warranted," he
said. "The Ford Foundation is looking
into its operations and has made com-
mitments for change. I think we
should let that go forward."
_ But executive director of the
American Jewish Congress, Neil
Goldstein, said that while he thought
Nadler should be praised for going
forward, "that should not preclude us
looking back to see what went wrong
and see who was to blame — particu-
larly so, given the fact that Ford
[Foundation] hands out more foreign
aide than a nation the size of
Canada."
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice
chairman of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations, said he was "in favor of
not letting the process drop."
"This experience has shown us that
foundations can allocate their funds to
support activities that are against
American interests and promote
extremist expressions such as we saw
at Durban. Therefore, any investiga-
tion should include more than just the
Ford Foundation, but also others,"
Hoenlein said.
Sens. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. and
Charles Grassley, R-Idaho, have insist-
ed that a complete investigation of the
Ford Foundation still is needed.
This week, Santorum's spokesman,
Robert Trayham, said, "As of today,
Sen. Santorum still stands for a full
and complete investigation." ❑