The Agency for International Development (USAID) gave an organization that focuses on uplifting the voices of women to solve sectarian violence in Israel half a million dollars just ten days before Hamas’ infamous Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
Women Wage Peace, an Israeli “grassroots peace movement” that “empowers women from diverse communities to build trust across divides” in the hopes of achieving an “end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” through “diplomatic negotiation[s] with full representation of women,” received $500,000 from the Biden administration on Sept. 27, 2023, according to a federal grant listing. The grant paid for a program called “Women Building Bridges,” which is described as an initiative to foster peace between Israelis and Palestinians by providing “leadership training in peace activism [with] a track for women religious leaders and a track for climate activists,” according to the organization’s website.
Women Wage Peace has been skeptical of Israel using its military to respond to Palestinian threats. The organization in 2019 supported Israeli legislation requiring the nation to “examine political alternatives for resolving conflicts, in coordination with representatives from civil society, before resorting to military options” during times of emergency, according to Women Wage Peace’s website.
Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attacks claimed the lives of 1,200 people in Israel and was met with a swift military response from the Israeli Defense Forces.
Women Wage Peace has accused “right-wing extremists” in Israel of “exploit[ing]” Hamas’ attacks to vilify innocent Palestinians. The organization also supports a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.
Women Wage Peace wasn’t the only NGO the United States doled out funds to for the purpose of easing tensions in Israel prior to Hamas’ attacks. The State Department spent over $80 million over the past three presidential administrations to promote peace, civic engagement and human rights in the Palestinian territories.
One such grant, worth over $28,000, was paid out by the Biden administration in September 2022 to “generate a hopeful and diverse women-led public discourse, which will prepare the Israeli and Palestinian societies towards a negotiated solution to the conflict,” according to a federal grant listing.
USAID and Women Wage Peace did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
Robert Schmad on March 1, 2024
