ARE U.S. FUNDS BEING USED TO SUPPORT HEZBOLLAH?

Wiesenthal Center Calls On U.S. Government To Investigate Whether Some Recent Iraqi Government Donations To Lebanon AreSupporting Hezbollah

The Wiesenthal Center is calling on the U.S. Government to investigate and clarify whether some recently reported Iraqigovernment donations to Lebanon are supporting Hezbollah.

Center officials learned that the Iraqi television station, Al Furat, recently reported that the Iraqi Government hasdonated 20 million U.S. dollars to Lebanon. It also provided a list of private donations made by key ministers and organizations in Iraq, including a 10 million Iraqi dinar donation pledgedby Hezbollah in Iraq.

“In view of the statement made today by the head of the Iraqi parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani who said in Cairo that hisparliament supports Hezbollah as an ‘honest and legitimate resistance movement,’ we call on the United States government to investigate that the donations announced are not U.S. funds and are notbeing used to benefit the terrorist organization,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “The United States did not spend trillions of dollars to liberateIraq so that they could turn around and use American money to support the terrorist activities of Hezbollah. This should be investigated and clarified” he concluded.

Below is a partial list of funds donated from Iraq thus far as reported on Al-Furat:

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agenciesincluding the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS and the Council of Europe.

For more information, contact the Center’s Public Relations department, 310-553-9036.