Zionist Organization of America National President Morton A. Klein is sharply condemning Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation over millions of dollars in grants to progressive Jewish organizations that Klein says undermine Israel and place Jews at risk.
Klein, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, issued the criticism following an exposé by Israeli-American activist, Betar leader and ZOA Coalition member Ronn Torossian titled “Where Schindler’s List Money Went.”
Torossian’s report examined IRS Form 990 filings from the Righteous Persons Foundation and detailed millions of dollars distributed to various organizations. Spielberg established the foundation with profits generated by Schindler’s List, his acclaimed film about the Holocaust and German industrialist Oskar Schindler’s rescue of Jews during World War II.
“This misuse of monies from Spielberg’s Holocaust film is despicable, shameful and frightening,” Klein charged.
Klein said the origins of the foundation’s money make the grants particularly disturbing, arguing that some of the organizations receiving the funds are pursuing agendas that threaten the very people whose survival was chronicled in Spielberg’s film.
“The brave German industrialist Oskar Schindler and the Jews whom Schindler saved must be rolling over in their graves,” he added. “The descendants of ‘Schindler’s Jews’ are now endangered by the organizations funded with Spielberg’s profits.”
Among the organizations identified in Torossian’s report, according to Klein, are Bend the Arc, which reportedly received $1.2 million; Jews United for Justice, which received approximately $925,000; T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, which received roughly $690,000; and the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, which received about $250,000.
Klein singled out Bend the Arc for particularly strong criticism, pointing to the organization’s opposition to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism as well as its political activism. He noted that Bend the Arc’s political arm endorsed Zohran Mamdani during his campaign for New York City mayor and assisted his candidacy through fundraising, canvassing and advertising.
The ZOA leader also attacked T’ruah, accusing the organization of repeatedly adopting positions antagonistic toward Israel. Klein pointed to its criticism of Israeli military operations in Gaza, opposition to the IHRA antisemitism definition, partnership with Breaking the Silence and activism involving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Klein further charged that T’ruah and similar organizations supported wartime campaigns aimed at preventing weapons sales to Israel, arguing that efforts to restrict Israel’s access to arms endangered Israeli and Jewish lives.
He additionally took aim at T’ruah’s campaign challenging the tax-exempt status of pro-Israel Jewish charities and its emphasis on what the organization calls “settler violence” in Judea and Samaria. Klein vehemently rejected that description, calling it a “blood libel” that he said misrepresents incidents surrounding attacks on Jews.
According to Klein, his review of the Righteous Persons Foundation’s tax filings uncovered financial support for other organizations that he considers hostile to Israel, including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
Klein criticized the JCPA for leading a letter opposing Trump administration measures directed at anti-Israel activity on American college campuses. He described the administration’s actions as attempts to stop Hamas supporters from targeting Jewish students.
Klein argued that the controversy is made especially troubling by the history behind the money used to establish the foundation. Spielberg has said that he did not personally take a salary for Schindler’s List, with profits connected to the movie instead helping fund charitable projects focused on Jewish causes and Holocaust remembrance.
The ZOA president contrasted the grants documented in Torossian’s report with what he described as a lack of financial support for organizations dedicated to publicly defending Israel, protecting Jewish college students and combating attacks on the Jewish state.
Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation “apparently gives no grants to Jewish organizations that defend Israel against libels and demonization, protect Jewish students on college campuses, protect Jewish safety, and truly stand up for the besieged Jewish descendants of Holocaust victims and survivors,” Klein charged.
“Shameful,” he concluded.
{Matzav.com}
