Molad’s report and analysis show that hundreds of millions of taxpayer shekels are transferred to the Settlement Division each year, and are used as a secret slush fund for the settlement movement.
Read report summary hereThe Settlement Division technically belongs to the non-governmental World Zionist Organization (WZO), but in practice serves as a governmental agency. As its name in Hebrew suggests (HaHativa LeHityashvut), the Settlement Division is officially intended to support construction projects in all of Israel's underprivileged areas, including the Galilee and the Negev.
Despite being fully funded by taxpayer money, the Division keeps its budget under wraps. After obtaining and examining the Settlement Division’s budget for the first time, Molad’s report and analysis show that hundreds of millions of taxpayer shekels are transferred to the Settlement Division each year and are, in effect, used as a secret slush fund for the West Bank settlement movement.
Molad’s investigation uncovers three disturbing findings:
- The Division allocates 74.5% of its support to settlements in the West Bank. In fact, the single settlement of Beit El receives more than all 115 beneficiaries in the Negev and Galilee combined.
- Many millions of public shekels fail to reach underprivileged areas; instead, they are used to fund religious non-profit organizations, which are located in wealthy areas of the country, and are closely aligned with the hard-right HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) Party.
- Several senior executives in the Settlement Division also serve on the boards of organizations and yeshivas directly funded by the Division, raising suspicions of unethical and illegal conduct