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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">U.S. Nonprofit Raised $300,000 for Israeli Sniper Unit Associated With Killings of Unarmed Palestinians
</h1><div class="gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-display-flex gmail-pc-flexDirection-column gmail-pc-reset"><div class="gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-reset gmail-_color-pub-primary-text_h3mln_190 gmail-_line-height-20_h3mln_80 gmail-_font-meta_h3mln_115 gmail-_size-11_h3mln_31 gmail-_weight-medium_h3mln_145 gmail-_transform-uppercase_h3mln_237 gmail-_reset_h3mln_1 gmail-_meta_h3mln_437"><div class="gmail-profile-hover-card-target gmail-_profileHoverCardTarget_c9bh7_50"><a href="https://substack.com/@samivanderlip" class="gmail-pencraft gmail-pc-reset gmail-_decoration-hover-underline_h3mln_293 gmail-_reset_h3mln_1">Sami Vanderlip</a> Dec 11, 2024</div></div></div>
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<div id="gmail-main"><div><div><h2>U.S. Nonprofit Raised $300,000 for Israeli Sniper Unit Associated With Killings of Unarmed Palestinians</h2><h3>“Your
support allowed us to get my son and his elite sniper unit the most
advanced scopes needed in order to have an advantage over Hamas when
they go into Gaza.”</h3><div><a href="https://substack.com/profile/15237008-sami-vanderlip" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span></span></a></div></div><div><div dir="auto"><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc71d73d9-ef4b-4911-bff5-2ad78c9dbedf_1600x1200.png" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc71d73d9-ef4b-4911-bff5-2ad78c9dbedf_1600x1200.png" width="394" height="296" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></span></div></a>Graphic: Sami Vanderlip</div><p>A
U.S. nonprofit has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for an
Israeli sniper unit for the stated purpose of buying scopes, silencers,
and other equipment. The unit, which is nicknamed Rephaim, or “Ghosts,”
has since been implicated in possible war crimes and killing over 100
people in Gaza and has been tied to the killing of four unarmed
Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023. </p><p>On October 9, 2023,
the mother of unit member Daniel Raab—an Illinois native—posted on
Facebook that the nonprofit, registered as “Friends of Paratrooper
Sniper Unit 202,” was in need of “helmets, rain gear, barrels, vests,
sniper stands, silencers, camouflage, and the list goes on.”</p><p>In
its 990 filings, Friends of Paratrooper Sniper Unit 202 is described as
“an organization dedicated to catering to the additional requirements
and the overall welfare of soldiers serving in a specific military
unit.” The description continues to say that the primary focus of the
nonprofit is, “to ensure that soldiers have access to the necessary
resources, support systems, and amenities that can enhance their
comfort, safety, and well-being while they are actively serving their
duty.”</p><p>The charity has raised significant amounts of money for the
sniper unit since its establishment last year. According to its tax
filings, Friends of Paratrooper Sniper Unit 202 raised over $304,000 in
the year ending December 2023, of which it spent roughly $208,000 in
grants—money which its promoters emphasize goes directly to soldiers in
the unit.</p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc45e6fa5-ae10-46c1-bdf5-49e4c4178c7a_1890x1417.png" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc45e6fa5-ae10-46c1-bdf5-49e4c4178c7a_1890x1417.png" width="394" height="296" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></span></div></a></div><p><span>The
nonprofit was registered in Illinois by Benjamin Raab, who appears to
be Daniel's father. Melissa Raab, who has identified herself as his
mother on Facebook posts, is listed as a director in the 2023 IRS
filings. (The 2024 form is not available yet.) As of publication, the </span><a href="https://www.clover.com/pay-widgets/690247d3-7138-4127-8f41-8a880886e8d4" rel="">links</a><span> to </span><a href="https://www.daffy.org/charities/932213489-friends-of-paratroop-sniper-unit-202-riverwoods-il" rel="">donate</a><span> are still </span><a href="https://www.clover.com/pay-widgets/690247d3-7138-4127-8f41-8a880886e8d4" rel="">active</a><span>.
Drop Site reached out repeatedly to the nonprofit itself, Benjamin
Raab, and Melissa Raab in advance of the publication of this story but
received no response.</span></p><p>According to social media posts, the
non-profit’s funds were used to purchase military equipment. “Your
support allowed us to get my son and his elite sniper unit the most
advanced scopes needed in order to have an advantage over Hamas when
they go into Gaza,” Daniel’s mother Melissa wrote in a note shared by a
family friend on Facebook on October 27, 2023.</p><p>“There is advance
[sic], high tech equipment that only the United States Army, and only
the Navy SEALs have. We can get this equipment for the snipers,” she
said, also sharing a voice note by Daniel himself.</p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e7a6fb7-f184-4e9a-b7ba-4b1120152e72_1116x1600.jpeg" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e7a6fb7-f184-4e9a-b7ba-4b1120152e72_1116x1600.jpeg" width="275" height="394" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div></a>Source: Facebook</div><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F914aed25-eb0f-4cdc-80b2-58596cf27dc5_1155x1600.jpeg" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F914aed25-eb0f-4cdc-80b2-58596cf27dc5_1155x1600.jpeg" width="284" height="394" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div></a>Source: Facebook</div><h3><strong>The Ghost Unit</strong></h3><p>On
April 19, 2024, Shalom Gilbert, another member of the 202 Paratroopers
Battalion posted a montage video of his battalion’s activities in the
Gaza Strip. Like many similar videos uploaded to social media by Israeli
soldiers since the start of the war in Gaza, Gilbert’s footage shows in
detail the tremendous devastation wrought upon the territory by the
Israeli military assault. While there is typically very little combat
footage in the montages, this particular video shows three separate
clips of snipers targeting apparently unarmed people.</p><p>The
battalion’s video states in blunt terms their intention to bring
violence upon Gaza.: “When they meet the 202nd battalion they are going
to regret being born,” a text displayed in the video says.</p><p>Around
two minutes into the montage, grainy thermal imagery displays a scene of
two men, appearing unarmed, walking down a street and in civilian
clothes. The man then falls to the ground, appearing to have been shot.
The second man runs away to the left, outside of the camera view.</p><p><em>Source: Shalom Gilbert on YouTube</em></p><p>Fast
forwarding about five minutes into the montage, footage that appears to
be taken from a higher vantage point or a drone, showing two people,
one dead and lying motionless on the ground and the second leaning over
him. A shot seems to be fired at him, throwing him backwards. He appears
to have been killed on the spot.</p><p><em>Source: Shalom Gilbert on YouTube</em></p><p>Shortly
afterwards, there are grainy thermal images of two men walking side by
side. The one on the left of the picture is slightly ahead. He appears
to be shot, falling to the ground immediately, while the other man, who
is slightly behind, runs off.</p><p><em>Source: Shalom Gilbert on YouTube</em></p><p><span>The videos showings the killings was first made public in October as part of the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit’s film, “</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPE6vbKix6A&pp=ygUPZ2F6YSB3YXIgY3JpbWVz" rel="">Gaza</a><span>,”
and geolocated to the area of the hospital —the Tel Hawwa neighborhood
in southern Gaza City. (Sami Vanderlip, the author of this story, was a
researcher on the film, “Gaza,” along with Younis Tirawi.) There are
questions about the legality of the killings shown in the video, which
targeted people not appearing to hold any weapons. Charlie Herbert, a
retired major general in the British army, expressed concerns about the
scene that the video displayed. “I don't know the context of what
happened before, I don’t know what happened 2 minutes before that. You
know, they may have been tracked,” he said. “They may have been involved
in contacting and shooting at Israeli forces, they may have been
legitimate targets. But it sure doesn't look like it to me.”</span></p><p><span>In October, the Belgian government </span><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/belgium-launches-war-crimes-probe-belgian-israeli-man-fighting-gaza" rel="">launched an investigation </a><span>into Alon Ben Sira, a dual citizen, for alleged war crimes as a result of Tirawi’s reporting on the sniper unit.</span></p><p>Drop
Site News also obtained a video from February from the sniper unit’s
Instagram account, geolocated to Khan Younis, showing the targeting of a
Palestinian who appeared unarmed and posing no threat. According to the
soldiers who boasted about it, he was shot from a distance of 1.26
kilometers away.</p><p><em>Source: @rephaim9 on Instagram.</em></p><p>The
same Instagram account posted a story in February with four members of
the unit. The post claimed that these soldiers set an Israeli military
record for long-distance sniping—stating that they neutralized a target
identified as a terrorist from 1.26 km away.</p><p>The caption reads:
“Interesting fact: The team, in collaboration with Adir and the Citroën
‘Rank of lieutenant and above,’ is responsible for the IDF record in
operational sniping after eliminating a terrorist at a range of 1,260
meters.”</p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3c6c682-458c-4b47-ad2d-be098822184a_1108x1600.jpeg" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3c6c682-458c-4b47-ad2d-be098822184a_1108x1600.jpeg" width="273" height="394" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div></a>Source: @rephaim9 on Instagram</div><h3><strong>U.S. Nonprofits Supporting the Israeli Military</strong></h3><p><span>According to publicly available </span><a href="https://www.orgcouncil.com/ein/932213489" rel="">online registry filings, </a><span>Friends of Paratrooper Sniper Unit 202 was granted tax-exempt status by the IRS in early August 2023.</span></p><p>The
activities of Friends of Paratrooper Sniper Unit 202 are not an
isolated case but represent a part of a broader trend in which
U.S.-based nonprofits have significantly ramped up fundraising efforts
for the Israeli military since their assault on Gaza began following the
attacks of October 7.</p><p>One of the most prominent organizations in
this space is the Israeli military affiliated Friends of the IDF, which
raises close to $100 million annually. Their consistent ability to
generate immense sums underscores the deep financial and ideological
ties between pro-Israel organizations in the United States and the
Israeli military.</p><p><span>Smaller organizations have also been able
to mobilize significant resources to support the assault on Gaza. One
case in point has been the Ari Fuld Project, which has raised over
$855,000, according to a tabulation of their various public campaigns
set up in support of a number of units in the Israeli military since
October 7. According to the group, these funds are going toward
purchasing everything from </span><a href="https://arifuld.org/eye-for-zion-campaign/" rel="">protective eyewear</a><span> to </span><a href="https://arifuld.org/simeons-drone-collection-campaign/" rel="">drones</a><span> for Israeli soldiers.</span></p><p>Speaking
generally, Sarah Lee Whitson, the executive director of DAWN, said that
the IRS looks to U.S. law and not international when considering
whether a nonprofit purpose is legal or not, but that international law
could be considered through the War Crimes Act. “It stands to reason
that someone should be able to file a complaint to say that an
organization should have their nonprofit status cancelled because they
are aiding and abetting war crimes under the War Crimes Act.”</p><p><span>Documenting
Israel, an online social media account that aims to document “daily
events in Israel relating to security, terrorism and general Jewish
life” to its thousands of followers have leveraged its social media
platforms to start a fundraising campaign for Israeli soldiers following
October 7th. They have since raised over $130,000 to buy equipment
ranging from helmets and scopes to tactical vests for soldiers serving
in Gaza. Videos and photos of soldiers thanking donors for new equipment
like helmets, vests, and drones have been used as </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXDGzIFcHKA&t=7s&ab_channel=DocumentingIsrael" rel="">powerful marketing tools</a><span> to garner greater support.</span></p><p>“There
are dozens of 501(c)(3)s that are funding West Bank settlements – which
is a war crime that should be covered under War Crimes Act, but so far
the IRS has not done its job to ensure that nonprofits are not funding
illegal acts,” added Whitson. “From a purely legal standpoint, if the
IRS was doing its job it’d be investigating and shutting down nonprofit
organizations that are funding war crimes. That’s not only what
international law demands, but what American law demands.”</p><p>The
trend also highlights a disparity in how nonprofits are scrutinized. HR
9495 or Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages
Act, passed the House mainly along party lines. If signed into law it
would grant the Treasury to revoke tax-exempt status of nonprofits that
are subjectively deemed to be supporting “terrorism”—a move that many
critics believed would be used to target pro-Palestinian groups in
particular. Meanwhile, organizations supporting units within the Israeli
military would continue to operate without similar oversight.</p><p>While
fundraising links for the tax-exempt charity remain online, the social
media page has since been taken down. Social media posts from Raab’s
mother and other family members show efforts to solicit donations on
Facebook, emphasizing that any money given would go directly to soldiers
serving in the unit.</p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F863bc7f8-add1-4d7e-a4c3-3f25a1c45e7b_1366x988.png" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F863bc7f8-add1-4d7e-a4c3-3f25a1c45e7b_1366x988.png" width="394" height="285" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></span></div></a></div><p><span>As
the donations aimed at buttressing capacity came in, the unit bragged
of its impact in the onslaught of Gaza. On March 14, 2024, PAZAM, a
public relations company associated with the Israeli military, posted on
</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Pazam.Army/posts/pfbid028NMLe8NfSeia9q3Am3Y5fcXoAnhMu2LTnpit8hg5qxbYSQUiWyQDMFWAdMWL2oJpl" rel="">Facebook</a><span> that the sniper unit of the 202 Battalion had reached “100 eliminations of terrorists.” The message read:</span></p><blockquote><p>Sniper Unit of the 202</p><p>Was everywhere since the start of the war</p><p>Sderot, Kfar Aza, Beeri, Gaza City, Rimal, Shuja’iyya, Khan Younis and soon maybe Rafah</p><p>Currently standing at 100 eliminations of terrorists and they’ll reach more !!!</p><p>Let’s cheer for these legends.</p></blockquote><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa958ec6-0a1d-4c64-b283-1313c4a78650_1370x1716.png" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa958ec6-0a1d-4c64-b283-1313c4a78650_1370x1716.png" width="315" height="394" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div></a></div><p>Raab
also acknowledged the role that the money that flowed from donors to
the sniper unit in helping build its capacity in the war.</p><p><span>“I
would like to first and foremost thank everyone from the bottom of my
heart who has been a part of and contributed in action or in spirit, but
specifically in action in terms of capital to the organization Friends
of Paratroopers Unit 202 Sniper Team,” he said in a voice note from
October 27, 2023, shared on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/suVJ34hz8B2czRSk/" rel="">Facebook</a><span> by a family friend.</span></p><p>“The
work that you have done and the results of your tireless work, effort
and capital has absolutely changed our capabilities to accomplish our
missions, to go into battle, to win, to protect ourselves, to protect
our comrades and come home safely. And I would like to send a message to
continue that work, keep it coming. It's doing nothing but helping us
and it is much needed.”</p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe46514a2-1501-4e0d-a10f-0cbabbbc0b82_1440x1914.jpeg" rel=""><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe46514a2-1501-4e0d-a10f-0cbabbbc0b82_1440x1914.jpeg" width="296" height="394" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div></a>Daniel Raab. Source: Facebook</div></div></div></div></div><br></div>
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