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🇮🇱 Israel /Health & Science

US health agency gave $80 million to groups with terror ties, finds Middle East Forum

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

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  • A Middle East Forum report alleges the US Department of Health and Human Services awarded nearly $80 million in grants to 14 organizations with alleged ties to terrorism or extremist movements.
  • The majority of the funding, approximately 87%, was distributed between 2022 and 2025, during the Biden administration.
  • Critics argue these grants provide legitimacy and resources to groups that undermine US values, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations receiving over $42 million.

A new report by the Middle East Forum (MEF) claims that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has directed nearly $80 million in grants to 14 organizations accused of having ties to terrorism or extremist movements. HHS, responsible for improving the health, safety, and well-being of Americans, is a major distributor of federal grants.

The MEF's audit of federal grant data and public records identified these terror-linked organizations as recipients of substantial taxpayer funding. The report indicates that roughly 87% of this funding was disbursed between 2022 and 2025, a period coinciding with the Biden administration. The beneficiaries include a mix of American organizations, such as mosques, political advocacy groups, and charities, as well as foreign universities and an overseas Sharia council.

Despite their noble-sounding missions, these grants provide radical organizations with legitimacy, resources, and access to vulnerable populations, including newly arrived refugees from high-risk regions.

— Benjamin BairdAuthor of the MEF report, criticizing the use of taxpayer funds.

While some grants may appear innocuous, supporting initiatives like coronavirus relief or mosque renovations, others are more controversial. These include providing cash assistance and legal services to Afghan and Iraqi refugees. The report notes that much of this funding was channeled through state agencies and universities, which then sub-awarded the federal funds.

Benjamin Baird, the report's author, stated that these grants lend legitimacy, resources, and access to vulnerable populations, particularly refugees from high-risk regions, to radical organizations. He argued that American taxpayers should not be funding groups that contradict HHS's stated mission of safety and well-being. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reportedly received the largest sum, exceeding $42 million, despite its alleged founding by individuals linked to the Islamic Association for Palestine, a group described as a propaganda arm of Hamas.

American taxpayers should not be subsidizing groups that undermine the very values of safety and well-being HHS claims to uphold.

— Benjamin BairdAuthor of the MEF report, expressing concern over the funding allocation.
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Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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