Israel Defense Forces refuses to transfer equipment to diaspora Jewish soldiers

For almost a year, American Jews have flooded Israel with donations for troops fighting in the Gaza Strip, even though the IDF says such supplies are not needed.

Now the Israeli military has announced a crackdown on unauthorized donations, which could result in conflict with some of its most generous donors.

Tamar Yadai, the general in command of the Israeli army, ordered the “harshest measures and maximum penalties” to combat donations, according to a memo published on Monday.

There will be consequences even if the donations are made by the soldiers’ parents, says the note, which circulated in Israeli military networks and was obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

“The phenomenon that occurred during Operation Iron Swords is unacceptable and contrary to the values of the IDF,” the memo said, using the official Israeli name for the war.

IDF soldiers near the scene of a stabbing attack near Ariel that left three dead and three wounded. (source: IDF SPOKESMANSHIP UNIT)

The memo explains that the rule banning the transfer of equipment to grassroots initiatives is intended to protect soldiers from going into battle wearing helmets and bulletproof vests that do not meet military standards.

Nonprofits say their equipment is of the highest quality

But the nonprofits say they ensure the quality of their donations, including through ballistics testing, and that they meet the technical requirements of soldiers. All the nonprofits say the real threat to soldiers comes from substandard equipment issued to soldiers by the military itself. They point to examples of soldiers who were sent to Gaza with dented helmets dating back to the 1970s.

In a move of defiance, Unit 11741, a U.S. initiative to equip Israeli soldiers with helmets and other equipment, has pledged to cover the legal costs of soldiers arrested in Yadai’s crackdown. No such arrests have been made yet.

“Don’t worry, your life is more important than anything General Yadai can do by sending police after you,” Daniel Mael, head of Unit 11741, said in a video responding to the crackdown. “We have your back. We will help you 100 percent.”

The crackdown — and the defiant response — reflect a continuing and growing divide between the Israeli military and donors who want to support its forces. The military has maintained throughout the war with Hamas that reports of shortages are false, despite overwhelming demand from commanders on the battlefield. But donors, many of whom are from the United States, say the military’s official position undermines efforts to keep troops safe.

This division is increasingly leading to illegal actions by donors who claim they only want to provide soldiers, including their relatives, with everything they need to effectively and safely fight Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah across the northern border with Lebanon.

Earlier this month, volunteers who have donated millions of dollars worth of military equipment to Israeli soldiers called an emergency Zoom meeting to discuss how Israeli government officials are hindering their grassroots efforts — and how they say they are contributing to shortages of body armor, night-vision goggles and other gear in conflict zones.

One participant described conducting a “smuggling operation” to smuggle donated telescopes past customs agents and into Israel.

“We don’t use that word,” another participant said. “We call it technical logistical support.”

In fact, many volunteers regularly describe their activities as smuggling. They blame bureaucracy at Israeli ports, as they sometimes bring equipment into the country without declaring it at customs or fill out forms falsely stating that the equipment is for civilian use when it is actually intended for soldiers, according to interviews.

Jonathan Greenwald, a managing director of a private investment firm in Miami, told JTA how he and his network of donors smuggled hundreds of small drones into Israel.

“Most of what we send is sent by passengers, in their luggage,” Greenwald said. “We can’t send it as cargo because it would have to go through traditional customs and would probably be confiscated. We don’t declare it — that’s what makes it smuggling.”

Greenwald and others who make donations, whether they are smuggled or not, say they maintain security by vetting the requests they receive, working directly with logistics specialists and experts, and monitoring the supply chain of donated equipment as it travels from U.S. airports to Israeli military bases.

Now, the Israeli government is making it even harder to legally transfer equipment to soldiers. Even before Yadai’s memo, almost nothing was allowed in, according to several nonprofits, and there have been numerous reports of donation bags being detained or confiscated. Even when items clear customs with permits from the Ministry of Economy or other government agencies, officials sometimes charge a 17% value-added tax that should be waived for donations, according to Adi Vaxman, head of Operation Israel, and Marc Brodner of the Israel Chesed Center, both nonprofits.

According to Amir Pasic, a professor of philanthropic studies at Indiana University, it’s not uncommon for nonprofits to play a larger role in supporting the military and its soldiers during wartime. But Pasic said the fact that charities provide equipment necessary for actual combat raises questions for him.

“Is this a sign of strong support from the diaspora/community or a sign of weakness in the state’s ability to field an army?” he asked.

For Lili Corwin Berman, a historian at Temple University who has written extensively on Jewish philanthropy, the answer is unequivocal.

“It seems like civil society is trying to fill a gap that has been created by the chaos and the deep stress of the state,” she said. “The fact that these donations are bypassing or violating state laws is further evidence that the state is incredibly weak, in my view, because the presumption of those who violate them is that they know better what is ultimately good for the state.”

From the perspective of the military command, the state is functioning as it should, and the strong support from the Jewish diaspora, although appreciated, is being wasted on unnecessary donations of equipment.

All countries place bureaucratic obstacles at their borders, including regulations on imported goods that are intended to protect the local economy from foreign or unfair competition or dangerous goods. In addition, many countries, including Israel, impose taxes on imports, with at least a few exceptions for charitable purposes.

But as an organizer of donations to the troops, Greenwald said he would like the Israeli government to understand that the crisis of war requires more freedom at its borders. He accepts the need to protect Israel’s economy from black markets for commercial goods, but he would like to see some of the bureaucracy eliminated to accommodate the war effort, he said.

He compared his actions to those documented in the now-filmed book “The Pledge,” which tells the story of American Jews’ covert efforts to supply weapons to the British Mandate of Palestine in anticipation of the armed conflict that escalated into Israel’s War of Independence.

“I think of it as 1948,” Greenwald said, referring to the year of that war. “We’re just trying to get things to those who need them.”