Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife donates millions to nonprofit network funding violent anti-Israel groups: report

According to a review of public grant records and organizational filings by the Washington Free Beacon, Scott disclosed that she sent at least $5 million to the Solidaire Network, a leftist philanthropic group that describes itself as supporting “the front lines of social justice movements.” Solidaire provides grants to a range of organizations active in anti-Israel activism, including Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), the US Palestinian Community Network, and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM).

Both SJP and AMP are currently the subject of investigations in the House and Senate over allegations that they coordinated with Hamas-affiliated individuals or networks in organizing anti-Israel protests in the United States. The controversy surrounding these organizations grew as pro-Palestinian activism on US campuses and in major cities intensified in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Scott revealed the grants as part of a broader philanthropic announcement in an October essay titled “We are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For.” In the piece, she wrote, “Generosity and kindness engage the same pleasure centers in the brain as sex, food, and receiving gifts.” According to the outlet, Scott typically provides recipients with large, unrestricted grants, allowing organizations to use the money “however they choose,” rather than limiting funds to specific programs.

In addition to her most recent donation, Scott provided the group $10 million in 2021 through her philanthropic entity, Yield Giving. Following that contribution, Solidaire spent $2.1 million on a campaign called “Unity & Power,” intended to promote what it described as “Palestinian freedom.” Tax records show that Solidaire distributed $75,000 to the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) between June 2023 and June 2024, a group that released maggots into the Israeli prime minister’s hotel during a 2024 US trip.

The US Palestinian Community Network received $50,000 and publicly characterized Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre of over 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 250 as “justified” and part of a “self-defense operation.” Students for Justice in Palestine received $25,000 and has served as a central organizing force behind campus protests nationwide. Some university systems have banned local SJP chapters over accusations of antisemitic activity. American Muslims for Palestine, another Solidaire grantee, has faced allegations over connections to individuals with histories of fundraising for Hamas-linked groups. Among Solidaire-supported organizations is the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), which received $135,000, and during the October 7 attacks, praised the violence with celebratory messaging, later organizing a direct-action protest aimed at blocking an American military ship carrying supplies for Israel.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) asked the FBI in September to investigate the Palestinian Youth Movement, calling it “virulently antisemitic,” after the group’s leader, Aisha Nizar, publicly urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet.

Dan Schlessinger, an attorney representing the family of David Boim, a 17-year-old American killed in a 1996 Hamas attack in Jerusalem, criticized Scott’s decision to back organizations tied to AMP. “It is difficult to fathom that Ms. Scott would help fund the leading Hamas-supporting organization in America,” Schlessinger said, referencing litigation seeking to enforce a $156 million judgment related to alleged support for Hamas.

Solidaire has also routed donations through “fiscal sponsorships,” a system in which tax-exempt organizations financially host groups that do not have independent IRS tax-exempt status. Two major entities linked to this structure, WESPAC Foundation and the Tides Foundation, have faced congressional inquiries over how funds may be directed through their sponsorship networks.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Sen. Cotton, and other Republicans have investigated the role of these fiscal intermediaries, particularly regarding financial pathways that may connect donor money to Hamas-linked groups.

Since launching Yield Giving in 2019, the same year she divorced Bezos, Scott has donated an estimated $26 billion to nonprofits. After the divorce, Scott received approximately $38 billion in Amazon stock.