North Raleigh Today

A prominent financial services company, Stripe, is under scrutiny as Republican senators and House members criticize the platform for enabling a fundraiser that supports an organization classified as terrorists by Israel. The controversy arises from Stripe's facilitation of credit card donations for the aforementioned fundraiser, leading lawmakers to question whether the company may be inadvertently aiding a group identified as a terrorist organization.

"Companies engaged in activities that promote or fund Hamas, or other militant groups, should cease immediately. Not only is this complicity abhorrent, but Congress will take action to combat it aggressively," Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) said on Platform X.

Legal experts have voiced concerns about Stripe potentially offering "material support" to terrorism. According to a November report by the Washington Examiner, these worries surfaced after it was revealed that Stripe was allowing its services to be used by Spain's Bizilur Association for Cooperation and Development of Peoples. This association has been running the "#StopGazaStarvation Gaza Relief Campaign" in conjunction with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC).

In 2021, Israel designated this union as an "arm" of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, reports another article by the Washington Examiner. Prompted by these revelations, GOP lawmakers are now urging Stripe to sever ties with the fundraiser. Their demand follows an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas that resulted in over 1,200 fatalities. In light of these events, lawmakers are advocating for Stripe to side with Israel.

An analysis performed in 1993 by Middle East expert Glenn Robinson for U.S. Agency for International Development identifies UAWC as an agricultural offshoot of PFLP according to an article from the Washington Examiner. In 2018, major credit card companies such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express barred UAWC from using their services due to its connections with PFLP – information reported by Israeli watchdog NGO Monitor. The Palestinian Fatah organization has also acknowledged UAWC as an affiliate of PFLP.