Bank Leumi Cancels High Profile Charity Project

Participation of rightist Im Tirzu group in Bank Leumi’s charitable donation project sparked public campaign against the project.

from Haaretz:

Israeli bank cancels charity project after outcry over rightist NGO’s participation

Israel’s Bank Leumi has halted its “Two Million Good Reasons” project, due to public pressure over the participation of the rightist Im Tirzu group.

The project had allowed internet users to vote on which philanthropic groups should receive charitable donations from Bank Leumi.

A statement released by Bank Leumi on Sunday said that the project “was successful and achieved its goal … We had good intentions, but found ourselves the traget of public criticism, which also hurt NGOs. A number of the participating NGOs turned to us and said that the atmosphere surrounding the project was overshadowing them and was even harming them.”

Bank Leumi said the 139 NGOs that participated in the project will each receive NIS 10,000 to cover their expenses. The remaining NIS 600,000 will be earmarked for initiatives and projects promoting education, community and welfare in Israel.