The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces national board will vote on the continued tenure of its chair, Morey Levovitz, on Wednesday, following a meeting on the matter last Thursday, sources told eJewishPhilanthropy.

FIDF’s top leaders have faced growing scrutiny following the leak of an internal investigation, alleging dysfunction and a toxic work environment. Since the report was leaked, former and current employees and lay leaders have come forward, telling eJP that the organization has also mismanaged sexual harassment complaints and used misleading fundraising techniques. 

The board scheduled a meeting on Thursday to discuss the chairmanship of Levovitz, whom the internal probe found has been acting as the de facto head of the organization, not the CEO, Rabbi Steve Weil. Levovitz’s chairmanship is due to end in September, unless it is extended.

In the meeting, the board opted to delay a vote on the matter, scheduling it for Wednesday. Removing Levovitz would require a supermajority. Since Thursday, supporters and detractors on and off the board have been contacting members to sway their votes, sources told eJP.

On Sunday, in his weekly video briefing for FIDF supporters, Weil addressed the growing controversy in the organization, in some of his first public comments on the matter. 

Weil largely refrained from discussing the findings of the internal probe or the allegations made to eJP, focusing instead on criticisms made by an activist who runs a competing fundraising organization for Israeli troops. 

In his remarks, Weil denied any impropriety by Levovitz, whom he called “a man of impeccable integrity, a man of incredible honesty.”

Weil did address a specific area raised in the internal probe, the selection of an exclusive travel provider, Ortra, which sources connected to the organization told eJP charged a higher price than alternatives and is run by a close acquaintance of Levovitz. 

“Our chairman had owned a travel agency, amongst other businesses, and we went to him when we were looking at different options. He shared with us — didn’t force, didn’t tell, had no person gain whatsoever — but he felt that there was a travel agency, Ortra, that had, on the one hand, impeccable integrity, incredibly honest people, and as well, they would give pricing line item, itemized like a menu,” Weil said, adding that there was no “gain or financial kickback” for Levovitz.

Weil’s claim that Levovitz “didn’t force” the organization to exclusively use Ortra runs counter to comments made by former FIDF employees, who told eJP that the chairman both demanded that the organization use Ortra’s services and punished the director of an FIDF chapter for using a different agency on one of her missions.

FIDF, which was founded in 1981, has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for causes related to Israeli soldiers and their families since the Oct. 7 terror attacks. Under its arrangement with Israel’s Defense Ministry, most of these causes are non-military, connected to soldier welfare during and after their service.