Under mounting pressure following the leak of an internal investigation alleging internal dysfunction, inappropriate spending and a toxic work environment at the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, the group’s embattled chair and CEO have resigned, two sources connected to the organization exclusively told eJewishPhilanthropy on Monday.

Since the initial leak, which found that board Chair Morey Levovitz has been serving as the de facto head of the organization instead of CEO Steve Weil, additional sources connected to the group — current and former staff and lay leaders — have come forward to eJP, accusing the organization of misleading fundraising tactics and mismanaged sexual harassment cases, among other issues.

In light of the allegations, which were first published by the Israeli news site Ynet, the FIDF national board convened last week to vote on Levovitz’s continued tenure as board chair. The vote, which would have required a supermajority, was delayed as the board sought to reach an agreement with Levovitz that would see him willingly resign, with the threat of a forced removal if that didn’t happen, sources told eJP at the time.

Levovitz will be replaced temporarily by Nily Falic, a former board chair whose family is closely connected to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Falic will serve in the role until the board meets in September to elect a new chair.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Nadav Padan, the current national director of the organization, will serve as interim CEO, pending a vote on the matter by the board shortly. Padan’s term as national director is due to end in roughly a year and a half.

“Looking ahead, we remain unwavering in our mission — and more determined than ever to provide the brave men and women of the IDF with the critical support they need. We are fully committed to building a culture of transparency, collaboration, and unity within our organization because when FIDF is strong internally, we are strongest for Israel’s soldiers,” FIDF said in an official announcement about the resignations on Monday evening.

In the statement, FIDF absolved Levovitz and Weil of official wrongdoing. “Although the investigation identified certain issues related to organizational culture and staff morale, it found no fraud, misappropriation of funds, theft or kick-backs by or to Levovitz or any other employee, National Board Member or lay leader of FIDF,” the organization said.

The investigative report was prepared this spring by an investigative committee led by board members Garry Sobel, Fred Distenfeld and the organization’s counsel, Steve Rubin. The committee spoke to more than 30 people, the majority of whom were current and former employees. 

The investigative committee detailed a number of irregularities in its report, which was presented to select board members last month, including a highly irregular exclusive agreement between FIDF and the Israeli travel company Ortra, which is run by a close acquaintance of Levovitz, requiring that all of the organization’s missions and other travel be purchased through the firm. This arrangement was allegedly reached unilaterally by Levovitz, without going through a standard tender process. A former senior FIDF employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told eJP that when individual FIDF chapters tried to use cheaper alternatives for their missions to Israel, Levovitz intervened and canceled their visits to military bases as a form of punishment for not using Ortra.

Earlier this month, in a weekly video briefing for FIDF supporters, Weil addressed the growing controversy in the organization, specifically the issue of Ortra.

“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.

Multiple sources have told eJP that after a significant rise in donations to the organization in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks, contributions have decreased sharply in the past year, with multiple donors explicitly telling FIDF that they were withholding funds because of the situation with upper management.