The Merona Leadership Foundation is a pro-Israel activist group that supports pro-Israel activists on campuses and beyond by providing programming, professional guidance, and funding for pro-Israel initiatives, nonprofits, and community leaders. ¹ The foundation is a member of the Impact Forum, a Los Angeles-based group of pro-Israel nonprofits and research organizations. ²

The Merona Leadership Foundation has been accused of supporting Jewish terrorism against Palestinians. ³ It has also been criticized for its support of StopAntisemitism, a group dedicated to defending Israel. ⁴

Initiatives

Impact Forum

The Merona Leadership Foundation is a member of the Impact Forum, a network of pro-Israel philanthropists based in Los Angeles, California. The Impact Forum manages a network of philanthropists who support each other’s initiatives to fight antisemitism, strengthen the State of Israel, and advance the United States’ alliance with Israel. ²

The Impact Forum supports several institutions, including Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Capital Research Center, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the Israel on Campus Coalition, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the Middle East Forum, the Philos Project, StopAntisemitism, the Middle East Research Institute, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and several others. ⁵

Virtually Israel

The Merona Leadership Foundation is also involved with Virtually Israel, a technology company that provides a virtual reality experience and tour of Israel that showcases Israel’s most prominent locations, including Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. ⁶

Controversy

Accusations of Promoting Jewish Terrorism

In a 2021 opinion piece for the left-wing Israeli English-language newspaper Haaretz, Jill Jacobs claimed that several American-Jewish organizations were promoting Jewish terrorism in the Palestinian territories. Jacobs included the Merona Leadership Foundation in the list. She claimed Merona to be a part of “[t]he far-right Jewish extremists rampaging violently against Palestinians.” The opinion editorial also argued “[i]t’s our moral duty to defund” Merona Leadership Foundation and similar pro-Israel groups. ³

StopAntisemitism

In 2024, the pro-Israel organization StopAntisemitism began a social media campaign to expose people whom it claimed expressed support for Palestinians and Hamas in the Israel-Hamas war. Several of the people StopAntisemitism exposed lost their jobs due to the pressure applied by the group, including Dani Marzouca, a woman who was fired by her employer after StopAntisemitism posted a clip on Twitter/X of Marzouca stating “radical solidarity with Palestine means … not apologizing for Hamas.” This campaign created controversy for the Merona Leadership Foundation for its financial support of StopAntisemitism. According to 2022 tax filings, the Merona Leadership Foundation, where Jewish real estate investor Adam Milstein’s wife, Gila, then served as president, paid a $125,633 salary to Liora Rez, StopAntisemitism’s executive director, and provides the organization approximately $270,000 to cover its expenses. The Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation lists StopAntisemitism as a “supported organization” on its website. ⁴

Leadership

Adam Milstein is listed as the President of the Merona Leadership Institute according to the group’s 2023 federal tax return. ⁷ Milstein is a philanthropist and real estate investor. He was born in Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He graduated from the Technion in 1978 and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1981. In 1983, he earned an MBA from the University of Southern California and began a career in commercial real estate. Milstein is a managing partner at Hager Pacific Properties, a private commercial real estate investment firm. He is also a co-founder and national chairman emeritus of the Israeli-American Council. He also sits on the board of several organizations, including StandWithUs and Hasbara Fellowships. Milstein also runs the Milstein Family Foundation, the philanthropic wing of he and his wife Gila’s business endeavors which works to strengthen American values and support the U.S.–Israel alliance. ⁸

Finances

In 2023, the Merona Leadership Foundation reported $3,187,345 in total revenue, $1,731,266 in total expenses, and $2,468,583 in total assets. ⁷

In 2023, the foundation received several grants and donations including a $120,000 grant from the Natan and Lidia Peisach Family Foundation. ⁹

1. “Home.” Merona Foundation. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.merona-foundation.org/
2. “The Impact Forum.” Merona Foundation. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.merona-foundation.org/past-projects/the-impact-forum/
3. Jacobs, Jill. “American Jews, Stop Funding Jewish Terrorism.” Haaretz. May 2, 2021. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2021-05-02/ty-article-opinion/.highlight/american-jews-stop-funding-jewish-terrorism/0000017f-ef1e-d4cd-af7f-ef7e898e0000
4. Verma, Pranshu. “They criticized Israel. This Twitter account upended their lives.” Washington Post. April 16, 2024. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/16/stop-antisemitism-twitter-zionism-israel/
5. “Organizations.” The Impact Forum Foundation. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.impactforumfoundation.org/organizations
6. “Virtual Israel.” Merona Foundation. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.merona-foundation.org/past-projects/virtual-israel/
7. “Merona Leadership Foundation – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/471603664/202423119349301872/full
8. “Who We Are.” Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.milsteinff.org/who-we-are/
9. “Natan And Lidia Peisach Family Foundation – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/203785948/202403349349100505/full