Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) provides humanitarian aid and financial support to Palestinian and other Middle Eastern children. [1] It operates a variety of projects in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Iraq, while engaging in anti-war and anti-Israel domestic activism. It has financial ties to Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Open Society Foundations, and is also associated with radical-left author and activist Noam Chomsky.
Founding and History
Middle East Children’s Alliance was founded in 1988 by Barbara Lubin and Howard Levine and expanded operations into Iraq in 1990. [2] Lubin had previously been active in protest movements against the Vietnam War and in support of greater accommodations for the disabled, and was a member of the Berkeley School Board from 1982 to 1996. Levine had been a writer for the San Francisco Examiner. [3]
MECA has a large board of advisors, including former U.S. Sen. James Abourezk (D-SD) and radical-left academic Noam Chomsky. [4]
Activities
The main goal of Middle East Children’s Alliance is to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian, Iraqi, and Lebanese children while engaging in pro-Palestinian activism in America. [5] To achieve these ends, MECA partners with a variety of local organizations within the Middle East. MECA operates a college scholarship program in West Bank and Gaza as well as a program to provide clean water. [6]
In 2001, MECA chartered a bus and drove around the country in protest of American sanctions against Iraq. [7]
MECA has accused Israel of “apartheid,” “genocide,” and “ethnic cleansing” towards Palestinians. [8] In addition, MECA has engaged in other anti-Israel activism, including support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, celebrating investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes, and signing multiple statements condemning Israel. [9]
Funding
Middle East Children’s Alliance received $3,329,330 in donations and grants in 2019. [10] From 2016-2023, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund donated $430,000 to MECA for the “Creative Palestinian Communities Fund,” which organizes political activities in Palestinian communities. [11] In 2020, MECA received a $400,000 grant from the Open Society Foundations, the private grantmaking foundation of billionaire George Soros. [12]