Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen, the founders of the Giant supermarket chain, started the Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation (NNCF) in 1959.[1] NNCF primarily gives grants to organizations in the Washington, D.C. area and in Israel. Today, the Foundation distributes $4 million in grants each year to organizations supportive of abortion, left-wing economics, environmentalists, and left-of-center Israel policy.[2]
Left-of-Center Israel Focused Organizations
NNCF gives support to the left-wing group Americans for Peace Now (APN).[3] APN has partially endorsed the anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, supporting boycotts of Israeli products from disputed territories beyond the 1949 armistice lines.[4]
APN endorsed the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal and called on Congress to save the deal after the Trump administration decertified it.[5] [6] When Mike Pompeo was nominated for Secretary of State, APN opposed his confirmation in part because of his opposition to the Iran deal.[7] During the 2012 presidential election, APN attacked Republican candidate Mitt Romney as “anti-Israel” for questioning the Palestinians willingness to negotiate for peace in good faith.[8] APN defended President Obama’s stances towards Israel and even labeled him “Israel’s Unsung Protector.”[9]
The J Street Education Fund is another left-of-center U.S. group that received funding from NNCF.[10] J Street supported the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal and worked to build support for it in Congress.[11] In 2017, when President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, J Street announced its opposition the announcement.[12]
NNCF has provided grants to the New Israel Fund (NIF), a funder of Israeli left-wing and Arab-interest groups.[13] The NIF funds a number of left-wing Israeli organizations, some of which have expressed support for BDS and made other anti-Israel statements.[14]
Environmentalist Groups
The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) is a left-wing group that receives funding from NNCF.[15] CEH created the Environmental Justice Fellowship Program to train left-wing environmentalist college students.[16]
NNCF supports the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), a left-of-center environmentalist organization.[17] During President Trump’s first month in office, ELI hosted a panel to discuss the environmental impact of a wall on the southern border.[18] The panel included members from the left-wing groups Sierra Club and Earthjustice.[19] Another panel ELI hosted supported by NNCF discussed the Trump Administration’s ocean policy and featured panelists from the liberal organizations Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Surfrider, and Meridian Institute.[20]
Other Left-Wing Groups
NNCF provided funding to the Metropolitan Washington chapter of the abortion provider Planned Parenthood.[21] NNCF has also supported the left-wing economics group DC Fiscal Policy Institute.[22] American Jewish World Service, Bend the Arc, Hazon, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable are all left-of-center Jewish organizations the NNCF has supported.[23]