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Person

Rachel Gelman

Nationality:

American
Born:

1991
Occupation:

Chair and Manager, Bafrayung Fund

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Rachel Gelman is a member of the billionaire Strauss family, the heirs to the Levi Strauss & Co. clothing fortune. 1

She is the chair and manager of the Bafrayung Fund, a Covina, California-based private grantmaking foundation that donates to left-of-center to radical-left organizations such as the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC). 2 Although Gelman is Jewish, the Bafrayung Fund supports a large network of radical anti-Israel groups that organized many of the campus protests related to the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas conflict, including the Palestinian Youth Movement. 3

Political Ideology

Rachel Gelman has expressed left-of-center to radical-left political views. She appeared in a 2020 New York Times article titled “The Rich Kids Who Want to Tear Down Capitalism,” in which she described her political beliefs as “anticapitalist, anti-imperialist and abolitionist.” She said that because her inherited wealth “is mostly stocks,” it “means it comes from underpaying and undervaluing working-class people, and that itis impossible to disconnect from the economic legacies of Indigenous genocide and slavery.” 4

Rachel Gelman is a member of Jews on Ohlone Land (JOOL), a left-wing activist group that advocates for indigenous peoples’ interests. On February 12, 2020, Gelman spoke outside the Levi Strauss exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum as part of a JOOL protest. In the speech, she claimed “80-90% of the indigenous population in California was killed through genocide” during the time her ancestor, Levi Strauss, began his career in America. She claimed that “Levi Strauss profited as a settler on this land during a time of extreme colonial violence” and that she did not “need a white-washed version” of her family’s story. 5

Family

Rachel Gelman’s family inherited the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune through Levi Strauss’s nephew’s only child, Elise Fanny Stern. Strauss founded the company in 1853, but never married. When he died in 1902, the company fell to Stern, who married Walter Haas, whose descendants remain the owners of Levi Strauss & Co. 6

Rachel Gelman’s mother, Susan “Susie” Gelman, received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. 7 Susie runs the Morningstar Foundation, a private grantmaking foundation based in Bethesda, Maryland that supports left-of-center organizations, including Rachel Gelman’s Bafrayung Fund and its network of anti-Israel organizations. 8 She previously was board chair of the Israel Policy Forum from 2016 through 2023 and spent three terms as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She also had one term as the Federation’s campaign co-chair and is a lifetime member of the Federation’s board of directors. She previously co-chaired the Israel Religious Expressions Platform (iRep) of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), an initiative that sought to expand freedom of choice of marriage in Israel. 9 She was also reportedly one of President Joe Biden’s top candidates for the post of United States Ambassador to Israel. 10

Michael Gelman is Rachel Gelman’s father, Susie Gelman’s husband, and the managing director of the Morningstar Foundation. 11 Michael Gelman was a founding partner of the Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman accounting firm (now GRF CPAs & Advisors) and spent three terms as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. He also spent two terms as the Federation’s co-campaign chair and one term as president of its Endowment Fund. He was a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council from 1995 to 2004, to which he was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton. 12 He also sits on the boards of several organizations, including Jewish Agency for Israel, Hillel, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, University of Maryland College Park Foundation, American Jewish International Relations Institute, Moment Magazine, and Congressional Bank. 13

Susie Gelman’s father, Richard Goldman, was a San Francisco civic leader and philanthropist who founded the Goldman Environmental Prize and the now-closed Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation. The Goldmans supported left-leaning organizations, including ones devoted to Jewish causes and pro-abortion-rights advocacy. 14 After the death of the Goldmans, their foundation closed and some $280 million was transferred to foundations belonging to the Goldmans’ three children, including Susie Gelman’s Morningstar Foundation. 15

The Gelman family are long-time Democratic Party donors. 16

Bafrayung Fund

The Bafrayung Fund has two sources of funding: Rachel Gelman and the Morningstar Foundation, her parents’ philanthropic organization. 17 In 2022 the fund reported revenue of $3,009,343, as well as $3,917,851 in expenses, and $145,143 in net assets, according to tax filings. Of the more than $3 million in revenue, $2,000,000 came from a personal contribution from Rachel Gelman and a $1,000,000 contribution from the Morningstar Foundation. 18 Between 2019 and 2022, the Gelman family collectively contributed $3,470,000 to the Bafrayung Fund. 19

In 2022, the Bafrayung Fund made 62 grants and donations totaling $3,823,000. 20 This included grants of $30,000 to the Arab American Action Network, $20,000 to Bend The Arc, $50,000 to Climate Justice Alliance, $50,000 to Grassroots Global Justice Alliance (GGJA), a total of $140,000 to the left-of-center Tides Center, and $20,000 to the Palestinian Youth Movement through Westchester Peace Action Committee (WESPAC). Bafrayung’s total historical contribution to WESPAC has been $300,000. The Bafrayung Fund has also donated $298,000 to Critical Resistance, an organization that has taken part in multiple events expressing support for Palestinian nationalists. 21 In 2019, Bafrayung donated $15,000 to anti-Israel activist group Jewish Voice for Peace. Bafrayung also donated $10,000 to the Palestinian Youth Movement in 2019, and $15,000 to the Palestinian Youth Movement in 2020 and 2021, all through WESPAC. 22 23 24

References

  1.  Israel, David. “Report: Levi Strauss Heir Rachel Gelman a Major Force Behind Pro-Hamas Groups.” Jewish Press. May 29, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/antisemitism-news/anti-israel-ngos/report-levi-strauss-heir-rachel-gelman-a-major-force-behind-pro-hamas-groups/2024/05/29/
  2.  Bafrayung Fund – 2022 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832811578/202343199349100304/full
  3. Israel, David. “Report: Levi Strauss Heir Rachel Gelman a Major Force Behind Pro-Hamas Groups.” Jewish Press. May 29, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/antisemitism-news/anti-israel-ngos/report-levi-strauss-heir-rachel-gelman-a-major-force-behind-pro-hamas-groups/2024/05/29/
  4.  Beery, Zoë. “The Rich Kids Who Want to Tear Down Capitalism.” New York Times. November 27, 2020. Accessed June 16, 2024.   https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/style/trust-fund-activism-resouce-generation.html
  5. Gelman, Rachel. “I am here today as a descendant of Levi Strauss.” Jews on Ohlone Land. February 12, 2020. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jewsonohloneland.org/drash-blog/i-am-here-today-as-a-descendant-of-levi-strauss
  6. Israel, David. “Report: Levi Strauss Heir Rachel Gelman a Major Force Behind Pro-Hamas Groups.” Jewish Press. May 29, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/antisemitism-news/anti-israel-ngos/report-levi-strauss-heir-rachel-gelman-a-major-force-behind-pro-hamas-groups/2024/05/29/
  7. Susie Gelman. Israel Policy Forum. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://israelpolicyforum.org/about/leadership/susie-gelman/
  8. “Former US-Israel Policy forum head’s daughter backs anti-Zionist campus protests – report.” Jerusalem Post. May 30, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-804404
  9. Susie Gelman. Israel Policy Forum. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://israelpolicyforum.org/about/leadership/susie-gelman/
  10. “Former US-Israel Policy forum head’s daughter backs anti-Zionist campus protests – report.” Jerusalem Post. May 30, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-804404
  11. The Morningstar Philanthropic Foundation – 2022 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521270464/202313189 349100401/full
  12. Michael Gelman, CPA. GRF, CPAs & Advisors. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.grfcpa.com/people/michael-gelman/
  13. Michael Gelman, CPA. GRF, CPAs & Advisors. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.grfcpa.com/people/michael-gelman/
  14. Slotnik, Daniel E. “Richard N. Goldman, Civic Leader and Patron, Dies at 90.” New York Times. December 4, 2010. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/us/05goldman.html
  15. “As parents assets flow in, Goldman heirs deciding which Jewish causes to fund.” J Weekly. June 29, 2012. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jweekly.com/2012/06/29/as-parents-assets-flow-in-goldman-heirs-deciding-which-jewish-causes-to-fun/
  16. “Former US-Israel Policy forum head’s daughter backs anti-Zionist campus protests – report.” Jerusalem Post. May 30, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-804404
  17. Bredderman, William and Kirsch, Noah. “Child of Famed Jewish Family Funded Pro-Palestinian Protests.” The Daily Beast. June 1, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.thedailybeast.com/pro-palestinian-campus-protests-were-funded-by-rachel-gelman-despite-family-being-jewish
  18. Bafrayung Fund – 2022 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832811578/202343199349100304/full
  19. Israel, David. “Report: Levi Strauss Heir Rachel Gelman a Major Force Behind Pro-Hamas Groups.” Jewish Press. May 29, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/antisemitism-news/anti-israel-ngos/report-levi-strauss-heir-rachel-gelman-a-major-force-behind-pro-hamas-groups/2024/05/29/
  20. Bafrayung Fund – 2022 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832811578/202343199349100304/full
  21. Israel, David. “Report: Levi Strauss Heir Rachel Gelman a Major Force Behind Pro-Hamas Groups.” Jewish Press. May 29, 2024. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/antisemitism-news/anti-israel-ngos/report-levi-strauss-heir-rachel-gelman-a-major-force-behind-pro-hamas-groups/2024/05/29/
  22. Bafrayung Fund – 2019 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832811578/202343199349100304/full
  23. Bafrayung Fund – 2020 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 16, 2024.  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832811578/202131349349102173/full
  24. Bafrayung Fund – 2021 990. ProPublica. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832811578/202223209349100612/full
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