Unparalleled Collusion: How Thousands of US Volunteers Committed Genocide in Gaza

As “Israel” continues its ongoing genocide in Gaza, a new investigation has revealed millions of dollars flowing from US nonprofit organizations to programs recruiting American teens to provide reinforcements to the Israeli military.

Some of these organizations are documented as supporters of specific combat brigades in the Israeli military, such as Golani and Nahal.

They provide equipment and financial assistance to foreign recruits, including those who joined the Mahal program, a special unit in the Israeli military formed in 1948.

Mahal (an acronym for Volunteers from Abroad) allows Jews from the U.S., Europe, and other countries to serve in the Israeli military for 18 to 21 months, without holding Israeli citizenship.

These efforts come amid widespread official US disregard, despite growing calls for stricter oversight of funding linked to armed conflict.

American Support

An investigation published by The Intercept on July 19 revealed a network of nonprofit organizations in the U.S. that provide direct financial and logistical support to the Israeli military.

It documented approximately 20 US nonprofit organizations, most notably Nevut, Growing Wings, Friends of the IDF, and the Bayit Brigade, operating in more than 22 states.

It found that these organizations fund programs aimed at recruiting American teenagers to fight in the Israeli military. 

It noted that this increased support has significantly increased since October 7, 2023, becoming an integral part of the Israeli war machine in the Gaza Strip.

It revealed that these organizations have spent at least $26 million since 2020 to encourage young Americans to fight in the Israeli military, including housing costs, psychological and medical treatment, military equipment, and spa treatments.

According to tax documents, 2023 was the most profitable year ever for lone soldier programs.

American nonprofit organizations awarded $8.8 million to programs for lone soldiers in 2023 alone, but the actual number is likely much higher.

They use various methods to recruit and brainwash young Americans, offering them free travel and lodging in “Israel”, as well as weeks of work on military bases, even during wartime.

They rely on religious schools, youth camps, and programs like the Israeli Boy Scouts' Garin Tzabar to instill Jewish nationalist ideas in young people.

Some American schools, such as the Frisch School in New Jersey, celebrate their graduates who have served in the Israeli military, displaying their photos in publications glorifying their military service.

These organizations publish testimonies of volunteer soldiers who are actively participating in military operations in Gaza and lead social media campaigns promoting the Israeli narrative, leveraging their influence network.

This external support for the Israeli military comes at a time when it is facing an unprecedented recruitment crisis. 

Reports indicate that nearly 100,000 reservists have refused to report for duty since the outbreak of the offensive on Gaza.

Becca Strober, a former American soldier turned anti-“Israel” activist, revealed that these programs are not merely financial support but rather a strategic tool aimed at keeping US Jewish communities emotionally connected to the Israeli Zionist project.

Recruitment Programs

According to the investigation, the lone soldiers are the cornerstone of support for these US nonprofit organizations. 

These programs target young Jewish men in the U.S. to facilitate their enlistment in the Israeli military.

It is worth noting that these recruitment programs began their first phase not after the recent Israeli war on Gaza, but rather years before that, according to reports.

The Times of Israel recently published a report claiming a surge in the number of young men and women serving as lone soldiers in the Israeli military.

The report cited Israeli military data for the March-April 2025 recruitment period, which saw 1,113 new immigrants—674 men and 459 women—slated to join (not all of them as lone soldiers, as some arrived with their families).

This represents a significant increase from previous years, when 883 new immigrants were recruited during the same period in 2024 and 799 in 2023.

Each year from 2002 to 2020, between 3,000 and 4,000 lone soldiers served in the Israeli military, with roughly a third of them from North America.

Last year, the Israeli military estimated that at least 23,000 American citizens were currently serving, a mix of individual soldiers and Americans who immigrated to “Israel” with their families.

Since October 7, 2023, approximately 7,000 Americans have joined or returned to the Israeli military.

According to tax documents reviewed by The Intercept, the most prominent US organizations supporting American volunteers who have joined the Israeli military are:

Nevut, a New York-based charity, operates on college campuses through volunteers who promote a military experience in “Israel” as a means of solidarity with the Jewish people.

It also provides logistical and medical support to recruits. For example, it recently offered a therapeutic recreation trip to Panama for veterans of the volunteer service, particularly those who fought in the recent war in Gaza.

Growing Wings, a Massachusetts-based organization dedicated to lone soldiers.

It also provides Israeli military reservists with the opportunity to visit communities and universities across North America.

Friends of the “Israel” Defense Forces (FIDF), the largest financial supporter of the lone soldiers program, supports more than 6,500 soldiers annually.

It has spent approximately $20 million since 2020, and boasts that it is the only US organization that cooperates directly with the Israeli military's top leadership.

The Bayit Brigade, an organization that operates in both the U.S. and “Israel” and helps offset the costs of living for lone soldiers.

It also provides supplies to Israeli combat units, such as the Yahalom unit, which specializes in tunnel warfare and has carried out extensive destruction operations in Gaza.

Its annual budget has increased dramatically, from $160,000 in 2022 to $1.3 million in 2023.

Collusion and Discrimination

These latest revelations come at a time when US organizations and university students are facing government crackdowns for their public support for the Palestinians.

Some pro-Palestinian organizations have been designated as national security threats, and hundreds of students have been arrested on charges of inciting violence simply for raising slogans against the Israeli occupation.

Federal law prohibits recruiting for foreign armies within US borders, but it allows donations and promotion of foreign volunteering.

The US State Department has confirmed that US citizens serving in the Israeli military are not required to register their service with the government.

However, it has emphasized that those with dual citizenship must abide by the laws of both countries, including mandatory military service.

US organizations, such as Free Jewish Voice and IfNotNow, have described the funding provided by US nonprofit organizations to the Israeli military as a recycling of colonialism under the guise of charitable work.

This funding comes at a time when human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, are describing Israeli operations in Gaza as amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In a related context, calls have increased within the US Congress to tighten oversight of nonprofit funding for entities linked to “Israel”.

Activists and legal experts have called for amending the 501(c)(3) law, a law that grants tax exemptions to nonprofit organizations that do not engage in direct political or military activities.

They demanded that the new law include a clause prohibiting the funding of any activity of a military nature outside the US.

Human rights organizations, including the Center for Constitutional Rights and J Street, have launched campaigns demanding investigations into these funds and an audit of their tax status.

A grassroots campaign has also begun calling for the withdrawal of tax exemptions from any organization that funds activities linked to the Israeli military.

Political analyst Husam al-Dajani explained to Al-Estiklal that what The Intercept's report revealed confirms that the U.S. is not only a political or military supporter of “Israel”, but a de facto partner in the war on Gaza, through charitable funding that recruits young people and legitimizes mass murder.

“US laws are being exploited to protect those who contribute to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, while the same laws are being used to punish those who speak out in support of the Palestinians,” he said.

“This is a blatant contradiction that not only reflects a double standard but also reveals a fundamental flaw in the concept of justice,” he concluded.