Richard Silverstein has an article on a credit card company, HAS Advantage which advertises that it contributes to radical and terrorist organizations, including amongst them: All4Israel, Gush Etzion Foundation, Jewish National Fund and American Friends of LIBI (IDF). I would echo Silverstein’s call to stay clear of this company. (hat tip: Dima)
Israeli Affinity Credit Cards Support Settlements, IDF
I just added a Google Adsense adblock to the blog post I wrote about Israel’s Haitian relief effort. To my shock, the very first ad that displayed was this one. HAS Advantage apparently is a patriotic Israeli credit card marketer which signs up Israeli “charities” which benefit from every customer who signs up for one of the cards. I reviewed the list of charity recipients. Some were hospitals, emergency medical personnel, and anti-poverty groups. That’s commendable. But as you can see from the accompanying ad, Honest Reporting, the Israel advocacy media outfit is a beneficiary as are the following pro-Israel, pro-settlement, anti-Arab terror outfits: All4Israel, Gush Etzion Foundation, Jewish National Fund and American Friends of LIBI (IDF). Apparently, HAS doesn’t believe in things like peace, human rights or co-existence between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Otherwise, some fine Israeli NGOs would be featured on its charity list.
I’ve written to HAS letting them know of my displeasure and asking them to enroll some peace-loving or human rights NGOs among their charity beneficiaries. In the meantime, steer clear of HAS credit card solicitations which you’ll find at Israeli media sites like Haaretz.
January 30th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
“HAS Advantage is a credit card company that advertises that it contributes a portion of each sale to anti-Arab terror groups and the IDF.”
Those last three words are unnecessary.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
I thought this site was about countering right wing websites depiction of Islam, which appear to be incorrect. This seems to go beyond that into the Arab-Israel conflict.
March 29th, 2010 at 6:17 am
Those are all perfectly legitimate charities which I support. Support of one cause does not imply disrespect for other legitimate causes. Individuals and organizations should have the freedom to focus their charity on those causes they feel are the most worthy. All4Israel supports Israelis who have been injured by Arab attacks. My support for that cause does not mean I lack compassion for the suffering of other groups, including Arabs. The Jewish National Fund works to improve the environment and ecosystem in Israel by doing such things as planting trees. I would presume that this benefits not only the Jews but also the Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, agnostic, and atheist citizens of Israel, all of whom are free to practice and espouse their own beliefs in Israel unlike the restrictive situation in most other Middle East countries. Finally, just as I give money to help United States Veterans I also donate to American Friends of LIBI (IDF) to help Israeli soldiers and veterans. I suppose I could also donate to help Canadian, French, British, and Egyptian veterans. Perhaps I will start. But I appreciate most what the American military and the IDF are doing to promote peace and security in the world though I also recognize other contributions. I have supported these three organizations separately, among others, but I did not know about the card. Now that I know about it, I plan to get one. Thank you for informing me.