In recent weeks, acting on the order of Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara, the Israel Tax Authority has begun proceedings to revoke Section 46 tax-deductible donation approvals from dozens of yeshivos and Torah institutions whose students are subject to military conscription and have not regularized their status with the military.

Meanwhile, an investigation by Kikar H’Shabbat found that while the Tax Authority is taking action against Torah institutions, it has not taken similar steps against organizations that have expressed solidarity with an organization designated as a terrorist organization in Israel and that continue to enjoy Section 46 tax-deductible status under the Income Tax Ordinance.

For example, the Physicians for Human Rights and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) organizations, both of which hold Section 46 approval, published statements last year expressing solidarity with the Al-Haq Palestinian organization, which was designated a terrorist organization by Israel’s defense minister in 2021 after it was determined to have ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization. That designation remains in effect today.

The United States later imposed sanctions on Al-Haq, along with two other Palestinian organizations. Following the announcement about the sanctions, Physicians for Human Rights issued a statement saying: “We stand in full solidarity with our colleagues and partners working for human rights between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. We will not surrender to intimidation or threats.”

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel also issued a statement describing the U.S. sanctions against Al-Haq as “an illegitimate, disgraceful, and unlawful campaign of delegitimization,” adding that it “stands in solidarity with the Palestinian organizations, our partners in this shared path.”

In July 2025, Physicians for Human Rights published a report titled Genocide in Gaza, which argued that Israel was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and had systematically targeted the healthcare system. The report was distributed primarily in English in an effort to influence international public opinion during the war.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has also been involved in numerous petitions and legal proceedings concerning Israeli policy during the war, including petitions regarding the detention conditions of terrorists, including Nukhba terrorists. The organization also called for Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth to face criminal prosecution.

In addition, both organizations have provided legal representation to security detainees and prisoners for years. According to various sources, Physicians for Human Rights has also led legal efforts on behalf of medical personnel from Gaza who were detained during the war.

Another organization that enjoys Section 46 approval is the Yaffo Theater, which in recent years has held productions by Einat Weizman. The legal adviser to the Ministry of Finance determined that two of Weizman’s productions conveyed messages constituting support for terrorism.

About two months ago, the theater staged another of Weizman’s productions dealing with allegations of starvation in the Gaza Strip. In a social media post, she wrote that Israel is deliberately starving Gaza’s residents and described it as “a deliberate policy of using food as a means of control.”

In addition to its Section 46 status, the Yaffo Theater is expected to receive more than half a million shekels in funding from the Ministry of Culture in 2026, despite the provisions of Israel’s Nakba Law, which allows state funding to be withheld in certain cases from organizations whose activities include incitement to violence or terrorism, or denial of Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state.

Finance Committee Chairman MK Chanoch Dov Milwidsky told Kikar: “I truly look forward to the day when the legal establishment examines left-wing organizations that support terrorism in the same way it examines and acts against institutions of the Torah world. I have no illusions that this will happen anytime soon.”

According to Milwidsky, the Tax Authority is also conducting a review of the organizations mentioned, although no further details can be disclosed at this stage.

He added that because the Knesset is currently in recess, it is not possible to hold a dedicated Finance Committee hearing on the matter without broad agreement, which he believes will not be achieved. However, he said that during a future discussion concerning Section 46 approvals for nonprofit organizations, it may be possible to require the Tax Authority to respond to allegations of unequal enforcement.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)