A U.S. congressional hearing last week revealed that U.S. government aid funds had been directed to organizations with ties to Hamas and other designated terrorist groups, according to testimony presented by Gregg Raman, executive director of the Middle East Forum who recently talked with Ynet.
"The DOGE Committee is delivering on government efficiency and has been peeling back the onion when it comes to many instances of fraud, waste and abuse in U.S. budgetary spending," Roman said. "Last week's hearing specifically focused on how that fraud led to national security implications for the U.S. government and its allies, like Israel."
interview with Gregg Roman, Executive Director, Middle East Forum
(Video: Liron Sharon)
According to Roman, the issue involves two key areas. "There's money that went to Hamas-affiliated organizations and areas under Hamas control after October 7," he said. "But the second set of data goes back 15 years to the Obama administration.
“USAID, along with other elements of the State Department and the U.S. government, funded radical organizations with over $122 million going to groups that have direct ties to Al-Qaida and other organizations that are on the U.S. list of designated terrorist groups."
The findings suggest U.S. taxpayer money has been funneled to terrorist groups in Somalia and Gaza as well. "It would be like the U.S. government subsidizing Nazi Germany with the Marshall Plan before Hitler fell during World War II," Roman said. "It's unconscionable and must be dealt with immediately, which is why the hearing was held."
Roman described to Ynetnews years of attempts to obtain information through legal channels, facing resistance from multiple administrations. "We filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the U.S. government, but in some instances, we're still facing delays — even though the Trump administration promised to release the information as soon as possible."
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"We've also filed six lawsuits against the U.S. government to obtain this data. Gradually, month by month, year by year, we managed to uncover it,” he added.
He also recalled similar challenges during his time as a noncommissioned officer in Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). "We sought answers about U.S. administrations subsidizing terror-linked groups but they refused to explain and even applied political pressure to force allies to allow the funds to go through," he said.
Following Roman’s testimony, congressional lawmakers have begun pushing for immediate action. "It’s prompted members of the executive branch and Congress to seek immediate action — not just to stop this kind of funding, but also to hold those responsible accountable, potentially through civil actions and even criminal indictments," he said.
He added that discussions are underway to place organizations that received the funds on a "do-not-support" list. "This would be enforced through secondary sanctions under U.S. law," he said.
Roman also noted that efforts are being made to prevent future funding of terror-linked organizations. "I think lawmakers are working to codify it into U.S. law so that it’s not just an administrative action, but something permanent," he said.
The U.S. government has yet to respond publicly to the findings presented at the hearing.