NEW YORK — The Ford Foundation has admitted its grant money funded some anti-Semitic and anti-Israel groups, and the organization vowed to institute measures to prevent future misuses of its funds.
In a Nov. 18 five-page, single-spaced letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., Ford Foundation president Susan Berresford said the foundation was “disgusted” by anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiment at the 2001 U.N. Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, which Ford had helped finance. The foundation also said it was concerned that other Ford-funded organizations have refused to certify their opposition to violent and terrorist activities.
Berresford’s letter outlined new guidelines and measures to ensure that future Ford grant recipients do not support terror. She said the foundation would add a similar provision to its standard grant agreement letter, which each grantee must sign in order to receive funds.
Berresford also said the agreement would include a provision that grantees recognize the rights of sovereign states — including Israel.
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