In a letter dated Jan. 17, Rep. Ritchie Torres expressed his concerns to Karey Dye, president of the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, about their relationship with Manolo De Los Santos, the executive director of The People’s Forum.
Torres stated, “I am writing to express concern about a video of Manolo De Los Santos, the Co-Executive Director of The People’s Forum in New York City, calling for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish State.” Torres continued, “The genocidal nature of his rhetoric is chillingly clear: ‘When we finally deal that final blow to destroy Israel, when the state of Israel is finally destroyed and erased from history, that will be the single most important blow we can give to destroying capitalism.’ Mr. De Los Santos’ call for the destruction of Israel is especially egregious against the backdrop of October 7th, which was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.”
Torres detailed that there have been reports that the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund has given millions to The People’s Forum, an organization whose leader is openly calling for a genocide against the Jewish state, which is home to most of the world’s Jewish population. “The Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund has a moral obligation to cut ties to The People’s Forum and disassociate from any organization that incites extremism and anti-semitism. Thousands of Israelis were massacred, maimed, mutilated, abducted, raped, and tortured at the murderous hands of Hamas, which espouses the kind of genocidal ideology that The People’s Forum has been caught promoting as ‘the final blow,’ which is strikingly similar to Nazi rhetoric about a ‘final solution.’ The case for cutting ties speaks for itself.”
The video of De Los Santos surfaced on Monday, Jan. 15. De Los Santos is the executive director of The People’s Forum. According to their website, TPF is “a movement incubator for working class and marginalized communities to build unity across historic lines of division at home and abroad. We are an accessible educational and cultural space that nurtures the next generation of visionaries and organizers who believe that through collective action a new world is possible.”
According to InfluenceWatch.org, The People’s Forum operates a cafe out of its New York headquarters, promising “affordable food for all” and encouraging political meetings and “dialogue” at its “space” in hopes that such discussions will advance “community building.” The forum offers left-wing and socialist organizations the opportunity for membership so that they can collaborate on political, economic and social activism projects. It also offers groups and movements that are aligned with the forum’s “values and mission” and are not promoting “racism, sexism, or capitalism/imperialism,” the option of requesting a room at its headquarters to host discussions or meetings. The People’s Forum regularly hosts talks and speeches from prominent socialist activists, Marxist academics, and left-wing journalists. It has notably hosted Vijay Prashad, a Marxist-Leninist journalist and historian who has, using the forum’s platform, praised the Chinese Communist Party, discussed the alleged crimes of the United States and its democratic allies during the Cold War for fighting the totalitarian Soviet Union, and the history of socialist movements and what they can teach contemporary activists fighting “climate change,” “austerity,” and “the arms industry.”
InfluenceWatch.org also stated that in “fiscal year 2019, The People’s Forum reported total revenue of $15,026,419, total expenses of $3,660,180, and $17,421,642 in net assets. In 2019, The People’s Forum received $12 million through the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, a donor-advised fund provider. This was not the first time the Forum received a hefty sum in this manner: it was given $4,400,000 in 2018 and $2,500,000 in 2017 through the Philanthropy Fund.”
The New York Post on Jan. 17 reported, “TPF has been vocal about the Israel and Palestinian war since it erupted Oct. 7 following vicious and bloody attacks launched by Hamas terrorists on Israel. It’s anti-Israel agenda, calling for more marches, walk-outs, sit-ins, and other forms of direct action directed at the political offices, businesses, and workplaces that fund, invest, and collaborate with Israeli genocide and occupation. To mark Martin Luther King (MLK) Day the group, with De Los Santos at the helm, posted pictures from an anti-Israel rally demanding a permanent ceasefire.”
According to the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund’s website, GSPF is an independent not-for-profit organization. Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund (“GSPF”) is recognized as a tax-exempt public charity as described in Sections 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Contributions made to GSPF are irrevocable and final. GSPF has exclusive legal control over contributed assets and any proceeds, appreciation or earnings from such assets. GSPF has final authority with respect to all investments and grants to recipient charities.
Torres concluded his letter, “We are asking for your full and fair consideration of this matter.”
Judy Berger is a community editor of the Bronx/Westchester/Connecticut editions of The Jewish Link.
