2026-03-08 08:35:PM <br/> Tags: #AmericanJewry #organization ![[image-248.png|347x304]] # Maccabee Task Force (MTF) - Maccabee Task Force (MTF) is a pro-Israel advocacy organization that operates on American college campuses.[^1] - Maccabee's [self-stated](https://www.maccabeetaskforce.org/about/#:~:text=to%20combat%20the%20disturbing%20spread%20of%20Antisemitism%20on%20college%20campuses) purpose: "to combat the disturbing spread of Antisemitism on college campuses." #### Founding - MTF was the product of a 2015 conference hosted by [[Sheldon Adelson]] at his Venetian casino in Las Vegas called "Campus Maccabees Summit."[^3] - The conference's primary organizer and "point man" alongside Adelson was [[Rabbi Shmuley Boteach]]. - The only media organization allowed at the event was Sheldon Adelson's very own [[Israel Hayom]] newspaper.[^4] - The conference hosted a number of Jewish organizations and mega donors for the purpose of coordinating their opposition to pro-Palestine campus activism and the BDS movement. - Organizations invited to Adelson's conference included: [[Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA)]], [[Birthright Israel]], [[Christians United For Israel (CUFI)]], [[Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)]], [[Washington Free Beacon]], [[StandWithUs (SWU)]], [[Middle East Forum]], [[Hillel International]], [[ADL]], [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)]], etc. - Donors present at the conference included: [[Sheldon Adelson]], [[Haim Saban]], [[Adam Milstein]].[^4] - Saban, a Jewish Democrat megadonor, [explained](https://web.archive.org/web/20150611145714/http://forward.com/news/israel/309676/secret-sheldon-adelson-summit-raises-up-to-50m-for-strident-anti-bds-push/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWhen%20it%20comes%20to%20Israel%20we%E2%80%99re%20absolutely%20on%20the%20same%20page.%20Our%20interest%20is%20to%20take%20care%20of%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20interest%20in%20the%20United%20States.%20Period.%20Over%20and%20out%2C%E2%80%9D%20Saban%20declared%20during%20the%20Channel%202%20interview.) his partnership with [[Sheldon Adelson]], a Jewish Republican megadonor: "When it comes to Israel we’re absolutely on the same page. Our interest is to take care of Israel’s interest in the United States. Period. Over and out." *Notice they aren't working for American interest in Israel, but instead on behalf of Israeli interest in the United States. Should figures like this be allowed to influence American politics and fund networks of organizations for the sole benefit of a foreign country?* - The conference took place in part on Saturday, June 6, 2015. Saturday is the Jewish shabbat. - Beforehand, conference attendees were [assured via email](https://forward.com/news/309413/sheldon-adelson-bds-campaign-campus-vegas/#:~:text=are%20hiring%20a-,Goy%20of%20Shabbat,-to%20change%20slides) that "We are hiring a Goy of Shabbat to change slides for Jewish presenters." *A "Goy of Shabbat" also known as a shabbos goy, is a non-Jew who completes tasks for Jews while they observe shabbat.* - In 2015, [[David Brog]] was appointed as MTF's first director.[^6] - Brog still holds this position.[^5] #### Activities - In 2018, MTF partnered with the [[Israeli-American Council]] and the Israeli Reichman University (formerly IDC Herzliya) to found an app called [[Act.IL]].[^19] - The Act.IL app was a 'crowdsourced cancellation' app dedicated to defeating the "disease of antisemitism" by leveraging "open-source intelligence solutions."[^20] - The app directed users to swarm "antisemitic" and anti-Israel social media posts with reports in the hopes that the posts and those posting them would be taken down. - The app directed users to the websites of businesses that criticized Israel, prompting mass negative reviews. - MTF boasts of sending "over 5,000 of the most critical student leaders & influencers in the nation on 10-day fact-finding missions to Israel."[^2] - MTF, operating in conjunction with university [[Hillel International|Hillel]] chapters, "map out" campuses and identify ~20 Israel-critical student leaders at each university. - MTF then offers these Israel-critical students free trips to Israel. - MTF and Hillel closely monitor students after they return from these highly curated trips to Israel.[^21] - MTF reports a near 100% success rate in changing the minds of students who accept their free Israel trip. - According to MTF, 50% become slightly less critical of Israel, 40% will help to fight BDS, and 10% will go all the way and become pro-Israel activists. - MTF funds dozens of pro-Israel Jewish organizations including:[^8][^9][^10][^11][^12][^13][^14][^15][^16][^17] - [[Hasbara Fellowships]] - $100,000 - [[Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA)]] - $100,000 - [[David Horowitz Freedom Center]] - $100,000 - [[Christians United For Israel (CUFI)]] - $150,000 - [[PragerU]] - $550,000 - [[Students Supporting Israel]] - $1,044,942 - [[The Lawfare Project]] - $100,000 - [[Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)]] - $75,000 - [[Chabad On Campus]] - $2,359,595 - Various [[Hillel International]] chapters - Millions - Various [[Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)|Jewish Federations]] - Millions - [[World Jewish Congress]] - $105,000 - American Friends of [[Chabad Lubavitch|Lubavitch]] - $12,000 - [[Israeli-American Council]] - $79,968 - [[Algemeiner Journal]] - $356,889 #### Funding and Donors - MTF's principle benefactor has, since its founding, been the Adelson family.[^18] - [[Sheldon Adelson|Sheldon]] and [[Miriam Adelson]] have poured tens of millions into MTF since 2015. - Reportedly, the Adelsons gave around $70 million to the organization from 2015-2025.[^7] - [[Haim Saban]] and [[Adam Milstein]] served as initial co-funders with the Adelsons.[^4] #### Notable Figures - [[Sheldon Adelson]] - Founder - [[Miriam Adelson]] - Founder and current president[^7] *Prior to Sheldon Adelson's death in 2021, Miriam was listed as "secretary" and Sheldon as president.* - [[David Brog]] - Director since 2015. - MTF lists eleven figures on its "Senior Staff" page including:[^5] *One of the eleven listed figures is David Brog. Of the other ten, at least 4 are Israelis who served in the IDF.* - Sgula Dershowitz - Born in Israel. - served in the Israeli military. - Worked for the [[Jewish Agency]] on U.S. college campuses. - Worked for [[StandWithUs (SWU)]]. - As stated in her MTF biography, Dershowitz "continues to work on behalf of Israel" at MTF. - Edaan Goldstein - Took a [[Birthright Israel]] trip to Israel and then stayed in Israel to work for the [[Jewish Agency]]. - Returned to the U.S. to "recruit students" to work for Israel. - Oti Friedlander - Born in Israel. - Moved to the U.S. as a child. - Moved back to Israel at age 17 to fight in the Israeli Defense Forces. - Stayed in Israel and worked for the [[Act.IL]] app at Reichman University. - Moved back to the U.S. and began working for Maccabee. - Omri Einav - Born in Israel. - Served in the IDF. - Worked for the [[Jewish Agency]] on U.S. college campuses. - Enrico Ravenna - Born in Israel. - Served Israeli military intelligence. - Moved to the United States and began teaching IDF self defense (Krav Maga) to Jews. - Worked for the [[Israeli-American Council]]. #### References [^1]: “Maccabee Task Force,” Wikipedia, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maccabee_Task_Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maccabee_Task_Force). [^2]: “Maccabee Task Force,” Maccabee Task Force, [https://www.maccabeetaskforce.org/](https://www.maccabeetaskforce.org/). [^3]: Nathan Guttman, “Will Sheldon Adelson’s Push To Fund Anti-BDS Campaign Backfire on Campus?,” _The Forward_, June 4, 2015, [https://forward.com/news/309413/sheldon-adelson-bds-campaign-campus-vegas/](https://forward.com/news/309413/sheldon-adelson-bds-campaign-campus-vegas/). [^4]: Nathan Guttman, “Secret Sheldon Adelson Summit Raises up to $50M for Strident Anti-BDS Push,” _The Forward_, June 9, 2015, Internet Archive, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150611145714/https://forward.com/news/israel/309676/secret-sheldon-adelson-summit-raises-up-to-50m-for-strident-anti-bds-push](https://web.archive.org/web/20150611145714/https://forward.com/news/israel/309676/secret-sheldon-adelson-summit-raises-up-to-50m-for-strident-anti-bds-push). [^5]: “About MTF,” Maccabee Task Force, [https://www.maccabeetaskforce.org/about/](https://www.maccabeetaskforce.org/about/). [^6]: Nathan Guttman, “Leader of Christian Zionists Named Head of Campus Anti-BDS Group,” _The Forward_, July 8, 2015, [https://forward.com/news/311662/leader-of-christian-zionists-named-head-of-adelson-campus-anti-bds-group/](https://forward.com/news/311662/leader-of-christian-zionists-named-head-of-adelson-campus-anti-bds-group/). [^7]: Eli Clifton, “The Israeli-American Trump Mega-Donor Behind Speech Crackdowns,” *Responsible Statecraft*, March 18, 2025, [https://responsiblestatecraft.org/miriam-adelson-trump/](https://responsiblestatecraft.org/miriam-adelson-trump/). [^8]: Maccabee Task Force, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2024, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202543179349100839/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202543179349100839/full). [^9]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2015, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201602289349304570/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201602289349304570/full). [^10]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2016, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201702979349300200/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201702979349300200/full). [^11]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2017, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201842699349301204/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201842699349301204/full). [^12]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2018, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201903119349300410/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/201903119349300410/full). [^13]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2019, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202012329349301411/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202012329349301411/full). [^14]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2020, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202143159349103024/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202143159349103024/full). [^15]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990 for fiscal year ending December 2021, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202213149349102671/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202213149349102671/full). [^16]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990-PF for fiscal year ending December 2022, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202333069349100448/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202333069349100448/full). [^17]: Maccabee Task Force Foundation, Form 990-PF for fiscal year ending December 2023, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202403149349100605/full](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/474908810/202403149349100605/full). [^18]: “Maccabee Task Force Foundation,” *Cause IQ*, [https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/maccabee-task-force-foundation,474908810/#:~:text=General%20Charitable%20Purposes-,%249%2C990%2C542,-Foundation%20for%20American](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/maccabee-task-force-foundation,474908810/#:~:text=General%20Charitable%20Purposes-,%249%2C990%2C542,-Foundation%20for%20American). [^19]: “Act.IL,” Wikipedia, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act.IL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act.IL). [^20]: “Act-IL Initiative,” Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, *Reichman University* [https://www.abbaeban.runi.ac.il/act-il](https://www.abbaeban.runi.ac.il/act-il). [^21]: Judah Ari Gross, “Looking to Bring on New Funders, Maccabee Task Force Scales Back and Focuses on Key Campuses, Social Media Influencers,” _eJewishPhilanthropy_, March 24, 2023, Internet Archive, [https://web.archive.org/web/20230324110353/https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/looking-to-bring-on-new-funders-maccabee-task-force-scales-back-and-focuses-on-key-campuses-social-media-influencers/](https://web.archive.org/web/20230324110353/https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/looking-to-bring-on-new-funders-maccabee-task-force-scales-back-and-focuses-on-key-campuses-social-media-influencers/).