ZStreet the answer to Kapostreet was targeted by IRS

[mord]

http://news.yahoo.com/jewish-group-irs-targeted-us-because-thought-might-185213769.html   



Jewish Group: IRS Targeted Us Because ‘They Thought We Might Be Funding Terrorism’
The BlazeBy Erica Ritz | The Blaze – 16 hrs ago

    Email
    Share
    Print

More From The Blaze

    This Supercut of Eric Holder Claiming Ignorance During Wednesday’s Hearing Is Pretty Incredible
    ‘Multiple Fatalities’: Powerful Tornado Rips Through North Texas Town
    ‘Stunner’: Congressman Claims AP Phone Scandal Involved House of Reps. ‘Cloakroom’
    Two ‘Rogue’ Agents Behind IRS Scandal? There May Be Some Serious Problems With That Story

Pro Israel Jewish Group Z Street: IRS Told Us Worries About Terrorism Held Up ApplicationZ Street

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, President of Z Street, appears on "On the Record." (Photo: Fox News)

Soon after the Internal Revenue Service admitted it had been targeting conservative organizations applying for 501 (c) (4) status around the 2012 election -- though it was later discovered it had been happening since at least 2010 -- it was learned that Jewish groups had also faced similar scrutiny.

Now, we are learning that at least one group was told it was because of purported worries they were funding terrorism.

Z Street has been vocal about the treatment it received after battling with the IRS for years.  It filed a lawsuit against the government entity in 2010 alleging viewpoint discrimination after applying for 501 (c) (3) status in 2009 (processed through the same office as 501 (c) (4)).

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, president of Z Street, appeared on "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren Tuesday to explain the situation.

"After we filed our lawsuit, the IRS began having several different positions on why it was taking so long, one of which was because terrorism happens in Israel.  Therefore, they had to look into our organization, because they thought we might be funding terrorism.  We are a purely educational entity.  We didn't fund anybody; we barely funded ourselves!"

When Greta asked whether anyone in her group has been arrested for terrorism, whether their assets have ever been frozen in connection with terrorism, or whether the group has ever even been accused of promoting terrorist activity, the president incredulously replied, "No!"

If that's not enough, the group only filed the suit after their lawyer was told by the IRS that groups connected to Israel receive special scrutiny, and that some are sent to a special unit to determine whether the organization's positions contradict those of the administration's."

"At that point we knew that is classic viewpoint discrimination, and we had to [take] action," she said.

Their group has still not been approved for the 501 (c) (3) status it applied for in 2009.

Watch the entire interview, below:
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

The POLITICO did some investigating on the matter, writing:

    Legal filings show that the problems for Z Street -- and apparently for other Israel-related groups -- stemmed from an obscure unit in the Cincinnati IRS office: the "Touch and Go Group." One of the so-called TAG Group's duties was to weed out applications that might be coming from organizations which might be used to fund terrorism. In response to Z Street's lawsuit, an IRS manager acknowledged that applications mentioning Israel were getting special attention. "Israel is one of many Middle Eastern countries that have a 'higher risk of terrorism,'" wrote Jon Waddell, manager of the IRS's Exempt Organizations Determinations Group. "A referral to TAG is appropriate whenever an application mentions providing resources to organizations in a country with a higher risk of terrorism."

    A spokesman for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration declined to say Monday whether that office had reviewed the issue of scrutiny of Israel-related groups as part of the review of how the IRS handled political groups, or separately. "I don't have any information for you one way or the other on that," said the spokesman, David Barnes. [Emphasis added]

When Z Street went to court though, the government denied its views on Israel or the Obama administration had anything to do with why it was transferred to the TAG Group.

[mord]

http://zstreet.org/ 


 Hearing Date in Z STREET v IRS
Sunday, 12 May 2013 10:00
E-mail   Print   PDF   

FINALLY!  Two and a half years after filing a Complaint in federal court seeking relief from the Internal Revenue Service for viewpoint discrimination against our strongly pro-Israel organization, Z STREET has a hearing date in the District of Columbia federal district court on JULY 2, AT 2:30 P.M. Z STREET v. IRS (Douglas H. Shulman, IRS Commissioner)

MINUTE ORDER: Motion Hearing set for 7/2/2013 at 2:30 PM in Courtroom 17 before Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on [19] MOTION to Dismiss Amended Complaint filed by Defendant DOUGLAS H. SHULMAN, [33] Response to Order of the Court filed by Defendant DOUGLAS H. SHULMAN and [34] Notice of Plaintiff's Submission of Relevant District of Columbia Authority filed by Plaintiff Z STREET. The parties are directed to notify the Court, prior to the hearing, of any pertinent supplemental authority relevant to [19] MOTION to Dismiss Amended Complaint filed by Defendant DOUGLAS H. SHULMAN. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 04/30/2013. (lckbj2)

As it happens, the IRS was forced to admit that it engaged in a practice exactly like the one Z STREET complained of, (which we knew about because the IRS agent assigned to our case told us so, before she was told she couldn't say that out loud) with respect to conservative political organizations.  The IRS admitted using the terms "tea party" and "patriot" as a search in the applications and/or files of organizations in order to subject organizations with those words to a stricter review.  Classic viewpoint discrimination.  And Z STREET was told the IRS did the same with respect to "organizations connected to Israel."

Z STREET was also told by the IRS agent to whom our file was originally assigned that organizations like ours may be assigned to "a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization's activities contradict the Administration's public policies."

Below is the introduction to our Amended Complaint, which explains what happened, why it is a constitutional violation, and what Z STREET is seeking.
INTRODUCTION
A.     The plaintiff in this case, Z STREET, is a nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about Zionism; about the facts relating to the Middle East and to the existence of Israel as a Jewish State;  and about Israel’s right to refuse to negotiate with, make concessions to, or appease terrorists. Z STREET is not a grant-making organization and does not fund any organizations either within or outside the United States.
B.     Z STREET brings this case because, through its corporate counsel, Z STREET was informed explicitly by an IRS Agent on July 19, 2010, that approval of Z STREET’s application for tax-exempt status has been at least delayed, and may be denied, because of a special IRS policy in place regarding organizations in any way connected with Israel, and further that the applications of many such Israel-related organizations have been assigned to “a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization's activities contradict the Administration's public policies.” These statements by an IRS official that the IRS maintains special policies (hereinafter the “Israel Special Policy”) governing applications for tax-exempt status by organizations which deal with Israel, and which requires particularly intense scrutiny of such applications and an enhanced risk of denial if made by organizations which espouse or support positions inconsistent with the Obama administration’s Israel policies, constitute an explicit admission of the crudest form of viewpoint discrimination, and one which is both totally un-American and flatly unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
C.     Z STREET brings this case seeking a Declaratory Judgment that the Israel Special Policy violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution; and for injunctive relief barring application of the Israel Special Policy to Z STREET’s application for tax-exempt status or to similar applications by any other organization; and to compel full public disclosure regarding the origin, development, approval, substance and application of the Israel Special Policy.
D.   The United States Internal Revenue Service has defended this case by claiming that special review of Z STREET’s application for exemption from tax is necessary because Z STREET deals with Israel, and Israel is a country “with” a heightened risk of terrorism.  Plaintiff passes without comment the irony that the government claims to be investigating intensively an organization whose charter opposes terrorism, and which is devoted exclusively to speaking in support of a country victimized by terrorism, on the theory that such intensive review is necessary to prevent terrorism, because such an organization might be funding terrorism.  Plaintiff alleges that, as more fully detailed below,
- the government has never sought from Z STREET any information regarding any of the factual issues that the government claims it needs to investigate to prevent the funding of terrorism, and that
- the government has never provided to Z STREET any of the information that the government claims it is obliged to disseminate to applicants for exemption from tax, to guard against the use of tax-exempt funds to promote terror. 
E.     Indeed, although the government claims that its policies are necessary to enable the government to obtain or to provide information relating to terrorism, the government has not actually stated that it did seek any such information from Z STREET, or provide any such information to Z STREET.  And in fact the government has not done either.
F.     Although the government has neither sought from Z STREET, nor provided to Z STREET, any information relating to the funding of terrorism, the government has sought from Z STREET detailed information regarding the identity and background of Z STREET’s leadership.
G.     Because the government’s claimed justifications are totally unrelated to any information sought by, or provided by, the government as part of its intensive investigation of Z STREET, it is apparent that the justifications espoused by the government in this case are not the actual drivers of the government’s decision to investigate Z STREET intensively.
H.     This is further substantiated by the fact that, as more fully detailed below, the IRS has included in its investigation of another application for exemption from tax, submitted by a purely religious Jewish organization that is not involved with Israel or politics at all, the demand that that organization state “whether [it] supports the existence of the land of Israel” and by the requirement that the organization “[d]escribe [its] religious belief system toward the land of Israel.”
I.     Under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, a government decision about how intensively to investigate an applicant for exemption from tax cannot be made on the basis of the applicant’s political or religious views, or on the basis of whether those views are inconsistent with the positions of the administration.