Christian group barred from Amazon charity program, but anti-Semitic, terrorist groups allowed in

Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent Christian legal group, is barred from participating in the Amazon Smile charitable program, the Daily Caller reported. Through the program, nonprofit organizations can recoup a small amount of what their supporters spend on Amazon.

The ADF specializes in First Amendment law and has won cases at the Supreme Court level. Although ADF cannot participate, Amazon grants access to an anti-Semitic Islamic group that has allegedly called for the killing of all Jewish people. Groups with reported ties to Middle Eastern terrorist organizations are also allowed in.

How are these decisions made?

The non-profit cannot participate because the liberal Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled it a “hate group.” Amazon’s participation agreement bars groups that promote hate or intolerance.

And the SPLC defines for Amazon what is a hate group.

“All nonprofits are eligible as long as they meet our participation agreement,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “As a part of that participation agreement, we also state that Amazon relies on the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which charities are eligible.”

Michael Farris, CEO of ADF, wrote in a letter to Amazon that he was “surprised and disappointed” to find out his group could no longer be involved. He accused Amazon of giving too much authority to the SPLC, which has a history of calling conservative groups “hate groups” and “extremists.”

What have the anti-sematic groups said?

The spokesperson declined to answer the Daily Caller News Foundation’s questions about whether it’s a conflict of interest for the SPLC be both a member of the Amazon Smile program and decide whether others can participate.

Depending on the group, the same standards do not seem to apply.

The Islamic Center of Jersey City is a participant in Amazon Smile, even though the organization's imam has called Jewish people “apes and pigs.” Further, the imam has called for Allah’s help in killing all Jews, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The Islamic Society of North America also participates in Amazon Smile. Yet a federal court ruling in 2009 stated the U.S. government found evidence that it allegedly has connections to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, the report stated. Additionally, the Islamic Society has been linked to Jamaat-e-Islami, radical Pakistani group.

Among others, a Nation of Islam affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts, is involved in Amazon Smile, according to the report. That group has blamed Jews in the media for attacks on black people such as Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby.