Fetterman Went to Israel on NYC Mental Health Nonprofit’s Dime

Sen John Fetterman has missed floor votes this year Back in his state of Pennsylvania he s cancelled town halls and come under fire for failing to engage with his own constituents But in March during a state work period in which senators typically engage with the people they represent he instead went on an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel thanks to the generosity of a New York City nonprofit focused on mental wellness in the international Jewish neighborhood Alongside his wife Gisele Fetterman flew first class to Israel and stayed in five-star hotels in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as part of a Fact-Finding Mission according to latest progress disclosure documents On the trip the itinerary shows he met with President Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the current state of affairs in Israel and Israel s response to the mental soundness problem following the October th terrorist attacks During that meeting Netanyahu gave Fetterman a silver beeper to commemorate Israel s attack in Lebanon which the United Nations has called a terrifying violation of international law Fetterman s three-day Israel trip which cost over was funded by Relief Guidance a New York City-based nonprofit that describes itself as dedicated to supporting the international Jewish society in overcoming the broad range of conditions related to mental illness While Fetterman has been under intense scrutiny surrounding his mental fitness and ability to do his job on the trip he was honored at a Jerusalem gala for his leadership in mental wellbeing awareness and legislative advocacy He s taken two all-expenses-paid trips to Israel but can t drive down the street and hold a town hall Since October Fetterman has been an aggressive supporter of Israel leading to mass staff resignations and even prompting specific of his donors to ask for their money back By March of this year when he went to Israel Fetterman hadn t appeared at a society event in Pennsylvania for over two months There are other senators who take trips to foreign countries but also show up in their state to do their job and to vote and do their work revealed one former staffer who spoke to The Intercept on conditions of anonymity out of fear of reprisal He s taken two all-expenses-paid trips to Israel but can t drive down the street and hold a town hall It s pretty crazy It was the first time that Relief Support had sponsored congressional expedition according to the documents But it was not Fetterman s first visit to Israel He went last June on a trip funded by the Senate Banking Committee which was focused on terror financing and combating illicit finance according to Fetterman s website According to former staffers this trip had been on the books for a while after he made promises to pro-Israel groups during his campaign But his second trip in a year is more surprising and illustrates his absolute focus on Israel former staffers say Fetterman s office and Relief Information did not respond to multiple requests for comment This January Rabbi Binyomin Babad director of Relief Guidance wrote to Fetterman inviting him and Gisele on the mission to focus on Israel s response to the mental strength dilemma following the October th terrorist attacks and the ensuing war The delegation would also engage with top Israeli policymakers and defense functionaries for a broader understanding of the national safeguard challenges Israel faces Related Meet the Secret Donors Who Fund AIPAC s Israel Trips for Congress The disclosure documents reveal that on the trip Fetterman had breakfast with lone soldiers from Pennsylvania American citizens who enlisted with the Israeli military and received a substantive briefing from the Israel Defense Forces while on a helicopter ride from Tel Aviv to Mount Hermon The documents did not specify whether Fetterman was flown to the southern slopes of the mountain in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights or to the mountain s summit in southern Syria which Israeli troops more not long ago occupied when the Assad establishment fell in December of last year Fetterman was meant to go on a tour of three military installations including a drone base and the Diamond unit headquarters the IDF s highest combat engineering unit responsible for tunnel detection and destruction in Gaza However they were all canceled due to preparation for units to return to Gaza as was a planned BBQ lunch at the Diamond unit HQ according to a document outlining changes to the pre-approved itinerary Fetterman also had a -minute meeting with Netanyahu where he received the pager and a separate meeting with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar Despite reports that Fetterman s wife Gisele was previously upset about his aggressive stance on Israel particularly the country s bombing of refugee camps in Gaza she went along with him The work of Relief Materials which had over million in revenue last year has been investigated in the past In the Moreland Commission created by New York to investigate corruption in the state stated it was probing Relief Materials for operating one small store front in which interconnected nonprofits took millions of state dollars but didn t provide services The funds certainly didn t go to improve the medical of anybody in New York City announced Moreland co-chair William Fitzpatrick at the time Who got those dollars The record discovered that much of Relief s funding came from earmarks sponsored by state lawmakers as opposed to competitive bids for contracts and questioned the quality of the services it offered Relief disputed the assertions at the time and a subsequent probe concluded that while the organization was formed by a political operative and occasionally blurred the line between its political exercises and its charitable mission it also appears to be respected by mental wellbeing professionals and it provides legitimate services to the Orthodox Jewish region Former New York Gov Andrew Cuomo abruptly shuttered the Moreland commission in The scrutiny doesn t seem to have deterred the state In Relief received half a million dollars from the New York State Office of Temporary Disability Assistance Shiya Ostreicher the founder of Relief Support who reportedly has close ties to Albany is at the nexus of a web of charities serving as director of Fitness Cubed Inc director of Kochavim Behavioral Physical condition and former vice president of Premium Soundness which lists itself as an ambulatory center with million in revenue All of these organizations have the same principal officer and two share the same address Both Ostreicher and Babad the director of Relief Guidance formerly worked with Agudath Israel a powerful umbrella organization representing the ultra-Orthodox area which has lobbied for controversial guidance bills over the last two decades It seems Fetterman is now in their circles He attended a luncheon held by Agudath in D C last year and met with the group again during their advocacy trip to push a school choice bill this April It seems like he s more the ambassador to Israel than the senator from Pennsylvania Meanwhile Fetterman has lately accused the media of weaponizing his absenteeism and mental wellbeing and disclosed he will start showing up for more votes and hearings Either way his former staffers argue that his absolute focus on Israel has overtaken his work It seems like he s more the ambassador to Israel than the senator from Pennsylvania one stated The post Fetterman Went to Israel on NYC Mental Wellbeing Nonprofit s Dime appeared first on The Intercept