A California-based children's charity, the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), which receives funding from billionaire George Soros and is linked to groups financed by tech millionaire Neville Singham, is reportedly tied to a US-designated terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). This assertion comes from a new report by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI).
MECA, which provides humanitarian aid to children in the Middle East, has been described in the NCRI report as a significant fundraising vehicle within the pro-Palestinian activist community since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. The report claims that MECA's grant reporting has become less transparent as its foreign payouts increased significantly.
Between 2017 and 2025, MECA disbursed approximately $35 million in foreign grants, according to its tax filings. The NCRI report alleges that some of these funds were directed to groups such as the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, both based in the West Bank. Israel has designated both UHWC and UAWC as terror organizations and accused them of funneling money to the PFLP, claims that the groups have denied.
Mona El-Farra, who has overseen MECA’s humanitarian projects in Gaza, previously served as deputy director of UHWC, which the NCRI report identifies as a PFLP "civil society" affiliate. The report suggests this overlap indicates an interconnected structure between the organizations.
George Soros's Open Society Foundations provided MECA with a total of $900,000 between 2017 and 2024. Neville Singham's New York-based People's Forum also gave MECA $16,420 in 2024. Singham has faced scrutiny from the House Ways and Means Committee, which subpoenaed three nonprofits connected to him over concerns about financial disclosures. The Department of Justice has also reportedly opened an investigation into Singham's dealings.
MECA was also a founding committee member of the ANSWER Coalition, described as a Marxist-Leninist antiwar group established after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The ANSWER Coalition organized many pro-Hamas protests in the U.S. following the Oct. 7 attacks. MECA had previously paid ANSWER $1,000 for a stage rental in 2004, according to public filings. The report also claims that ANSWER was involved in the creation of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which is reportedly bankrolled by Singham and also conducts fundraising for MECA.
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters and activist academic Noam Chomsky are listed on MECA's advisory board. Maya Angelou, the late poet and civil rights activist, was also previously on the board. MECA and representatives for Soros did not respond to requests for comment.