A charity set up by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has ceased donating to a women’s Muslim group after being alerted to comments made by its founder attacking the ‘apartheid state’ of Israel.
The Archewell Foundation gave almost $30,000 (£23,000) to the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition [MMWC] in 2023, with a further donation the following year.
Its founder, Janan Najeeb, has repeated the slogan, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ which is interpreted by some as calling for the total eradication of Israel.
The Palestinian-American has also called for an end to the arming of Israel and ‘the liberation of Palestine’.
Najeeb’s brother, Ihsan Atta, has also courted controversy.
Last year, he commissioned a mural to be painted on a building he owns in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which depicted a swastika painted over the Star of David, comparing the crisis in Gaza to the Nazi holocaust.
The painting said: ‘The irony of becoming what you once hated.’
‘The swastika, to me, is equivalent to the Star of David,’ Atta told a local newspaper.
Harry and Meghan at an awards ceremony in Hollywood, California in 2024
The Duke of Sussex leaving the High Court in London last week following the start of his appeal against a legal ruling over the level of security he receives while he is in the UK
It is understood that Prince Harry and Meghan’s foundation pulled its funding on Thursday when it was alerted to a blog post written by Najeeb last year.
‘Israel’s 75-year occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza are a grave injustice,’ she wrote.
‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever!’
In a letter to Najeeb, seen by US TV station NewsNation, James Holt and Shauna Nep, of Archewell, said: ‘Janan, we’ve recently been notified of a blog post you wrote that goes against the values of the foundation.
‘As a foundation, we celebrate different perspectives and backgrounds but we have zero tolerance for hateful words, actions or propaganda.’
They said the grant had been intended to help Afghan women integrating into the Milwaukee community.
‘We remain committed to fostering partnerships that reflect and reinforce the values our foundation stands for,’ they added.
Janan Najeeb, founder of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition
News of the donations emerged as Prince Harry was accused of hypocrisy for flying to war-torn Ukraine while claiming in a High Court case that he and his family are not safe on the streets of Britain without taxpayer-funded security.
The Duke of Sussex met with met with dozens of wounded soldiers in Lviv on Thursday after two days at the High Court in London arguing that he, Meghan and their two children are not safe to come to Britain.
At least 33 people are believed to have lost their lives in bombings in the city since 2022.
Veteran royal correspondent and commentator Richard Palmer said: ‘The reaction has been uniform. People are saying “hang on he’s come over because he needs police protection because he’s not safe in the UK. But then he’s gone to a warzone in Ukraine.’
‘While the city is not on the frontline – it is getting regular bombardments so is quite a dangerous place to go.’
Harry and Meghan founded Archewell in 2020. Its ‘mission’ is ‘show up, do good.’
As well as the not-for-profit charitable arm, the couple also own Archewell Productions, which develops TV and documentary ideas, and Archewell Audio, which has produced podcasts.
