Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have pulled $55,700 in funding pledged to a Muslim charity over its leader’s anti-Israel statements, according to sources.
The pair had offered support to Milwaukee-based Muslim Women’s Coalition (MWC) through their Archewell charity but its founder, Janan Najeeb, said they have since withdrawn over articles she authored in two local publications.
In a Feb. 2024 opinion piece for the Wisconsin Muslim Journal, Najeeb wrote: “Israel’s 75-year occupation of Palestine and the genocide in Gaza are a grave injustice.
“We demand a permanent ceasefire, an end to arming the apartheid state of Israel and the liberation of Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, from the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s charity Archewell was set up in 2020 “to do good” for communities around the world. / SplashNews.com
A mural on a wall in Milwaukee was put up by Ihsan Atta, who is the brother of Janan Najeeb, who blasted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for withdrawing funds from her charity, which helps Afghan women refugees in the city. X.com
Last year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reported that Najeeb’s brother, Ihsan Atta, was behind a mural featuring a Nazi swastika embedded in a Star of David with the words “The irony of becoming what you once hated,” in all capital letters.
Jewish community leaders were quick to condemn the mural as “vile” and “horribly antisemitic,” according to the newspaper.
IRS records show in 2023 Archewell gave $27,960 to Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition. Archewell’s 2024 records are not yet available.
WMC works to “empower Muslim women and girls through education and outreach,” according to a statement.
Janan Najeeb, haed of the Muslim Women’s Coalition.
Archewell allegedly withdrew its support for a Milwaukee group that helps women refugees from Afghanistan. Muslim Women's Coalition/FacebookArchewell’s cash was earmarked for the Afghan Women’s Sewing Group and Support Circle, which benefits refugees from Afghanistan who have relocated to Milwaukee.
After NewsNation reached out to Archewell last week, pointing out that the “about section” of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition’s website “bragged about its work for Palestinians after the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel,” a source said to be familiar with the situation replied in defense of the Sussexes.
“As soon as the blog post was brought to our attention, we took immediate action and acted swiftly to remove MMWC from our network and communicate no additional grants would be made to MMWC,” the source told NewsNation.
Nihad Awad heads up the Council on American Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim group in the US. CAIR blasted Prince Harry and Meghan for withdrawing their support from Afghan women, according to a press release. AFP via Getty Images
A group that helps Afghan women refugees in Milwaukee has blasted Prince Harry and Meghan over their withdrawal of funds. Muslim Women's Coalition/FacebookThe pulling of the funding drew immediate criticism from The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest US Muslim group, but also a controversial one, as it has previously been accused of links to terror group Hamas, as The Post has previously reported.
CAIR published a letter to Archewell, also written by Najeeb, which accuses Harry and Meghan of “silencing women of color who speak out against injustice” and undermining their own charitable mission.
“There is painful irony in your decision to withdraw support from Afghan women, many of them war survivors, because the leader of a women’s organization dared to speak out against the creation of more war survivors,” Najeeb wrote.
Archewell did not immediately return a request for comment from The Post.
Founded in 2020, the foundation’s mission is “to do good” and “uplift communities” around the world.
