An August 3, 2007 statement issued by the Ford Foundation labeled as “unsubstantiated and untrue” research on the foundation contained in my book Foundations of Betrayal: How the Liberal Super Rich Undermine America.

The Ford pronouncement is reproduced below in its entirety, and addresses nothing raised in my book. It refuses to address, or apologize for, my specific research:

* The foundation was the prime underwriter between 2001 and 2002 of the United Nations World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa described at the time by columnist George Will as “a United Nations orgy of hate” against the United States. I quote Ford official Bradford K. Smith saying the conference goals “have been at the core of the Ford Foundation’s mission since its inception.”
* During 2001-2003 Ford gave $350,000 to the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. The online DiscovertheNetworks.org notes that the Center’s specialty is disrupting Israeli army anti-terrorism missions and lending material support, through association with the International Solidarity Movement, to Palestinian suicide bombers.
* A non-profit recipient of Ford largesse– the Palestinian Committee for the Protection of Human Rights– was involved in a highly-publicized corruption probe after complaints from donors including, to its credit, the Ford Foundation
* The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) made headlines by rejecting money from the Ford Foundation, saying it wanted to ensure that none of the grants would underwrite terrorism. Other questionable grants went to anti-American organizations listed in my book.
* Ford provided the original seed money for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and La Raza (“The Race”). It continues to massively fund these radical Hispanic groups, which among other things agitate for “civil rights” and amnesty for the millions of illegal aliens who have snuck across our border since the late 1960s.

The Ford statement refuses to address these examples of its extremist grant-making. Its statement didn’t even bother to repeat the admission it made to U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler regarding the hate-filled Durban conference: “We now recognize that we did not have a complete picture of the activities, organizations and people involved.”

The good news is that Ford has announced that its president Susan Berresford is leaving next year. Is it too much too hope that the foundation’s radical agenda will disappear with her?

Phil Kent August 9, 2007

Ford Foundation’s Statement
3 August 2007 – Viewers to a recent edition of the Lou Dobbs program on CNN may have been concerned by unsubstantiated statements about the Ford Foundation made by author Phil Kent. His view that the foundation is un-American and that it supports terrorism is completely untrue and irresponsible.

We’d like to set the record straight: For more than 50 years the Ford Foundation has created opportunities for people to live freer, better, more prosperous lives. Among many other initiatives in our seventy-year history, we funded the legal foundations of the civil rights movement, the renewal of urban neighborhoods across the country, the green revolution that modernized agriculture in poor countries, and the fight against Apartheid. Today, we are the largest funder of efforts to help low-income families become homeowners, savers, and small business owners. Our grantees express core American values of fairness and respect for the dignity and worth of every human being.

The Ford Foundation would never support groups or organizations involved in violence or terrorism and there is no evidence to the contrary. The work of our grantees in the midst of conflict is aimed at building greater respect for democratic values, human rights, and peace.

The mission that underlies our work is clear, compelling and consistent: We seek to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. These values guide every grant we make – in the United States, in the Middle East, and around the world.

Mr. Kent does a considerable disservice to the thousands of courageous grantees who throughout the years have worked to create something better for us all.