Three tribes who gave more than $2 million to an athletic charity created by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff ended up funding anti-Palestinian efforts in Israel, Newsweek reports.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana all made donations to the Capital Athletic Foundation. Abramoff told the tribes that the donations would impress House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas).

But rather than using the money on sports programs for disadvantaged youth in Washington, D.C., Abramoff funneled some of it to a Jewish settler who was fighting Palestinians on the West Band of Israel. Newsweek said more of the $140,000 was used for camouflage suits, sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars and other "security" equipment.

"This is almost like outer-limits bizarre," Henry Buffalo, a lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewas, told Newsweek. "The tribe would never have given money for this." The tribe gave $25,000 to the foundation.

Newsweek said the information came out of federal probes into Abramoff's dealings with his former tribal clients. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the Department of Justice are investigating Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon.

Get the Story:
Fund-Raising: Take It to the (West) Bank (Newsweek 5/2)
Lobbyist Target of Several Investigations (AP 4/24)
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