Just hours after Israel and the United States launched military strikes against Iran, anti-war demonstrations were underway in North America and beyond. On Saturday afternoon, protestors – many of them wearing kaffiyehs, carrying Palestinian flags and placards against the war – marched in Washington, D.C. Within two days, similar protests were organized in several additional cities.

While these demonstrations may appear at first glance to be spontaneous anti-war protests, they are, in fact, part of a well-organized, well-funded and coordinated campaign. In recent years, several journalistic investigations, as well as hearings in the U.S. Congress, have revealed the sophisticated financial system that funds organizations which oppose Israel and U.S. foreign policy. These organizations, according to a Shomrim investigation, are now operating as one against the war in Iran.

At the heart of these organizations is Neville Roy Singham, a 72-year-old American tech businessman who now lives in Shanghai. According to a report in the New York Times, Singham uses a network of philanthropic organizations and companies in the United States to spend millions of dollars supporting far-left groups and media outlets – many of which echo views that suit Beijing’s interests. The investigation alleges that Singham works in coordination with the Chinese state propaganda efforts and has participated in Communist Party workshops and that he shares his Shanghai office with a company that promotes pro-Chinese content. In response to the investigation, Singham denied working for the Chinese government.

Now, according to a Shomrim investigation, Singham’s name has been linked to three of the organizations behind many of the current protests against Israel, the United States and the war on Iran: Code Pink, a feminist anti-war and human rights organization based in the U.S.; the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition, an umbrella group of antiwar and civil rights organizations; and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. 

Despite all three of these groups purporting to advocate for human rights, none of them had a word to say about the slaughter of Iranian protestors by the regime just a few weeks ago. They were similarly silent in 2022, when Mahsa Amini was murdered by the regime after she was arrested for not wearing a hijab and beaten by the religious morality police. Likewise, none of these organizations has ever said a word of criticism against the Chinese government or its policies.

Israel, however, appears to be at the center of many of their campaigns. In recent years, they have regularly protested what they describe as the “genocide” Israel is allegedly committing, as well as Israeli military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. They have also demonstrated against U.S. President Donald Trump and many of his policies and actions, including the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

The New York Times investigation detailed exactly how Singham’s funding directly influenced the rhetoric of some political organizations in the United States. According to the report, Singham’s network also funded digital platforms such as Breakthrough News, which, along with other outlets, echoed Chinese and anti-American propaganda in the guise of independent journalism or progressive activism.

How Code Pink changed color:

From calling out human rights violations to defending the Chinese regime

This influence is perhaps best felt with Code Pink. The founder of Code Pink, Jodie Evans, married Singham in 2017 and he became one of the largest donors to the organization she led. According to the New York Times investigation, bodies linked to Singham have donated more than $1.4 million to Code Pink since 2017 – which makes up more than a quarter of its budget.

The New York Times also discovered that, after it started receiving donations from Singham, Code Pink underwent something of a change: it moved from being highly critical of human rights violations by the Chinese government to actively defending Beijing, including denying the persecution of the Uyghur minority and portraying China as a positive model, free of exploitation and conflict. At the same time, Evans also began speaking out on behalf of Iran. Her account on X includes posts calling for the removal of sanctions against Islamic Republic, but barely mentions the same regime’s repression of women. In 2019, Code Pink members even visited Iran, meeting with then foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Evans did not respond to the New York Times’ requests for comment.

Last year, Jennifer Baker – a senior research fellow from George Washington University – published a report into the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on pro-Palestinian organizations in the United States. Singham’s name is mentioned several times in the report. One of the organizations mentioned as part of the network he established is the Progress Unity Fund (PUF), which is used to funnel funds to other groups. The ANSWER Coalition, an anti-Israel organization which organizes anti-war demonstrations, operates thanks to funding from the PUF.

According to a Shomrim analysis, in 2024 alone the group received more than $250,000 to organize protests against Israel across the United States, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it received via the PUF in recent years.

ANSWER also has ties to the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which has been instrumental in organizing protests against the war in Iran in the past several days. The party’s Instagram account, which has more than 250,000 followers, is full of images from protestors chanting against the U.S. and Israel. The structural and ideological connection between ANSWER and the PSL is particularly evident when it comes to their shared leadership: Brian Becker, the national coordinator of ANSWER, is also one of the founders and central organizers of the PSL.

Becker openly says that his party does “a great deal of work through […] the ANSWER Coalition.” At the same time, there is a lot of overlap between the two bodies: the ANSWER Coalition and PUF operated from the same address in San Francisco – an address that was also used on more than one occasion by the PSL. In practice, the ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation are closely aligned in leading the protests.

The messaging of these groups is given significant online echoing by Breakthrough News – the platform which receives generous funding from Singham. The outlet’s X account, which has almost 200,000 followers, was inundated this week with images and videos from anti-war protests, along with other pro-Iranian content.

Concern in America: 

Congressman: These groups are stirring up antisemitism and spreading chaos

Even before the current war and its accompanying protests, revelations about the influence of foreign wealth in funding anti-American and anti-Israeli organizations led to a series of measures by the U.S. Congress. Last month, the House Ways and Means Committee held a special discussion about foreign influence over nonprofit organizations to promote foreign interests. Singham’s network of donor groups was a key part of the discussion, and was accused of being one of the players responsible for fueling antisemitism, spreading chaos and interfering with U.S. elections.

Subsequently, the committee asked the Treasury Department and IRS to consider revoking the tax-exempt status for almost a dozen non-profits, including Code Pink and the ANSWER Coalition. Even before that, in October 2024, the House Natural Resources Committee demanded that ANSWER disclose documents regarding its funding sources, following a protest at a Washington D.C.’s train station in July of that year that escalated into a riot involving the vandalism of monuments, attacks on police officers and the burning of flags.

Members of the committee expressed their concern over links between the ANSWER Coalition and elements supported by Iran and Hamas, as well as the alleged funding through Singham’s network. They warned that the organization could face prosecution under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). Senior members of Congress also called on the Justice Department to act. In July 2024, Senators Lindsay Graham and Marco Rubio – who is now Secretary of State – wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking for an update on investigations into possible violations by far-left organizations. In November 2025, Senator Tom Cotton asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into Code Pink, noting that, after receiving $1.4 million in donations from Singham, the organization began defending China.

In the meantime, no action has been taken against Singham and his network continues to fund these organizations. Shomrim asked Code Pink and the ANSWER Coalition about their relationship with Singham, how much money they have received from organizations linked to his network and why they have not been critical of the Iranian regime. Their response had not been received by the time of publication.