The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today welcomed a recent ruling by a court judge barring Kars4Kids from airing advertisements in California unless the organization discloses that donations are used in part to fund young adults’ trips to Israel and purchase property there.
SEE: Earworm Kars4Kids jingle yanked from California airwaves for false advertising
Following the lawsuit filed against the organization in 2021, the court ruled earlier this month that Kars4Kids violated California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws because they failed to disclose “that funds benefit adults and families—and that this support is contingent upon a specific religious affiliation.”
Kars4Kids reportedly sends $45 million annually to Oorah, a Jewish nonprofit that organizes gap year trips to Israel for 17- and 18-year-olds. The nonprofit also spent $16.5 million of the funds it received from Kars4Kids to purchase a building in Israel.
The court ruled that Kars4Kids must pull all noncompliant advertisements in California within 30 days, and all future ads must disclose its affiliation and geographic ties. They also may no longer include images of young children in their advertisements since several of Oorah’s programs support young adults.
In its ruling, the court wrote:
“Money cannot ‘un-donate’ a car or restore the donor’s belief that they were helping a local, needy child. When a charity generates millions annually through a ‘jingle’ that conceals its primary religious and geographic focus, it creates an unfair playing field for local California charities that are honest about their missions.”
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“Nonprofit organizations have the moral and legal responsibility to their donors to operate transparently, and yet, Kars4Kids took advantage of people’s goodwill through misleading advertisements to fund trips for young adults to Israel, an apartheid state currently committing genocide, and to buy property on illegally occupied land. We commend the court for holding this organization accountable for masking deception behind a catchy jingle.”
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Senior Communications Coordinator Madi Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com