Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation withdraws support from Janan Najeeb’s nonprofit, citing hate speech and extremist imagery.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation just cut ties with a Milwaukee nonprofit tied to Janan Najeeb, citing hate speech and extremist imagery — including a swastika-Star of David mural and pro-Hamas slogans. Critics are asking how her coalition exploded from 10 to 85 groups in under a year — and who’s paying for it.
Just one day after October 7, 2023, at a rally in Milwaukee, Janan Najeeb stood before a crowd, introducing herself as the founder of the newly formed “Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine.” She announced its creation had occurred just 24 hours earlier, on October 8, in collaboration with around ten statewide organizations.
Since then, the coalition has expanded to include 85 affiliated groups — a staggering rate of growth that has raised eyebrows and prompted questions from critics.
“Less than 24 hours after a massacre? It is almost like some people knew… How does one expand all over the state in less than a year into 85 organizations? Who is funding this?” investigative journalist Angela Van Der Pluym posted on X, formerly Twitter.
This week, a key funding source for one of Najeeb’s affiliated nonprofits abruptly cut ties. The Archewell Foundation — the charitable arm of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — announced it would no longer support the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition (MMWC), a group Najeeb leads as president. The MMWC was a founding member of the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, according to a press release issued by the coalition just two days after the Hamas attacks.
In a statement dated April 18, Archewell cited “hate speech” concerns, pointing to an op-ed Najeeb authored in the Wisconsin Muslim Journal, where she serves as editor-in-chief. The article included the phrase “from the river to the sea,” a slogan widely associated with Hamas and interpreted by many as calling for the elimination of the state of Israel.
Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the October 7 attack, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and its allies. Its founding charter openly calls for Israel’s destruction.
Archewell’s concerns did not stop at the op-ed. The foundation also cited Najeeb’s appearance at a 2024 event where a mural—created by her brother, Ihsan Atta—featured a swastika merged with the Star of David, a symbol condemned by many as equating Judaism with Nazism.
Further scrutiny of the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine’s social media accounts reveals inflammatory content, including blood-spattered images of the Israeli and American flags alongside captions accusing the U.S. of supporting a “terrorist state.”
Following Archewell’s funding withdrawal, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) rushed to Najeeb’s defense. CAIR-Chicago’s executive director, Ahmed Rehab, publicly condemned Archewell’s move and launched a fundraising campaign to replace the lost support for what is now called the “Muslim Women’s Coalition.”
CAIR’s involvement has drawn additional scrutiny due to its own controversial history. During the 2007 federal trial against the Holy Land Foundation — convicted of funneling money to Hamas — CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator based on evidence linking its leaders to the terror group. In 2014, the United Arab Emirates went even further, designating CAIR a terrorist organization over ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
As the coalition continues to expand its influence across Wisconsin, questions about its origins, affiliations, and funding are mounting. The speed of its formation, the language it amplifies, and the groups backing it are now at the center of a growing national debate over extremism, free speech, and the boundaries of political advocacy.