Members of The Restored Israel of YAHWEH Facing
Jail for
Refusing to Pay for War
On Wednesday, December 15, 2004, after
a six year investigation, a five day trial and four hours of deliberation by a
jury, three members of The Restored Israel of YAHWEH were found guilty in
federal district court of various charges related to the non-payment of federal
income tax.
Because we know that federal income tax pays for war
and the Almighty GOD clearly states "thou shalt not kill," we cannot
in good conscience pay a tax that we know goes to kill and fight against other
people whose lives were also given to them by YAHWEH, people who Yahshua the
Messiah gave his life for. The Restored Israel of YAHWEH understands the
heinous crimes being committed in all the earth. We understand the
atrocities being committed under the guise of democracy and freedom and often in
the name of GOD and we must separate ourselves from this. This stand has
been taken in our organization since 1948 when our founder, mentor and spiritual
leader, Leo J. Volpe, after much research, stopped paying federal income tax
because he did not want the blood of those killed in warfare on his hands.
The u.s. tax laws violate YAHWEH’S laws and must therefore be considered
void. "The laws of YAHWEH are supreme laws that every man must be
bound by. They are permanent and everlasting" (Leo J. Volpe,
1983). (To learn more about the history of federal income tax and what it
is used for, follow the link federal income tax
pays for war.)
This guilty verdict is, in reality, an indictment of
the u.s. government and its laws. The u.s. is guilty of placing man’s
laws above GOD’S laws. They claim to be one nation under GOD; they claim
to have freedom of religion; they claim that they will make no law respecting
the establishment of religion. But when it comes to collecting money for
war, freedom of religion goes out the window. In the same court where
witnesses are asked to swear on a Bible, our sincerely held, firm religious
convictions were used against us as evidence of our guilt, evidence of a
conspiracy, but they were not accepted, nor could they even be offered as a
defense or a legitimate reason for not paying this GODless war tax. This
is not freedom of religion; this is not justice or morality.
The indictment returned against these three members of
The Restored Israel of YAHWEH was based on false testimony to a grand
jury. It was brought about by and based on testimony from disgruntled
former members of our religious society, members who were removed from our
society for a long course of the most unscrupulous, immoral and deviant
behavior. If the actions which some of these members had confessed to been
prosecuted, it would have resulted in jail terms. These people have long
harbored unjustified grudges against our society and we have had to use legal
means to prevent them from harassing us over the years, even so far as bringing
one of them to court for sending threatening letters. The i.r.s agent in
charge of the case, Paula Lipski, hugged one of these former members who was
attending the trial, celebrating the guilty verdict with him. The
relationship between Paula Lipski and these former members looked very friendly
and personal. It was far less than professional. Paula Lipski,
during her investigation, heard nothing but good from everyone who had dealings
with McKee Donato and from other former members of The Restored Israel of
YAHWEH, but she chose to align herself with these people who harbor such ill
will toward a peaceful, benevolent people. Why? Current members of
The Restored Israel of YAHWEH were never even questioned during the
investigation, but testimony was elicited from a member who has not been a part
of The Restored Israel of YAHWEH for nearly twenty-five years.
One argument used against these members is that they
did not withhold federal income tax and FICA taxes from employees who were
members of The Restored Israel of YAHWEH. This was done at the request of
these employees. It was their personal choice and their religious beliefs
were respected by McKee Donato Construction, just as the Quakers have, in
certain cases, not withheld taxes for their employees who were also Quakers and
who chose not to pay the federal income war tax. It is true that the FICA
tax pays for social security and Medicare and not for war. The Restored
Israel of YAHWEH would like to be able to pay these particular taxes, but
legally there is no way to separate them from the federal income tax. If
there were a way to pay this without paying for war, we would gladly do
it. As things stand, we are not able to pay this tax, nor would we be able
to collect from it.
This federal income war tax is one of the most unjust,
unfair taxes ever instituted. People are forced to pay for a
"service" that violates their conscience. An unfair burden is
placed on those who can least afford it. Sixty-three percent of
corporations paid no income tax at all in 2000, but in court this fact was
portrayed as having nothing to do with income tax paying for war—as though our
stating this fact makes our stand somehow less sincere. Also in court, the
state tax was mentioned as not paying for war, but in truth a portion of the
state tax is used to pay for the national guard. The Restored Israel of
YAHWEH and its members were portrayed as greedy and just wanting to keep the tax
money, but in fact our religious society has paid thousands and thousands of
dollars in property taxes that we could have avoided by seeking tax exempt
status as a non-profit religious organization, but we chose not to do this.
The u.s. is supposedly fighting a war in iraq to bring
freedoms guaranteed in the u.s. to the people of iraq, yet right here in the
u.s. YAHWEH’S True people are being attacked and their freedom of religion is
being trampled on.
Is it right to force a person to violate their
conscience and their strong religious convictions by forcing them to pay for
war? Is this the moral and righteous course that should be taken in this
nation? Should a person be sent to prison for their obedience to the laws
of the Almighty GOD?
We are sincere, peaceful people, devoted to following
the will of the Almighty GOD, YAHWEH. We are doing our best to live our
lives, preach the gospel of YAHWEH’S Kingdom and be obedient servants to our
GOD. We are standing up for what we truly believe and we are made out to
be criminals and are facing jail. Our commitment to not finance war will
not be swayed by this conviction. We will continue to take a firm stand in
our belief not to participate in any killing that is taking place throughout the
world, past, present and future, where women, children and entire families alike
are pulled from their homes, torn from their families, where all human dignity
is taken from them, to die only a senseless death. This conduct is an
outrage to The Restored Israel of YAHWEH, to all GOD-fearing people, and to our
Loving, Almighty FATHER YAHWEH who clearly states in the Bible: "Thou shalt
not kill." If you agree with our stand or if you have questions or
comments, please feel free to contact us.
The Restored Israel of YAHWEH
P.O. Box 801
Mays Landing, NJ 08330
restoredisraelofyahweh@att.net