A member of the board of  Atlanta-based CARE USA has taken a voluntary leave of absence after concerns were raised about his connection to  a company  linked to building settlements in the West Bank.

Rich Marin of New York is the CEO of Africa Israel Investments USA, a real estate investment company that invests in the United States and Panama. It's  parent company is Africa Israel Investments Ltd.

According to a release, CARE and Marin were  notified by a grassroots organization called Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel that some companies under Africa Israel Investments Ltd. have been connected to building settlements.

Marin, the release said, "did not want even the appearance of a connection to hinder CARE's work, especially in the West Bank and Gaza, so he voluntarily stepped aside from his CARE USA board obligations." The release said AFI USA does not build settlements in the West Bank.

Marin was hired as CEO  after he joined the CARE board according to a release from the international humanitarian organization. CARE opposes illegal settlement building.

A spokeswoman for  Adalah-NY said the group was satisfied with the decision.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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