Shurat HaDin: Difference between revisions
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===Judgement against Iran and Syria=== |
===Judgement against Iran and Syria=== |
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Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of the Shurat HaDin Israel won a case in May 2012 in which she was representing the family of [[Murder of Daniel Wultz|Daniel Wultz]], a 16-year-old American who was killed in a [[suicide bomber]] [[2006 Tel Aviv shawarma restaurant bombing|attack in a Tel Aviv restaurant]] in 2006. The case was tried in a U.S. [[United States district court|District Court]], and represented the first time that a U.S. court issued a judgement against Syria for terror related activities. The amount of the judgement was $323,000,000. The court explained that Iran and Syria were responsible for supporting "Palestinian militants" in that bombing which killed 11 people.<ref>{{cite web|last=AP|first=|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/israeli-group-wins-323-million-terror-suit-syria-iran-article-1.1078838|title=Israeli group wins $323 million terror suit against Syria, Iran|publisher=nydailynews.com|date=May 15, 2012|accessdate=2014-05-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Deitch|first=Ian|url=https://news.yahoo.com/israeli-group-wins-terror-suit-against-syria-iran-184948425.html|title=Israeli group wins terror suit against Syria, Iran|publisher=news.yahoo.com|date=May 15, 2012|accessdate=2014-05-05}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120915084604/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israeli-group-wins-323-million-suit-in-us-court-against-iran-and-syria-for-restaurant-bombing/2012/05/15/gIQAl5UkRU_story.html Israeli group wins $323 million suit in US court against Iran and Syria for restaurant bombing]</ref> |
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of the Shurat HaDin Israel won a case in May 2012 in which she was representing the family of [[Murder of Daniel Wultz|Daniel Wultz]], a 16-year-old American who was killed in a [[suicide bomber]] [[2006 Tel Aviv shawarma restaurant bombing|attack in a Tel Aviv restaurant]] in 2006. The case was tried in a U.S. [[United States district court|District Court]], and represented the first time that a U.S. court issued a judgement against Syria for terror related activities. The amount of the judgement was $323,000,000. The court explained that Iran and Syria were responsible for supporting "Palestinian militants" in that bombing which killed 11 people.<ref>{{cite web|last=AP|first=|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/israeli-group-wins-323-million-terror-suit-syria-iran-article-1.1078838|title=Israeli group wins $323 million terror suit against Syria, Iran|publisher=nydailynews.com|date=May 15, 2012|accessdate=2014-05-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Deitch|first=Ian|url=https://news.yahoo.com/israeli-group-wins-terror-suit-against-syria-iran-184948425.html|title=Israeli group wins terror suit against Syria, Iran|publisher=news.yahoo.com|date=May 15, 2012|accessdate=2014-05-05}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120915084604/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israeli-group-wins-323-million-suit-in-us-court-against-iran-and-syria-for-restaurant-bombing/2012/05/15/gIQAl5UkRU_story.html Israeli group wins $323 million suit in US court against Iran and Syria for restaurant bombing]</ref> |
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===Sderot=== |
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On January 7, 2008, ten families of [[Sderot]] (Israel) residents, whose relatives were killed or seriously injured by [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian]] [[Qassam rocket]]s, filed a lawsuit against the [[Egyptian government]] in the [[District Court#Israel|Be'er Sheva District Court]] seeking compensation in the amount of NIS 260,000,000 ($65,000,000 US). The court complaint accuses Egypt of intentionally assisting what it calls [[Palestinian political violence|Palestinian terror organizations]] in smuggling explosives and weapons into the [[Hamas]] controlled [[Gaza strip]]. |
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The plaintiffs argue that Cairo assists the organizations by authorizing the smuggling of tons of explosives and thousands of weapons into Gaza. They also argued that the Egyptian government allowed what the group called terrorists to cross back and forth from the Egyptian-held [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] into Gaza, permitting them an open route to and from what Shurat HaDin asserted to be terrorist training bases in states |
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like [[Iran]], [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]]. |
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===Alien Torts Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act=== |
===Alien Torts Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act=== |
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=== Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia === |
=== Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia === |
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In 2012, |
In 2012, Dan Avnon, a political theorist at the [[Hebrew University]] of [[Jerusalem]], applied for fellowship at [[Sydney University]] and asked [[Jake Lynch]] at Sydney to endorse his application. Lynch refused, citing his leadership with the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and his support for the [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] (BDS) campaign. In 2013, Shurat HaDin sued Lynch for violating Australia's anti-racism laws and attempted to use the suit to outlaw BDS in Australia. The [[Executive Council of Australian Jewry]] publicly denounced the suit as an inappropriate use of the courts.<ref>{{cite web|title = BDS case splits Australia's pro-Israel lobby - Jewish World News|url = http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.597200|accessdate = 2015-06-18|first = Dan|last = Goldberg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Landmark case puts 'anti-Semitic' BDS on trial in Australia - Diplomacy and Defense|url = http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.555797|accessdate = 2015-06-18|first = Dan|last = Goldberg}}</ref> |
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In April 2014, the court struck part of the suit, and Shurat HaDin lawyers narrowed the complaint to the specifics of Avnon and Lynch.<ref>{{cite web|title = Australian court case fires up BDS campaign against Israel - Jewish World News|url = http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.588059|accessdate = 2015-06-18|first = Dan|last = Goldberg}}</ref> But Avnon made known that he did not support the suit. In July 2014, noting that Shurat HaDin did not represent a willing client and did not have a complaint of its own, the court dismissed the case and awarded attorney fees to Lynch.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title = Australian court drops racism case against professor who backs BDS - Jewish World|url = http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/.premium-1.605672|accessdate = 2015-06-18|first = Dan|last = Goldberg}}</ref> Shurat HaDin told [[Haaretz]] that "the case was thrown out on a [[technicality]], not on the merits of the arguments ... [Lynch's] lawyers came up with a trick to avoid the issue being heard on its merits." The Shurat HaDin spokesman said the suit was a warning to other Australian academic institutions.<ref name=":0" /> |
In April 2014, the court struck part of the suit, and Shurat HaDin lawyers narrowed the complaint to the specifics of Avnon and Lynch.<ref>{{cite web|title = Australian court case fires up BDS campaign against Israel - Jewish World News|url = http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.588059|accessdate = 2015-06-18|first = Dan|last = Goldberg}}</ref> But Avnon made known that he did not support the suit. In July 2014, noting that Shurat HaDin did not represent a willing client and did not have a complaint of its own, the court dismissed the case and awarded attorney fees to Lynch.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title = Australian court drops racism case against professor who backs BDS - Jewish World|url = http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/.premium-1.605672|accessdate = 2015-06-18|first = Dan|last = Goldberg}}</ref> Shurat HaDin told [[Haaretz]] that "the case was thrown out on a [[technicality]], not on the merits of the arguments ... [Lynch's] lawyers came up with a trick to avoid the issue being heard on its merits." The Shurat HaDin spokesman said the suit was a warning to other Australian academic institutions.<ref name=":0" /> |
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===Case against Palestinian Authority=== |
===Case against Palestinian Authority=== |
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Shurat HaDin is preparing to take the [[Palestinian Authority]] (PA) to the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC). In the event that the Palestinian Authority is accepted into the ICC, it will enable the PA to become susceptible to lawsuits. Shurat HaDin is preparing in advance by collecting thousands of testimonies from Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks.<ref name=icc>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4367659,00.html NGO to sue PA for terrorism]</ref> Shurat HaDin Chairwoman Nitsana Darshan-Leitner explained, "we've received dozens of terror victims' testimonies, from relatively 'light' stories to truly shocking ones."<ref name=icc/> |
Shurat HaDin is preparing to take the [[Palestinian Authority]] (PA) to the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC). In the event that the Palestinian Authority is accepted into the ICC, it will enable the PA to become susceptible to lawsuits. Shurat HaDin is preparing in advance by collecting thousands of testimonies from Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks.<ref name=icc>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4367659,00.html NGO to sue PA for terrorism]</ref> Shurat HaDin Chairwoman Nitsana Darshan-Leitner explained, "we've received dozens of terror victims' testimonies, from relatively 'light' stories to truly shocking ones."<ref name=icc/> |
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On January 6, 2015, days after PA appealed to join the ICC, Shurat HaDin filed complaint against three PLO officials, Jibril Rajoub,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ICC-communication-Rajoub.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Jibril Rajoub |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref> Majid Faraj<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ICC-Communication-Faraj.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Majid Faraj |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref> and prime minister Rami Hamdallah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ICC-Communication-Rami-Hamdallah.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Rami Hamdallah |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Israeli group files war crimes suit against Palestinian officials|url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=22623|publisher=[[Israel Hayom]]|date=6 January 2015}}</ref> A complaint was also filed against Hamas leader Khaled Mashal <ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ICC-Khaled-Mashal.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Khaled Mashal |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref> |
On January 6, 2015, days after PA appealed to join the ICC, Shurat HaDin filed complaint against three PLO officials, Jibril Rajoub,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ICC-communication-Rajoub.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Jibril Rajoub |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref> Majid Faraj<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ICC-Communication-Faraj.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Majid Faraj |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref> and prime minister Rami Hamdallah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ICC-Communication-Rami-Hamdallah.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Rami Hamdallah |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Israeli group files war crimes suit against Palestinian officials|url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=22623|publisher=[[Israel Hayom]]|date=6 January 2015}}</ref> A complaint was also filed against Hamas leader Khaled Mashal <ref>{{cite web|url=http://israellawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ICC-Khaled-Mashal.pdf |format=PDF |title=In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Khaled Mashal |website=Israellawcenter.org |accessdate=2016-01-08}}</ref> |
Revision as of 11:26, 2 November 2020
![]() | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (September 2020) |
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Company type | Non-profit organization |
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Industry | Civil rights |
Founded | 2003, Tel Aviv, Israel |
Founder | Nitsana Darshan-Leitner |
Products | Fighting Global Terror Via the Courts |
Website | http://www.israellawcenter.org |
Shurat HaDin, Israel Law Center (ILC), founded in 2003, is a Tel Aviv-based civil rights[1][2][3] non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on representing terror victims, and Jewish and Israeli causes. The organization uses the power of the courts in litigation against groups and people it accuses of supporting terrorism or being enemies of Jews and Israel.[4]
Shurat HaDin has been described by some as a pro-Israel lawfare-waging NGO.[5][6]
History
When Shurat Hadin was founded in 2003 its stated purpose was to "combat terrorism and promote civil rights through research, education and litigation."[7]
According to its founder, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, its creation was inspired by the Southern Poverty Law Center in the United States, which used civil litigation to cripple and bankrupt the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups in the US.[8]
According to a leaked US embassy cable, Darshan-Leitner told a US embassy official in 2007 that her organisation in its early years "took direction ... on which cases to pursue" and still "receives evidence" from the Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel.[9] Darshan-Leitner denies ever saying that to a U.S. diplomat.[10]
Organization
Shurat HaDin is staffed with activist Israeli attorneys and works with numerous other law offices internationally which serve as co-counsel on cases being litigated in courtrooms in the U.S., Canada, Israel and elsewhere.[citation needed]
By 2012, Shurat HaDin had 11 employees, three with salaries over $100,000.[11] It retains two public relations firms, one in Israel and one in New York.[11]
The annual budget is $2.5 million, but the donor(s) are all anonymous.[11]
Prominent cases
Shurat HaDin has been involved in a range of legal actions in Israel[12] and abroad on behalf of civil rights cases.[13]
North Korea abduction case
Plaintiffs proved claims under the terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act leading to a $330,000,000 judgement against North Korea. This was the first time that a US court concluded that a foreign regime which abducts an individual who is then never heard from again, has the burden of proving that he has not been murdered.[14][15]
Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization
In 2015, Israel Law Center represented several dozen plaintiffs who were victims of six terror attacks in Jerusalem in 2002 and 2004 committed by Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The plaintiffs sued the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, arguing that the PLO and PA had facilitated the attacks by providing financial aid and logistical support to the attackers, and by giving "martyrdom" payments to the families of suicide bombers. The jury awarded the plaintiffs $218.5 million, which was automatically trebled under the Anti-Terrorism Act to $655.5 million.[16] In 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the verdict, finding that PLO and PA lacked a sufficient connection to the United States for the federal courts to exercise jurisdiction over them in a civil case, in accordance with the limits set by the Constitution's Due Process Clause.[17]
Gaza flotilla
Shurat Hadin used lawfare to threaten lawsuits against parties associated with the Gaza Flotilla.[18] This was accomplished in three ways: 1) It informed maritime insurance companies that by insuring sea vessels used by terrorists (for delivery of weapons to be used by terrorists), they would be liable for future attacks by those terrorists; 2) It warned Inmarsat, a U.S. based satellite communications provider, that under U.S. law it would be open to charges of aiding and abetting terrorism if it provide services to those Gaza-bound ships; and 3) it filed civil lawsuits against the ships that were to participate in the flotilla.[19]
Judgement against Iran and Syria
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of the Shurat HaDin Israel won a case in May 2012 in which she was representing the family of Daniel Wultz, a 16-year-old American who was killed in a suicide bomber attack in a Tel Aviv restaurant in 2006. The case was tried in a U.S. District Court, and represented the first time that a U.S. court issued a judgement against Syria for terror related activities. The amount of the judgement was $323,000,000. The court explained that Iran and Syria were responsible for supporting "Palestinian militants" in that bombing which killed 11 people.[20][21][22]
Alien Torts Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act
On September 10, 2006, Shurat HaDin and New York attorney Robert Tolchin filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the families of 12 missing Iranian Jews against the former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.[23] The complaint alleges that the former president was responsible for the kidnapping and torture of their missing family members in Iran. The families, currently residing in Los Angeles and Israel, claim that Khatami instituted the cruel policy of making Iranian Jewish detainees "disappear" – that is imprisoning Iranian Jews without trials and refusing to provide their families any information concerning their arrests, status or whereabouts.
The families of the missing Jews, who are not U.S. citizens, brought the suit under special laws – the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 – which permit foreigners to sue their tormentors for torture and kidnapping in American courts. The plaintiffs are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against Khatami for what they assert to be his role in the ongoing disappearance of their relatives. Khatami has refused to answer the complaint and has defaulted the case.
Collaborators with Israel
On May 1, 2008, Shurat HaDin along with former Soviet refusenik, Ida Nudel launched a public campaign to save the life of a Palestinian police officer accused of having assisted the Israeli intelligence services in hunting down fugitive terrorists. The policeman, Imad Sa'ad,[24] has been sentenced to death by a Palestinian military tribunal in Hebron. Sa'ad, it is alleged, provided the Israel Defense Forces with the whereabouts of four suspected bomb makers whom the Palestinian Authority was unwilling to hand over to the Israelis.
Shurat HaDin accused the Palestinians of having engaged in a show trial that did not permit the defendant, a father of four, the right to counsel nor the right to call witnesses in his defense. Darshan-Leitner and Nudel wrote to then-president George W. Bush, the European Union and the Vatican to ask for their support.[25]
UBS bank
On May 13, 2008, Shurat HaDin was co-counsel in filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Swiss bank, UBS[26] which is accused by the plaintiffs of financing terror.
The plaintiffs in the case, all of whom had family members injured or killed in Israel, allege that UBS's unlawful eight-year-long provision of financial services to the Islamic Republic of Iran at the time that the group allege that Tehran was providing material support to terrorist organizations renders the Swiss bank liable for the harm that has been inflicted upon them and their families. This was the first civil action brought by what the group allege to be American victims of Katyusha rocket attacks by Hezbollah.
The group alleges that the Swiss bank was involved in transferring dollars to regimes such as Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. The UBS operation was uncovered by American soldiers in Iraq in 2003 who discovered brand new dollars, still wrapped in Federal Reserve casings behind a wall in Saddam Hussein's palace.[27] A Federal Reserve investigation of the currency determined that UBS was responsible for illegally transferring between $4 to $5 billion to states designated by the U.S. as sponsors of terrorism between 1996 and 2004.[27] At first UBS sought to deny the extent of the money transfers it had provided to Iran and others, but eventually was compelled to admit the scope of its criminal activities.[27] UBS, one of world's wealthiest banks, was fined $100 million by the Federal Reserve for its conduct.[27] The lawsuit charges UBS, which has a branch in New York, with aiding and abetting what the group allege to be Iran's support of terrorism, by illegally providing Tehran the dollars it needed to pass along to the terrorist groups for their purchases and attacks.
Iranian families and diplomats
On June 30, 2008, Shurat HaDin filed a petition in the Israeli High Court of Justice on behalf of the families of 12 missing Iranian Jews seeking to block the Israeli government from releasing information on the fate of four disappeared Iranian diplomats as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah. The petition was heard on Wednesday, July 2, 2008. The Jews were arrested in the 1990s as they sought to escape from Iran across the border with Pakistan and they are believed to still be in Iranian prisons. The Iranian diplomats disappeared in South Lebanon in 1982. The petition demands that the Prime Minister not authorize the transfer of information regarding the diplomats until such time as reliable and detailed information is received about the missing Jews' fate.
Shurat Hadin claims it has reliable information that at least one of the Jews is still alive and being held as a prisoner in Tehran. The families contend that the government must honor the obligations imposed upon it by the Israeli High Court approximately two years ago, in a prior High Court proceeding, that [the Israeli government] "...push forward diligently without sparing any effort in order to gain information about the [12 missing] Jews of Iran." The families are insisting that there be a "quid pro quo" on information about their family members in exchange for the release of the details on the fate of the missing Iranians.
Shurat HaDin emphasized that, the families' are not appealing against the deal to bring back the Hizbollah captives itself but rather are demanding that the fate of the 12 missing Jews be included as a "quid pro quo" before any information about the diplomats is released.[28]
American Express Bank and Lebanese-Canadian Bank
On July 14, 2008, Shurat HaDin and Attorney Robert Tolchin of New York filed suit against American Express Bank (Amex), accusing it of partaking in a transfer of money to Hizbollah. The action was filed in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Representing some 85 victims and their family members, the Shurat HaDin lawsuit[29] alleges that the Amex and the Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) unlawfully performed millions of dollars in wire transfers for Hizbollah between 2004 and 2006. The plaintiffs assert that Hizbollah used the funds transferred by Amex Bank and LCB to prepare and carry out the rocket attacks which the terrorist organization rained on Israeli cities between July 12 and August 14, 2006.
The plaintiffs rested their claims in part on written findings issued by the New York State Banking Department in 2007, which determined that Amex Bank had failed to establish adequate procedures to prevent terrorism financing as demanded by state and federal law. This was the first lawsuit brought by alleged victims of terrorism against a U.S. financial institution. The suite was dismissed by the federal trial judge in 2010 but reinstated on appeal in 2012.[30]
Jimmy Carter
In 2011, Shurat HaDin sued former President Jimmy Carter and publisher Simon & Schuster over the publication of Carter's book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.[31] The group claimed that Carter's book included anti-Israel misrepresentations that violated New York consumer protection laws.[32] Simon & Schuster said the suit was frivolous, without merit, and a "chilling attack on free speech."[33] The suit was criticized by legal scholars; Kevin Jon Heller of Australian National University called it "dangerous" and "quite simply absurd,"[34] while Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School said it was "clearly frivolous" and that the complaint was "written like a press release without a thin pretense of legal claims."[35] The plaintiffs dropped the suit.[33]
World Vision Australia
In 2012, Shurat HaDin sent a letter to the Christian relief, development, and advocacy group World Vision Australia (WV) and the Australian government's international aid agency AusAID, asserting that the groups' funding of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a Gaza-based Palestinian nonprofit group, could make WV and AusAID "personally, criminally and civilly liable under Australian and US law."[36][37] Shurat HaDin alleged that UAWC was a front group for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a proscribed terrorist organization,[36][37] and asserted that by providing aid to the UAWC, WV and AusAID were "aiding and abetting Palestinian terrorism, and thereby violating Australian and United States anti-terrorism laws."[37] WV suspended its work with UAWC pending an outcome of the investigation,[36][37] and resumed working with UAWC after AusAID and WV determined that the allegations were unfounded.[38]
An investigation conducted by AusAID in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, found no evidence to substantiate Shurat HaDin's claims of a link between UAWC and PFLP.[39][40] In an October 2012 letter to Shurat ha-Din, World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello said that the allegations made by Shurat HaDin were "unsubstantiated, and in some circumstances, defamatory".[41]
Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia
In 2012, Dan Avnon, a political theorist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, applied for fellowship at Sydney University and asked Jake Lynch at Sydney to endorse his application. Lynch refused, citing his leadership with the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. In 2013, Shurat HaDin sued Lynch for violating Australia's anti-racism laws and attempted to use the suit to outlaw BDS in Australia. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry publicly denounced the suit as an inappropriate use of the courts.[42][43]
In April 2014, the court struck part of the suit, and Shurat HaDin lawyers narrowed the complaint to the specifics of Avnon and Lynch.[44] But Avnon made known that he did not support the suit. In July 2014, noting that Shurat HaDin did not represent a willing client and did not have a complaint of its own, the court dismissed the case and awarded attorney fees to Lynch.[45] Shurat HaDin told Haaretz that "the case was thrown out on a technicality, not on the merits of the arguments ... [Lynch's] lawyers came up with a trick to avoid the issue being heard on its merits." The Shurat HaDin spokesman said the suit was a warning to other Australian academic institutions.[45]
Case against Palestinian Authority
Shurat HaDin is preparing to take the Palestinian Authority (PA) to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In the event that the Palestinian Authority is accepted into the ICC, it will enable the PA to become susceptible to lawsuits. Shurat HaDin is preparing in advance by collecting thousands of testimonies from Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks.[46] Shurat HaDin Chairwoman Nitsana Darshan-Leitner explained, "we've received dozens of terror victims' testimonies, from relatively 'light' stories to truly shocking ones."[46]
On January 6, 2015, days after PA appealed to join the ICC, Shurat HaDin filed complaint against three PLO officials, Jibril Rajoub,[47] Majid Faraj[48] and prime minister Rami Hamdallah.[49][50] A complaint was also filed against Hamas leader Khaled Mashal [51]
2015 Facebook lawsuit
On 8 December 2015, Shurat HaDin posted two racist Facebook pages, one anti-Israel and the other anti-Palestinian Arab in an effort to establish bias at Facebook; Facebook at first removed only the anti-Arab hate page, while maintaining that the overtly anti-Semitic anti-Israel page "met community standards," but later conceded that the pages were alike and also removed the anti-Israel hate page.[52] A lawsuit, Lakin v. Facebook, was filed on behalf of 20,000 Israeli plaintiffs in the State of New York in October 2015; the plaintiffs argued that Facebook allowed Palestinian terrorists "to incite violent attacks against Israeli citizens" and that Facebook was legally obligated to stop such indictment.[53][54][55] The suit was dismissed under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.[56][57]
2018 Lorde concert cancellation
On 31 January 2018, Shurat HaDin filed a lawsuit claiming $13,000 in damages to "emotional" and "artistic welfare" on behalf of three teenage Israelis against the New Zealand Palestinian solidarity activists Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab for allegedly convincing the New Zealand singer Lorde to cancel her scheduled tour of Tel Aviv in mid-2018. The lawsuit was filed under the 2011 Law for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott.[58][59][60] Sachs and Abu-Shanab had earlier penned an open letter on the New Zealand online current affairs magazine The Spinoff in December 2017 urging Lorde to cancel her Israel concert, citing human rights abuses against the Palestinians.[61]
In October 2018, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered that the two New Zealand activists pay NIS 45,000 ($12,300) in damages to the plaintiffs, and court fees. This is believed to be the first successful application of the 2011 law.[60][62][63][64][65]
The two activists stated that they had "no intention" of paying the teenagers, and launched a crowdfunding campaign in order to give the money to Gaza Mental Health Foundation, and raised more than $18,000 for the Gaza project in 3 days.[66] Darshan-Leitner said that legal agreements between Israel and New Zealand would enable here to "enforce this ruling in New Zealand, and go after [the activists'] bank accounts until it has been fully realized."[60] Academic legal experts in New Zealand wrote that attempts to enforce the judgement there were unlikely to be successful.[67][68]
Operation Harpoon
According to the Shurat HaDin's director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the NGO was in regular contact with the Mossad as part of the latter's Operation Harpoon to track terrorist money networks. Darshan-Leitner held regular briefings with Mossad operatives who would tip her off on suspect financing worthwhile pursuing in court discovery hearings. In some cases, the Israeli government provided written affidavits to back up some claims. Darshan-Leitner's role in the operation was voluntary and unpaid.[69][70][71]
2018 Airbnb lawsuit
In April 2019 Airbnb rescinded its 2018 decision to remove listings by Jewish homeowners in Judea and Samaria in settlement of a lawsuit brought by Shurat Hadin lawsuit.[72]
Award
In 2012, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Director of Shurat HaDin, received the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism for fighting Israel's war on terror in courtrooms.[73]
Criticism
In two interviews on The Real News Network, Michael Ratner, President Emeritus of the US-based Center for Constitutional Rights and president of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, said that Shurat HaDin was a Zionist propaganda arm for Israel, dedicated to filing suits all over the place, without necessarily expecting to win them.[74][75]
References
- ^ "Legal threat over alleged terror links". Jewishnews.net.au. 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Israeli NGO to sue PA for terrorism". ynetnews.com. 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
- ^ "Court demands Livni explain her withholding documents on Bank of China". haaretz.com. 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
The petition -- which was filed by Shurat HaDin - the Israel Law Center, an Israeli based civil rights organization...
- ^ "Overview - Shurat HaDin". The Israel Law Center. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
Shurat HaDin is at the forefront of fighting terrorism and safeguarding Jewish rights worldwide. We are dedicated to the protection of the State of Israel. From defending against lawfare suits, fighting academic and economic boycotts, and challenging those who seek to delegitimize the Jewish State, Shurat HaDin is utilizing court systems around the world to go on the legal offensive against Israel's enemies.
- ^ Kittrie, Orde (2016). Lawfare : law as a weapon of war. Oxford, UK New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-19-026357-1.
- ^ Ehrenberg, John (2016). Israel and Palestine : alternative perspectives on statehood. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 52. ISBN 1-4422-4508-5.
- ^ Miller, Judith (August 2, 2000). "Syria Is Sued by Family of Man Killed by '96 Bomb in Jerusalem". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Phillips, Melanie (March 21, 2008). "Conservative Using law to fight a war". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ "Israel arrests Palestinian teenager over Facebook posts". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ Kane, Alex (28 July 2016). "Critics Fear Crackdown on Palestinian Free Speech as Israel Takes Aim at Facebook". The Intercept. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ a b c Crusading for Israel in a Way Some Say Is Misguided, Jodi Rudoren, Jan. 23, 2015, New York Times
- ^ News, Fox (March 17, 2008). "Israeli Town Demands Anti-Missile Laser". FoxNews. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Pittok, Todd (February 22, 2005). "On the trail of terrorists". Jewsweek. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "HAN KIM v. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC of KOREA Civil Action No. 09-648 (RWR) – UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" (PDF). U.S. Government Publishing Office. 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
- ^ Sang-hun, Choe (2015-04-15). "After 15 Years, Legal Victory for Family of Pastor Believed Abducted by North Korea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
- ^ Mark Hamblett (February 24, 2015). "Jury Finds PLO, Authority Liable for Terror Acts". New York Law Journal.
- ^ Benjamin Weiser, Court Throws Out $655.5 Million Terrorism Verdict Against Palestinian Groups, New York Times (August 31, 2016).
- ^ "George Jonas: Using lawfare to anchor the Gaza flotilla". National Post. July 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
- ^ The second action was Shurat HaDin’s legal warning to Inmarsat, a U.S. based satellite communications provider, that under U.S. law they will be open to charges of aiding and abetting terrorism if they provide services to these Gaza-bound ships.
- ^ AP (May 15, 2012). "Israeli group wins $323 million terror suit against Syria, Iran". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
- ^ Deitch, Ian (May 15, 2012). "Israeli group wins terror suit against Syria, Iran". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
- ^ Israeli group wins $323 million suit in US court against Iran and Syria for restaurant bombing
- ^ Suissa, David (2012-02-08). "Opinion: Rebels with a cause". Jewishjournal.com. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Lake, Eli (May 5, 2008). "Appeal Is Made to Bush To Save Arab Accused of Helping Israel". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Jacoby, Jeff (May 7, 2008). "Who will save Imad Saad". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ News, Fox (May 13, 2008). "Swiss mega bank UBS GA Accused of Financing Terror". FoxNews. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
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has generic name (help) - ^ a b c d Finance. "UBS help for Iran 'broke US sanctions'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "Soldiers set to be returned to Israel in 10 days". Jpost.com. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ Maull, Samuel (July 14, 2008). "Hezbollah attack victims' relatives sue 2 banks". USA Today. Retrieved 31 Dec 2011.
- ^ "Court: Bank account puts terror case in NY". CNS News. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
- ^ Carter, Jimmy (Feb 2, 2011). "Class Action Suit Filed Against Jimmy Carter Book". New York Times. Retrieved 25 Jan 2013.
- ^ "Class Action Suit Filed Against Jimmy Carter for Deliberate Misrepresentations in Anti-Israel Book" (Press release). Shurat HaDin. Retrieved 25 Jan 2013.
- ^ a b Carter, Jimmy (May 5, 2011). "Plaintiffs Drop Suit Over Jimmy Carter Book". New York Times. Retrieved 25 Jan 2013.
- ^ Kevin Jon Heller, Another Dangerous Lawsuit — This One Involving a Former U.S. President, Opinio Juris (February 16, 2011).
- ^ Jonathan Turley, A Basis for Damages or Sanctions? Jimmy Carter Sued Over His Book on Palestine, February 16, 2011.
- ^ a b c Chip Le Grand (February 18, 2012). "World Vision to investigate terror link". The Australian.
- ^ a b c d Paraszczuk, Joanna (February 17, 2012). "Australian groups accused of aiding PFLP-linked group". Jerusalem Post.
- ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna (March 20, 2012). "'Aussie nonprofit funding PFLP-linked Gazan group'". Jerusalem Post.
- ^ Chip Le Grand (March 2, 2012). "Vision back as AusAID dismisses 'terror' link". The Australian.
- ^ "Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade" (Press release). May 31, 2012. Archived from the original on February 11, 2014.
- ^ "World Vision answers Shurat HaDin". October 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016 – via J-Wire.
- ^ Goldberg, Dan. "BDS case splits Australia's pro-Israel lobby - Jewish World News". Retrieved 2015-06-18.
- ^ Goldberg, Dan. "Landmark case puts 'anti-Semitic' BDS on trial in Australia - Diplomacy and Defense". Retrieved 2015-06-18.
- ^ Goldberg, Dan. "Australian court case fires up BDS campaign against Israel - Jewish World News". Retrieved 2015-06-18.
- ^ a b Goldberg, Dan. "Australian court drops racism case against professor who backs BDS - Jewish World". Retrieved 2015-06-18.
- ^ a b NGO to sue PA for terrorism
- ^ "In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Jibril Rajoub" (PDF). Israellawcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
- ^ "In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Majid Faraj" (PDF). Israellawcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
- ^ "In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Rami Hamdallah" (PDF). Israellawcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
- ^ "Israeli group files war crimes suit against Palestinian officials". Israel Hayom. 6 January 2015.
- ^ "In the International Criminal Court : Shurat Ha-Din Israel Law Center v Khaled Mashal" (PDF). Israellawcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
- ^ "Facebook Caves on Israel Hate Page". Observer. 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ^ "When it comes to incitement, is Facebook biased against Israel?". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ^ "Lakin v. Facebook – Shurat HaDin". israellawcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ^ Volokh, Eugene (12 November 2015). "Lawsuit tries to apply foreign speech restrictions in U.S. court, hold Facebook liable for not censoring allegedly terrorism-inciting pages". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ Yonah Jeremy Bob, US court dismisses new tactic to sue Facebook for terrorism, Jerusalem (May 18, 2017).
- ^ Sarah Grant, Second Circuit Hears Argument on Facebook’s Liability for Hamas Attacks, Lawfare (March 6, 2019).
- ^ "Israelis sue New Zealanders over Lorde boycott". Ynetnews. Associated Press. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ Moore, Jack (31 January 2018). "Israel Boycott Activists Sued Over Lorde Tel Aviv Concert Cancellation". Newsweek. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ a b c Shapiro, Amy (11 October 2018). "NEW ZEALAND BDS ACTIVISTS ORDERED TO PAY DAMAGES OVER LORDE ISRAEL BOYCOTT". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ Abu-Shanab, Nadia; Sachs, Justine (21 December 2017). "Dear Lorde, here's why we're urging you not to play Israel". The Spinoff. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Israeli courts fines two Kiwi activists $23,000 over Lorde boycott letter". 1 News. Associated Press. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ "Israeli court: NZ activists must pay for Lorde cancellation". New Zealand Herald. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ "Israeli court says New Zealand activists must pay for Lorde cancellation". The Times of Israel. Associated Press. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ Roy, Eleanor (12 October 2018). "This article is more than 1 year old Israel fines New Zealand women $18,000 for urging Lorde concert boycott". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ Lorde concert boycott: New Zealanders fined by Israel raise thousands for Gaza, Eleanor Ainge Roy, 15 Oct 2018, The Guardian
- ^ "NZ activist being sued in Israel calls it 'publicity stunt'". Radio New Zealand. 13 October 2018.
Waikato University law professor Alexander Gillespie said "In theory they can apply to the courts here to enforce their judgement, but it's very unlikely that the judgement will be enforced because it's completely contrary to our own laws."
- ^ Maria Hook, School of Law, University of Otago. "Israeli judgment against New Zealand activists for Lorde's "boycott" of Israel".
[The] rules require Shurat HaDin to bring separate proceedings against the activists in New Zealand seeking enforcement of the Israeli judgment.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ OP. HARPOON: HOW THE MOSSAD AND AN ISRAELI NGO DESTROYED TERRORIST MONEY NETWORKS, Jerusalem Post, 7 Nov 2017
- ^ Fighting Israel's foes in U.S. courts, lawyer had help from Mossad, Dan Williams, Reuters
- ^ To Stop North Korea, Act Like Israel, by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, 3 Dec, 2017 The New York Times
- ^ Bob, Yonah Jeremy (10 April 2019). "Airbnb backs off removing Jewish W. Bank ads after Shurat Hadin lawsuit". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Shurat HaDin head to receive Zionism prize". Jerusalem Post. May 22, 2012.
- ^ Ratner, Michael (February 2015). Why the $655 Million Verdict Against the PA is Not A Victory for Human Rights. The Real News
- ^ Ratner, Michael (February 2015). Prejudicial Trial, Prejudicial Verdict: $218 Million. The Real News
External links
- Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center Official Website
- Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center Official Blog