Posted on 11/10/2004 11:13:10 AM PST by Michael Goldsberry
CHICAGO - A federal judge Wednesday found two U.S.-based Islamic charities and an alleged fund-raiser for the Palestinian militant group Hamas liable for damages in the 1996 shooting death of an American teenager in Israel.
A jury trial is set to start Dec. 1 to determine the amount of damages in the $300 million lawsuit filed by the parents of David Boim, 17, who was gunned down while waiting for a bus in the West Bank.
In a 107-page opinion, Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys held Texas-based Holy Land Foundation and another charity, the Islamic Association for Palestine, liable for damages in the shooting.
Keys also held Mohammed Salah, a Chicago man currently under indictment in an alleged Hamas fund-raising conspiracy, liable for damages in the May 13, 1996, shooting.
"This is a huge win for victims of terrorism," said Stephen J. Landes, an attorney for Stanley and Joyce Boim, former New Yorkers now living in Jerusalem, who brought the suit on behalf of their son and his estate.
The Boims maintain that the charities funded Hamas and therefore financed the violence that led to the death of their son.
Landes said the Boim lawsuit was the first to be brought against institutions based in the United States for allegedly supporting terrorism. A previous case in Rhode Island was brought against the Hamas organization itself but not against U.S.-based institutions, he said.
The jury that is expected to determine damages in the case also will be asked to decide whether another defendant, the Quaranic Literacy Institute, based in suburban Bridgeview, should be held liable for damages in the Boim shooting, as well.
The Boims claim that because Salah worked at the institute, which translates Islamic texts, it provided him with cover for alleged Hamas fund-raising activities.
An attorney for the institute, John Beal, said the institute was "disappointed and has maintained all along they have absolutely nothing to do with the funding of Hamas."
"They have an important function as an Islamic organization and they are disappointed that they have to continue to defend this case," Beal said.
Messages left for attorneys for the other defendants Wednesday were not immediately returned.
Like anyone is going to see a dime of this money...
You don't want to check out VanGoh style or do a double dutch decapitating demise.
I fully agree in pushing Islam in this country as hard as we can within the confines of the law. Push real hard and smite them when they try to push back outside the confines of the law.
And FWIW, an Islamic charity or mosque cannot operate under tax-free status because they engage in political activism. We need to clean that matter up.
There are quite a few creative ways to drive militant islamists and their influence out of this country. Closing down their revenue streams is the most effective. If they circumvent the laws to keep the revenue streams, you've got them red handed and you can shut em down and deport their leadership after they've served time in federal prison.
I'd look for the latter. They will just pop up somewhere else under a different name. But I think tricks of the past are just that.
"This is a huge win for victims of terrorism," said Stephen J. Landes, an attorney....."
.....Amen brother!.....what wonderful news!....in my area the media falls all over themselves apologising for Muslims....we've even got a Muslim school that flies the Saudi flag instead of the Stars n' Stripes.....their text books stress Jihad and the Washington Post writes complimentary articles about them.....a lot of these muslim outfits need to be busted financially......they're either terrorist fronts or fellow travelers.....
If they've been found liable for funding terrorists by a Federal Court, wouldn't they be prosecuted for funding terrorists too? They are fined in this case, but what about sending them to jail for supporting terrorists? Shouldn't more than the young murdered victim's family have their complaint satisfied? Where's the justice for all other US citizens endangered by funders of terrorists? Can some legal brain please sort this out for me....thanks.
baby steps
This is a victory, indeed, but it is just a civil suit.
It doesn't set a criminal precedent, does it?
It might...
see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1277013/posts
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