You might want to rethink this.
Posted on 11/10/2004 8:37:52 PM PST by Mount Athos
A federal judge found two U.S.-based Islamic charities and an alleged fund-raiser for the Palestinian militant group Hamas liable for damages Wednesday in the 1996 shooting death of an American teenager in Israel.
Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys said the defendants clearly knew the charitable funds they sent to Palestinian groups on the West Bank were destined for Hamas and that the group was involved in terrorism.
Stephen J. Landes, an attorney for the parents of the slain David Boim, said it was the first time a court had held U.S.-based organizations liable for terrorism abroad.
Keys ordered a Dec. 1 jury trial to decide how much must be paid by Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Islamic Association for Palestine and alleged Hamas fund-raiser Mohammed Salah of Chicago.
"This is a huge win for victims of terrorism," Landes said. "It shows the law works."
Stanley and Joyce Boim are seeking $600 million, though attorneys say there's little chance of collecting that amount.
Their son, a 17-year-old yeshiva student, was shot and killed in 1996 while waiting for a bus in the West Bank. One of his Hamas attackers was caught and sentenced to 10 years in prison; the other died in a 1997 suicide bombing.
Boim's parents claim money from the charities found its way into Hamas coffers and therefore financed the type of violence that killed their son.
Holy Land Foundation attorney John Boyd said the charity had been unfairly singled out and called it "an enormous disappointment" that the judge found it liable before the case could go to a jury.
Attorney Brendan Shiller, representing the Islamic Association for Palestine, said the judge's decision "dangerously stretches theories of liabilities so you no longer have to prove cause and effect."
"We're definitely going to appeal," he said.
The defendants deny any ties to Hamas and argue that there was no evidence to show that money they sent to charities on the West Bank was tied to the Boim killing.
Keys, however, said the Boims didn't need to show that.
"Rather, the Boims need only show that the defendants were involved in an agreement to accomplish an unlawful act and that the attack that killed David Boim was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conspiracy," Keys said.
Keys made his decision without a trial - a "summary judgment" - that Salah and the two groups were liable based on evidence presented in court papers. He said the evidence was clear.
If the trial goes forward as planned, the jury will be asked to decide if a fourth defendant, Quranic Literacy Institute, must pay damages.
Boim's parents say the institute also is to blame because Salah worked there while allegedly raising funds for Hamas.
Quranic Literacy attorney John Beal said his clients "have maintained all along that they have absolutely nothing to do with the funding of Hamas."
Salah's assets have been impounded by the government, which wants them forfeited. He was indicted in Chicago in August with two other men on charges of financing terrorism and faces years in prison if convicted.
Holy Land Foundation's funds were impounded following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and the group was charged in Dallas in July with funding terrorism.
ping
Quote: "Holy Land Foundation attorney John Boyd said the charity had been unfairly singled out and called it "an enormous disappointment" that the judge found it liable before the case could go to a jury."
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Oh believe me John-boy-Boyd, you DID NOT want this in the hands of a Jury while our guys are over there fighting the same bunch oa terrorists as killed this young man. Get down on your knees and give thanks for that Judge's ruleing.
Does this seem like an absurdly light slapp on the wrist for murder to anyone else ?
2 Baaaad!
Bump
Very interesting. This is the same tactic Morris Dees and Co., uses against their enemies. Maybe we as conservatives can employ it to take out left-wing envirmental wackos who fund ecoterrorism or other leftist charities who use funds to break the law.
Get down on our knees? Do you realise that a law suit such as this means that lawsuits can now be brought against Caterpillar, for their contribution to the peace-activist Rachael Corrie's death(http://www.rachelcorrie.org/news.htm), and the IDF for Tom Hurndall (see http://www.tomhurndall.co.uk)
This means that things like this
"Surprisingly, this 22 year old American student from Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington, has been abandoned by her country. While her nation remains shamefully silent, Corrie is vilified in death by Israeli supporters who insist she jeopardized her own life. Immediately after her crushed body was removed from the bloodied stones, the home was destroyed, one of 12,000 destroyed in the past three years as a part of Israel's policy of "collective punishment."
Collective punishment is a form of torture unique to Israel and used mainly against Palestinian civilians. It's not enough for Israel to punish those who commit crimes. They also destroy the lives of their families, friends and neighbors by forcing them onto the street and into a life of refugee status."
which go on in Israel/Palestine and are funded by US Taxpayers money can be brought to account in a US court of Law.
This means that the parents of the 13 year old girl recently shot by a commander of the IDF can bring a claim for compensation against the IDF and that commander, plus any of the businessess or individuals whose funds have enabled that murder to take place!
This lawsuit means that Jewish and Christian Zionist Charities can be held liable in a court of law for the illegal settlements and land confiscations which they fund in the Occupied Territories in Palestine, so don't rejoice or think this is a victory against 'those nasty muslims', you fools, this means that ALL charities who fund violence or murder of civilians can be ordered to pay put millions in compensation.
Such a lawsuit paves the way for the successful prosecution to the tune of billions of the Florida Financier, Moskowitz, for his financial support of Illegal Jewish Settlements, and the destruction of Palestinian owned Olive Groves, farmland, and buildings.
"Moskowitz is notorious for funding extremist settler enterprises, such as the violent settlers of Hebron, as well as buying and colonizing Palestinian properties in sensitive areas of Jerusalem. If the "fair share" initiative passes, Moskowitz would have slot machine profits to give extremist settlers.
The statement is a project of the Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem, which has been working to stop Moskowitz's gambling-based settler support and to repair the damage he has done to Hawaiian Gardens, where his casino is located and he owns a profitable bingo. Hawaiian Gardens is a predominantly Latino, low-income city in Los Angeles County. A decade ago, much in the fashion of white settlers in California, Moskowitz seized control of Hawaiian Gardens and, even though he is a very wealthy man, used all its available public funds to develop his casino. For more information, please see www.stopmoskowitz.org."
source: http://ga3.org/jvfp/alert-description.tcl?alert_id=2845034
Setting a precedent such as this is dangerous. Not only did the judge rush the trial through, but it's received barely a passing mention in the mainstream media. When the news of this rushed-trial hits the world-stage, it will take on a whole new meaning (ie. Jewish fund raisers could be made liable!!)
Really, if you stop and think of the implications, you wouldn't be celebrating this as a victory!
Despite the source of this piece of journalism, the same questions have been asked in ALL political camps regarding the death of American Peace Activist, Rachel Corrie:
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/news.htm
"Israel absolved the two Israeli soldiers. They claimed they did not see Corrie, even though she stood right in front of the bulldozer wearing a bright orange fluorescent jacket. They even yelled at her before using the bulldozer, manufactured in Peoria, Illinois, to destroy the lives of another Palestinian family.
These are facts that can be investigated. Ironically, months later, three Americans were killed in the Gaza Strip and the FBI immediately sent in a team to determine who was at fault. But when the fault points toward Israel, as evidence surrounding Corrie's death suggests, the American government has a different attitude.
Corrie was not a terrorist. She did not support violence. She was advocating peace. She stood firm in defense of the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibits the punishment of unarmed innocent civilians, violated by Collective Punishment.
Corrie died in clear violation of American laws, such as the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the use of U.S. military funds and grants being used against civilians. She exemplified the very same spirit we honor in peace activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and India's revered leader Mahatma Gandhi."
http://www.ccmep.org/2004_articles/palestine/031504_rachel_corrie.htm
"Our Place in the World: Still no justice for Rachel Corrie
Rachel Corrie from Olympia was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Rafah refugee camp about a month before Hurndall was shot there. Like Hurndall, Corrie was a volunteer with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement to End the Occupation of Palestine (ISM). Like Hurndall, she was killed by an identifiable Israeli soldier. As in Hurndall's case, the Israeli government initially released a report on Corrie's killing, stating that nobody connected with the Israeli military was culpable and that further investigation was not required.
So, why has Hurndall's killer been charged when nothing has happened to Corrie's killer?
According to the Hurndall family, the only reason the soldier who shot him has been charged is because of pressure applied by the family. Hurndall's father is an attorney. He went to Rafah shortly after the shooting and compiled an extensive dossier of eyewitness affidavits, forensics reports, photographs and other relevant information. This dossier was put before the British foreign secretary in a way that made it very difficult to ignore. Ultimately, the British government went to bat for Hurndall, an unarmed British civilian killed by an Israeli soldier under the impression that he could shoot with impunity.
Indeed, the soldier had good reason to believe this. More than 2,000 unarmed Palestinian civilians, many of them children, have been killed in the occupied territories since the current intifada began in September 2000. Only 10 Israeli soldiers have been indicted and none has been convicted. A culture of impunity permeates the Israeli military, which is well known for its non-investigations of itself. For this reason, the Hurndall family would like to see the investigation of his death extend all the way up the chain of command.
Corrie's parents are not lawyers. In addition, they were told by members of the Washington state congressional delegation and State Department officials that if they quietly played along, justice for their daughter would ultimately be achieved. So far, all that has emerged is a non-credible Israeli military report claiming that 1) Corrie was not run over by a bulldozer and 2) even if she had been, the driver could not have seen her. These statements are contradicted respectively by the autopsy report and multiple eyewitness reports.
It is an insult to the human heart to have to force government officials to do their jobs properly while digesting the fact your child has been brutally killed.
Somehow the Hurndall family was able to take the necessary steps in the timeframe required. Believing what their congressman, senators and State Department officials told them, the Corries have been left to swallow lies.
Is this the best our members of Congress can do for a citizen killed abroad? Plenty of them made pretty speeches but real action is a question of political will."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/157721_ourplace23.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=51
The precedent set by the Boim vs. Hamas courtcase, and the attempt to appropriate designated Muslim charity funds of which the links to Hamas are as yet unproven, could re-open the Rachel Corrie case and should give all American taxpayers and Jewish Charities whose money is destined for Israel a pause for thought.
For example, US charity funds pay for settlers to arm themselves, and then carry out these kind of attacks:
2002
"Five people were injured Sunday, when settlers from Itamar attacked peace activists and Palestinian olive-pickers from the nearby village of Yinon.
In what appeared to be a response to the suicide bombing in Ariel, a group of armed settlers left the settlement of Itamar and headed toward an olive grove, where local residents, aided by peace activists from Israel and the United States, were harvesting the crop of olives.
The settlers, numbering between five and seven, pelted the olive-pickers and activists with stones, and beat them using their guns. The injured were taken to a private clinic in the nearby village of Akraba.
A Palestinian couple and their two children and four activists were treated in hospital for injuries including deep cuts and bruises, Yanoun Mayor Abdel Atif Isbeih said."
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=224005&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0
These are by no means isolated incidents:
2004
"This morning, two members of CPT – Chris Brown (male, from San Franciso) and Kim Lamberty (female, from Washington, DC) were walking a group of children from their homes in Tuba to their school in al-Tuwani – a function that CPTers perform regularly for the children in Hebron and have now extended to outlying areas.
At 7:15, five men suddenly lunged at the two from the side of the road where they had been hiding, awaiting their approach. The men, wearing black scarves wrapped around their heads so that only their eyes were visible, assaulted the CPT volunteers with baseball bats and chains that they had brought with them. Kim fell and remained down. Chris remained standing for a while before falling, and continued to receive kicks and blows from the settlers. The five settlers spoke English and Hebrew to each other while unleashing their blows, and then ran away. The children had run off at the very beginning.
Chris and Kim remained conscious and used a cell phone to call their team, who reached them at 7:30. Their teammates called the Israeli military in the area, who took half an hour to arrive (a trip that should have been much faster), and the two were evacuated to the hospital in Beersheba, where they remain hospitalized. Kim has a broken arm and severe contusions of her right leg, leaving her unable to walk for a while. She may need surgery on the arm. Chris has a punctured lung, so a chest tube has been inserted. He also had severe blows to his head, but we are hoping there is no further damage."
http://www.cornerstonemag.com/pages/show_page.asp?662
It's not a question of taking sides at this point.(G_d forbid!) It's about the fact that a one family, (the Boim's) who have suffered the terrible loss of their beloved son to the Israeli-Palestinian war can claim compensation in the US in this way, surely this means that the families of US American Peace Activists who have been attacked or killed by US-Charity funded Israeli Settlers and/or US Taxpayer funded IDF might see some compensation for their equally terrible losses.
This FOOL doesn't see anything wrong in ALL 'charities' that fund TERRORISM paying for their atrocities.
You might want to rethink this.
Wrong. The link WAS proven. Hence, the verdict.
I'm so glad you posted that pic!
Corrie looks like a maniac.
The kids just looked puzzled or bored.
Did the US State Dept name Caterpillar a terror organization?
I've seen that picture at least 100 times and never noticed that.
You're right. The kids aren't even looking at her. Strange.
Then you're no fool.
I also see nothing wrong in holding ANY Charity whose public or private donations have been used to fund terrorism (with or without that Charity's knowledge) being held financially accountable for compensation those bereaved families whose loved ones have been murdered/wrongfully killed by the organisations which those charities benefited!
It must have been one of those 'staged' fotos, under the direction of some fotographer, don't you think ?
I have seen other fotos of Rachel Corrie, and she doesn't look like a maniac in those.
The final fotos of her, after she had been crushed by a bulldozer are very sad, and I won't post those here as it doesn't seem respectful to the parents.
I don't think we can judge her personality by that one staged fotograph, or declare her a maniac from one fotograph, and to be fair, Corrie's parents grief at her death can be no less traumatic and painful than the grief of the Boim's whose son was killed in Jerusalem by a bullet on his way to school.
Why don't you start a Rachel Corrie thread?
This thread was about David Boim.
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