Thursday, December 4, 2008
Another victory in the use of money to combat terror:
CHICAGO (AP) -- A federal appeals court upheld a $156 million judgment Wednesday against three U.S.-based Islamic groups accused of bankrolling terrorism in a landmark civil case.
The U.S. charities must be held liable if they gave money to groups that engage in terrorist acts, even if they designated the funds were for humanitarian purposes, the decision by the 10 judges on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said.
The suit was filed in 2000 by the parents of American-born David Boim, who was a 17-year-old yeshiva student when he was killed by Hamas terrorists in a 1996 drive-by shooting at a bus stop on Israel's West Bank. The Boims' lawsuit claimed the groups that gave to Palestinian charities ultimately helped fund terrorism.
"This is the most significant judicial opinion on liability for terrorist financing ever decided by a United States court," said Chicago attorney Stephen Landes, who represented Boim's parents.
The decision upheld a lower-court judgment against the American Muslim Society, the Islamic Association for Palestine-National and the Quranic Literacy Institute.
The appeals court also sent civil allegations against a fourth charity -- the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development -- back to U.S. District Court for a decision on whether it should have to pay part of the $156 million...
About time some courts start to rule on the side of sanity and humanity instead of granting Politically Correct "Civil Rights" to barbarians who are fighting to end all civil rights except the right to worship Allah.
This is very good news indeed... and, in a just world, might be the beginning of starving US-based Islamic terrorist fronts to death.
I fear, however, that the incoming Obama Administration -- with the best of intentions -- could do an end-run around all that, by directly funding the Palestinian Authority et al. (After all, how can they support the peace process if we don't throw money at them?)
I'd appreciate it if someone could persuade me that I'm wrong. Best of all, of course, would be if Mr. Obama could do the persuading.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline