[wvns] Palestine Blogger Gets 21 Months but Jews Denied Money

Appeals court sends case against charities accused of being complicit
in murder of 17-year-old American teenager in 1996 West Bank shooting

US court overturns $156 million award in
terrorism suit against Islamic charities
12.28.07
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3487883,00.html

A United States federal appeals court on Friday overturned a $156
million award against US-based Muslim activists for their involvement
in the terrorist death of an American teenager in the West Bank more
than a decade ago.

The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge in the case had
failed to require the parents of 17-year-old David Boim to properly
show a link between the boy's shooting death by Hamas - a group
designated by the US as a terror organization - and the fundraising
activities of the charities.

Because of that error, it sent the case back for a possible new trial.

The Boims' attorney, Nathan Lewin, said an appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court is possible.

''This court of appeals decision is wrong, very wrong,'' Lewin said.
''It amounts to encouragement of financial contributions to terrorist
organizations.''

Stanley and Joyce Boim had sued the Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development; the American Muslim Society, also known as the
Islamic Association for Palestine; the Quranic Literacy Institute, and
Mohamed Salah, and an alleged Hamas fundraiser.

Their son, a yeshiva student, was gunned down in 1996 while waiting
with other students at a bus stop in Beit El, on the West Bank.

A federal court jury in 2004 ruled in their favor and awarded them $52
million in damages in one of the first jury awards against US-based
institutions accused of supporting terrorism.

In accordance with US anti-terrorism law, a federal magistrate
subsequently tripled the amount of the damages levied against the
defendants, who had all denied financing terrorism.

The ruling in 2004 came in addition to a crackdown against a group of
US-based Islamic charities and others who saw their assets frozen and,
in some cases, faced federal charges for allegedly funding groups
deemed by the US as terrorist organizations.

The case against the Holy Land Foundation, the largest Muslim charity
in the country when it was shut down in 2001, was the government's
biggest terror-financing case since the Sept. 11 attacks. Authorities
closed it down after accusing it of funneling more than $12 million to
Hamas. Several people connected to the group were charged.

But, in a blow to the government, the case ended in a mistrial after
none of the group's leaders was convicted and many acquittals were
tossed out in October after some jurors took the rare step of
disputing the verdict.

Salah was sentenced in July to 21 months in federal prison. He was
convicted of obstruction of justice for lying under oath on a written
questionnaire involving David Boim's death, stemming from the civil
lawsuit filed by the teen's parents.

The jury, however, acquitted Salah of taking part in a racketeering
conspiracy aimed at bankrolling Hamas.

===

$156M Terrorism Damage Award Thrown Out
By JOHN O'CONNOR

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ibE5DWkbXq5eM0iORLEMuOcTtdJwD8TQN6NO0

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A federal appeals court overturned a $156
million award Friday against U.S.-based Muslim activists for their
involvement in the terrorist death of an American teenager in the West
Bank more than a decade ago.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge in the case had
failed to require the parents of 17-year-old David Boim to properly
show a link between the boy's death and the fundraising activities of
the charities.

Because of that error, it sent the case back for a possible new trial.

Nathan Lewin, an attorney for the parents, Stanley and Joyce Boim,
said an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is possible.

"This court of appeals decision is wrong, very wrong," Lewin said. "It
amounts to encouragement of financial contributions to terrorist
organizations."

The Boims had sued the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and
Development; the American Muslim Society, also known as the Islamic
Association for Palestine; the Quranic Literacy Institute of suburban
Oak Lawn; and an alleged Hamas fundraiser.

Their son, a yeshiva student, was gunned down in 1996 while waiting
with other students at a bus stop in Beit El, on the West Bank.

All the defendants denied financing terrorism.

Attorneys for the Quranic Literacy Institute and Holy Land did not
immediately return calls seeking comment.

In the 2004 trial, a federal court jury had set damages at $52
million. A U.S. magistrate tripled the amount in accord with U.S.
anti-terrorism law. It was the first in which jurors awarded damages
from U.S.-based charities accused of bankrolling Hamas, Boim attorney
Nathan Lewin said at the time.

The couple, who had moved to Jerusalem in 1985, filed the suit under a
federal law permitting American victims of terrorism overseas to seek
damages against organizations that raise funds for terrorists in the U.S.

The alleged Hamas fundraiser cited in the suit, Muhammad Salah, was
convicted of obstruction of justice for lying under oath on a
questionnaire stemming from the Boims' lawsuit. The jury, however,
acquitted Salah of taking part in a racketeering conspiracy aimed at
bankrolling Hamas. He was sentenced in July to 21 months in federal
prison.

===

CAIR WELCOMES OVERTURNING OF $156M JUDGMENT IN CHARITY CASE
December 28, 2007

(CHICAGO, IL, 12/28/07) The Chicago office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today welcomed a decision by
the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to overturn
a controversial award judgment against American Muslim charities in an
Illinois civil suit.

In 2004, attorneys for 17-year-old David Boim, who was murdered at a
Tel Aviv bus stop, sued local Muslim charities based on a complicated
guilt-by-association argument. After today's ruling, the case will
return to trial court for further action.

The Judgment read, in part:

"Belief, assumption, and speculation are no substitutes for evidence
in a court of law…We must resist the temptation to gloss over error,
admit spurious evidence, and assume facts not adequately proved simply
to side with the face of innocence and against the face of terrorism.
Our endeavor to adhere to the dictates of law that this great nation
has embodied since its founding must persevere…"

In a statement, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said:

"Today, our nation's great tradition of respect for the rule of law
has been upheld. This landmark ruling is a strong rejection of the
recent disturbing trend of political lawsuits against American Muslims
who have committed no crime other than providing humanitarian aid to
Palestinians.

"Pro-Israel groups are engaged in a broad-based attack against
domestic humanitarian efforts to aid Palestinians living in dire
circumstances under the Israeli occupation. It is reprehensible that
groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) would fund and encourage
lawsuits that seek to repress First Amendment-protected activities by
Palestinian Americans under the guise of fighting terrorism.

"The defendants in this case have endured a seven-year legal battle in
which their reputations have been smeared and their assets
confiscated. While the destruction of American Muslim groups who have
committed no wrong-doing is irreparable, today's decision, in which
the rules of law were finally applied, helps restore the American
people's trust in the system.

"CAIR deplores the murder of David Boim and hopes that the actual
wrong-doers are brought to justice."

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 33 offices,
chapters and affiliates nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to
enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding."

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