<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-top-anchor"></div>
<div id="gmail-toolbar" class="gmail-toolbar-container">
</div><div class="gmail-container" lang="en-US" dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header gmail-reader-show-element">
<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/10/october-7-survivors-lawsuit-palestine-hamas-sjp-protests/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter">theintercept.com</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">October 7 Survivors Sue Campus Protesters, Say Students Are “Hamas’s Propaganda Division”</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Akela Lacy</div>
<div class="gmail-meta-data">
<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">May 10, 2024<br></div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div>
<p><u>Survivors of the</u> October 7 attacks filed a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24655997-amp-sjp-suit" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">lawsuit</a>
in U.S. federal court last week alleging links between Hamas and the
pro-Palestinian student groups leading nationwide protests against
Israel’s war on Gaza. The survivors claim the student groups are liable
for monetary damages because of the purported terrorism links.</p>
<p>“When someone tells you they are aiding and abetting terrorists —<em> believe them</em>.”
That’s the opening line the suit filed Wednesday against the
Palestinian advocacy groups American Muslims for Palestine and National
Students for Justice in Palestine, the umbrella group supporting student
organizers for Palestine, which supports more than 350 Palestine
solidarity groups, including more than 200 campus organizations across
the country.</p>
<p>The lawsuit is part of a nationwide crackdown on pro-Palestine activism, especially on campus. It was filed a day after<a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/03/nyc-eric-adams-columbia-outside-agitator-al-arian/"> police</a> in New York City <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/07/columbia-protest-gaza-nypd-overtime-cost/">deployed</a> militarized<a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/"> forces </a>to remove students from campus encampments protesting the war on Gaza and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/06/columbia-student-protests-nypd-jail/">arrested</a> hundreds.</p>
<p>Some or all of the nine plaintiffs in the suit are involved in a raft
of other civil suits related to the October 7 attacks. Among the
defendants they’ve pursued in court are major media organizations and
United Nations agencies.</p>
<p>The survivors of the October 7 attack alleged that American Muslims
for Palestine “serves as Hamas’s propaganda division in the United
States.” </p>
<p>“Through NSJP, AMP uses propaganda to intimidate, convince, and
recruit uninformed, misguided, and impressionable college students to
serve as foot soldiers for Hamas on campus and beyond,” the October 7
survivors wrote in their suit.</p>
<p>The lawsuits rely on anti-terrorism laws that made it possible to
bring civil cases for acts of international terrorism, including
provisions around bans on material support to terrorism that have long
been controversially applied. At the time of their passage, members of
Congress who pushed the anti-terror laws linked them directly to
crackdowns on pro-Palestine activities, according to a <a href="https://ccrjustice.org/anti-palestinian-core-origins-and-growing-dangers-us-antiterrorism-law" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">recent white paper</a> from the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal.</p>
<blockquote><p>“The goal is to isolate Palestinians.”</p></blockquote>
<p>“For years, CCR and others have been warning of the abuse of broad
‘material support’ laws to shrink the space for Palestinian rights,”
said Diala Shamas, staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional
Rights.</p>
<p>The group represented another Palestinian rights organization in what
Shamas said was “years-long, meritless litigation” brought by the
Jewish National Fund, a group that <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2016-09-22/ty-article/.premium/jnf-finally-releases-list-of-grantees-in-settlements/0000017f-e60f-dc7e-adff-f6af7c0e0000" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">funds</a> <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210218-jewish-national-fund-expands-settlement-influence-towards-west-bank/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">Israeli settlements</a>.</p>
<p>“The law’s provision of civil damages means that private actors —
including those with seemingly endless resources — can bog you down in
costly and distracting litigation,” Shamas said. “This means that
Palestinians and those who support their rights become ‘high risk’ — and
those who they rely on — charities, funders, banks or social media
companies — are chilled from further engagement. The goal is to isolate
Palestinians.”</p>
<h2 id="gmail-h-four-survivor-lawsuits">Four Survivor Lawsuits</h2>
<p>The nine plaintiffs include six survivors of the October 7 Hamas
attacks. Five people attended the Supernova music festival, and another
was attacked at Zikim Beach, where 19 civilians were killed as Hamas
militants tried to overrun nearby military outposts. </p>
<p>Two other plaintiffs who were not home on October 7 had homes in
Kibbutz Holit, the site of additional Hamas attacks. Another plaintiff’s
brother was killed at the festival. (Lawyers for the plaintiffs, AMP,
and SJP did not respond to requests for comment.)</p>
<p>The AMP suit is the fourth federal suit filed this year by members of the group.</p>
<p>Last month, eight of the same plaintiffs sued the cryptocurrency
exchange Binance, claiming that it gave material support to Hamas by
allowing the militant group to fundraise on the platform. In November,
the Treasury Department<a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1925" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription"> said</a>
Hamas and “a range of illicit actors” had used Binance to funnel money
to their groups. Binance lawyers asked for an extension to reply to the
complaint and have <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24657482-binance-extension" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">until August</a> to do so. In April, the company’s former chief executive was sentenced to four months in prison after <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/binances-ceo-zhao-faces-sentencing-over-money-laundering-violations-2024-04-30/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">pleading guilty</a> to money laundering violations.</p>
<p>Five of the plaintiffs in the American Muslims for Palestine suit also<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24630671-ap-suit" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription"> sued</a>
the news agency The Associated Press in February. The plaintiffs
alleged that the AP used photographs from “known Hamas associates who
were gleefully embedded with the Hamas terrorists during the October 7th
attacks.” Lawyers for the AP moved to <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24657484-ap-motion-to-dismiss" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">dismiss</a> the complaint for failing to state a claim and asked to <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24657485-ap-motion-to-stay-discovery" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">stay discovery</a> pending adjudication of the motion to dismiss.</p>
<p>In March, the same group of nine plus another October 7 survivor<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24630783-unrwa-suit" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription"> sued</a>
the U.S. committee of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or
UNWRA, the largest humanitarian organization operating in Gaza. The suit
against UNRWA claims that the group “financed and aided” Hamas, a
frequent refrain from Israeli officials that has gone <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/israel-unrwa-staff-terrorist-links-yet-to-provide-evidence-colonna-report" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">unsubstantiated</a>, according to an independent review released in April. UNRWA lawyers were granted an extension and have until <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24657486-unwra-extension" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">May 28</a> to respond to the complaint.</p>
<p>Following Israeli officials’ allegations, major donors initially cut
funding to UNRWA, but later reversed the decisions — except for the
United States, the group’s biggest donor, where <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/03/22/gaza-unrwa-funding-congress/">Congress blocked funding</a> as part of the budget package approved this spring.</p>
<p>The major corporate law firm Greenberg Traurig has taken on the
latest case. The National Jewish Advocacy Center has taken on the three
other cases. The group did not respond to a request for comment. </p>
<img src="https://theintercept.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2150521784.jpg?fit=5760%2C3840&w=1200" alt="TOPSHOT - Pro-Palestinian students stand their ground after police breached their encampment the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. Police deployed a heavy presence on US university campuses on May 1 after forcibly clearing away some weeks-long protests against Israel's war with Hamas. Dozens of police cars patrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles campus in response to violent clashes overnight when counter-protesters attacked an encampment of pro-Palestinian students. (Photo by Etienne LAURENT / AFP) (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images)" width="438" height="292" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;">
<span>Pro-Palestine students stand their ground against police at UCLA in Los Angeles, early in the morning on May 2, 2024.</span>
<span>Photo: Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images</span>
<h2 id="gmail-h-crackdown-on-student-groups">Crackdown on Student Groups</h2>
<p>Student advocates for Palestine have faced concerted and sometimes
violent crackdowns by school administrators and police. Mainstream media
outlets uncritically repeat unsubstantiated claims that <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/27/palestine-israel-free-speech-retaliation-senate/">they support Hamas</a>.</p>
<p>Students for Justice in Palestine chapters, which are at the center
of much campus organizing, have faced harsh censorship since October.
The group was singled out in congressional hearings that have pressured
university administrators to<a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/01/13/penn-palestine-writes-liz-magill/"> further crack down</a> on Palestinian advocacy on campus.</p>
<p>Columbia University suspended its SJP chapter and its chapter of
Jewish Voice for Peace in November. The New York Civil Liberties Union
and Palestine Legal <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24655990-nyclu-sjp-jvp-suit" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">sued</a> the university over the suspension in March in the New York Supreme Court. The case is pending.</p>
<p>American University placed its SJP chapter on <a href="https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2024/04/breaking-american-university-places-students-for-justice-in-palestine-chapter-on-disciplinary-probation" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">probation</a>
in April after the group held a silent indoor demonstration; the school
banned indoor protests in January. Rutgers University suspended the SJP
chapter on its New Brunswick campus in December and claimed that the
group had protested in “nonpublic forums” and caused disruption on
campus; the suspension was lifted in January. (I am a co-teacher of a
class at Rutgers.)</p>
<p>George Washington University suspended its SJP chapter in November
after the group projected statements onto a library building calling for
the university to divest from Israel. The projected images said GWU had
blood on its hands and used the phrase “Glory to our martyrs,” a
cultural reference to any Palestinian killed by Israel that was
interpreted by outsiders as an endorsement of Hamas.</p>
<p>Brandeis was the first private university to ban its SJP chapter in November, <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/president/letters/2023-11-08-free-speech-not-hate-speech.html" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">claiming</a> that the group “openly supports Hamas.”</p>
<p>State-level Republican officials have also taken steps to legalize the suppression of SJP. In March, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/06/01/israel-texas-government-relationship/">Texas Gov. Greg Abbott</a>
issued an executive order targeting campus activism, calling on all the
state’s higher education institutions to “review and update free speech
policies” to address antisemitism. The order defined the slogan “from
the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic and linked
the use of the widely adopted phrase to Hamas.</p>
<p>And in October, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered colleges to shut
down all SJP chapters. The University of Florida SJP chapter sued
DeSantis in November and said the governor’s order was a violation of
free speech. A federal court <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court-rules-florida-officials-do-not-intend-to-deactivate-university-of-floridas-students-for-justice-in-palestine" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">denied</a>
the chapter’s request for a preliminary injunction in January and found
that Florida officials did not intend to deactivate all SJP chapters
after comments by the Florida University System chancellor walking back
DeSantis’s order.</p>
<p>In October, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares opened an <a href="https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/jason-miyares-investigation-american-muslims-for-palestine-nov-1-2023" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">investigation</a>
into AMP and said his office had reason to believe that the
organization was soliciting contributions without proper registration.
Miyares, a Republican, had also called on state law enforcement agencies
to donate <a href="https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/gideons-armor-campaign-oct-24-2023" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">tactical gear</a> to Israeli citizens.</p>
<p>Last week, Congress <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/08/american-democracy-israel-us-arabs/">adopted a resolution</a> that would further chill speech from organizations like SJP. The resolution employs a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/06/06/antisemitism-definition-israel-palestine/">controversial definition</a>
of antisemitism that includes any attempts to draw comparisons between
the actions of the Israeli government and Nazis. The House voted 320 to
91 to adopt the working definition of antisemitism published in 2016 by
the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The lead author of the
definition has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/13/antisemitism-executive-order-trump-chilling-effect" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" aria-describedby="targetBlankDescription">said</a> it “was never intended to be a campus hate speech code.”</p>
</div></div></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
</div></div></div>