Nine American and Israeli survivors and victims of October 7 on Wednesday filed a lawsuit to the US District Court for the Eastern Division of Virginia, Alexandria Division, against American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), alleging that they collaborated with Hamas to legitimize the Hamas attacks and provide public relations services for the terrorist organization.
“It is time that Hamas and all of its agents, like AMP and NSJP, be held responsible for their horrific actions,” the victims said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “We want to go on record to expose these groups for the terrorists they are and make certain that they are stopped from operating in the United States and other countries they infiltrate.”
The plaintiffs sought compensation from AMP and NSJP for what the lawsuit described as a coordinated effort to justify and support Gazan terrorist operations immediately after the October attack, propaganda guides, the April 15 economic blockades, and the April 19 call for campus encampments.
A day after the October 7 pogrom, NSJP issued a Day of Resistance Toolkit for anti-Israel activists and began to organize protests.
Hamas' call for mass mobilization
According to the suit, it served as a direct response to a Hamas call for mass mobilization of international supporters. There were several campus events in the wake of October 7 organized using the toolkit.
The toolkit praised the attacks as a historic victory for Palestinians, used Hamas paraglider imagery, described Israeli civilians as legitimate targets, and called for resistance in all forms, “armed struggle, general strikes, and popular demonstrations. All of it is legitimate, and all of it is necessary.” The suit noted that NSJP’s rhetoric and arguments were often adopted by Hamas itself.In the toolkit, NSJP described itself as part of the “unity intifada” being waged, not simply in solidarity with the movement.“NSJP has effectively become the US campus arm of Hamas, directly aiding and abetting the terror group on American colleges, and facilitating the conditions necessary for Hamas to continue carrying out acts of terror and the holding of hostages, including American nationals,” said Attorney Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of The International Legal Forum, one of the organizations involved in filing the suit.AMP and SJP took part in the April 15 economic blockades that attempted to disrupt US and global economic centers by blocking key bridges, airports, and roads.Following the establishment of an encampment at Columbia University to force the administration to adopt anti-Israel policies, NSJP issued a call for its chapters to replicate the process to “seize” campuses across the US.At Columbia and these other universities, many protesters have called for an Intifada, openly identified with terrorist organizations, flaunted their symbols, and praised the October 7 attacks.
THE SUIT argues that the filing is not seeking to suppress speech, but for providing service to Hamas as a public relations firm that it would otherwise be unable to obtain in the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.“It is deeply ironic that the same people carrying signs saying ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Jews’ claim they are protected by free speech. They are not. Free speech has never included the active support of terrorism, and it has never protected the destruction of private property or the brutalization of innocent men, women, and children of many faiths, not just Jews,” said Scott Bornstein, senior vice of the law firm Greenberg Traurig which is representing the plaintiffs along with the National Jewish Advocacy Center, the Schoen Law Firm, and the Holtzman Vogel law firm. “We cannot – and through this lawsuit, we are saying we will not – allow the infiltration of Hamas-directed hatred, violence, and intimidation anywhere we can prevent it.The suit alleged that AMP, and by extension NSJP, were connected to Hamas through now defunct entities that had faced legal challenges for material support for the terrorist group.Several members of AMP’s leadership, according to the suit, were former members or associates of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) and KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development.HLF was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control and in 2008, HLF and five of its leaders were convicted of providing material support to Hamas.IAP was dissolved after it was found civilly liable for providing material support to Hamas through propaganda efforts in 2004. KindHearts was disbanded after a settlement with the US Treasury over material support to Hamas.“Six members of AMP’s core leadership were IAP board members or active in HLF and/or IAP, two are family members of IAP board members, and one was a frequent collaborator and fundraiser for IAP and KindHearts,” said the suit. “Many of its staff are similarly ‘leftovers’ from that enterprise.”AMP founder and chairman Hatem Bazian, who founded the first SJP chapter, is alleged by the suit to have frequently worked with IAP and fundraised for KindHearts.“The chaos we are seeing at American colleges and universities has been well planned and organized, and National SJP’s work to support the end goals of Hamas needs to be exposed and stopped,” said Holtzman Vogel partner Jason Torchinsky. “We hope this lawsuit sees justice for our clients.”