Agudath Israel of America submitted, yesterday, an amicus curiae “friend of the court” brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of Spetner v. Palestine Investment Bank. The case – which is brought by American citizens whose family members were injured or killed in terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada – asks that the court allow a lawsuit to proceed against a bank that was used by terrorist organizations to encourage attacks against Jews by providing financial assistance to families of suicide bombers and other terrorists.
The case had been dismissed earlier by a federal district court on the technicality that the court did not have jurisdiction to allow the lawsuit to proceed because the Palestine Investment Bank used other banks as intermediaries to distribute the “rewards” to families of terrorists. The families of the victims have appealed that decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the district court decision should be overturned.
The amicus curiae brief submitted by Agudath Israel of America argues that under federal anti-terrorism legislation Congress expressly intended that American citizens should have a “private right of action,” meaning the ability to bring a lawsuit in American courts, for anyone injured by acts of terrorism even if they occurred in other countries. The brief argues that banks that finance terrorism should not be allowed to avoid liability by using intermediary banks to finance terrorist activities.
The amicus brief was researched and written by Douglas Mitchell and Scott Whitman of the law firm of Jenner & Block, which agreed to produce the brief pro bono for Agudath Israel. Other organizations joining the brief were the Orthodox Union, StandWithUs, and the One Israel Fund.
Rabbi Mordechai Biser, Special Counsel for Agudath Israel, stated, “We thank Douglas Mitchell and Scott Whitman and the Jenner & Block law firm for producing this important brief, and we hope that the Second Circuit will agree that American citizens should have recourse through American courts to hold financial institutions that finance and support terrorism accountable and liable for their actions. The blood of the victims of terrorism cries out for justice.”