Agudah Submits Brief in Support of Terrorism Financing Case

Agudath Israel of America submitted an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the case of Spetner v. Palestine Investment Bank.

The case concerns the family of an American victim of a terror attack who argue that the Palestine Investment Bank provided funds to families of terrorists as incentives.

The case had previously been dismissed by a federal district court on the grounds the court lacked jurisdiction, and the case has been appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the brief submitted by Agudath Israel, it argued that the legislature that allows American citizens to bring cases against foreign funders of terror, such as the families of 9/11 victims against Saudi Arabia, should extend to this case.

Furthermore, banks that allegedly finance terrorism should not be allowed to escape scrutiny through use of intermediary financial systems.

Other organizations that joined onto the brief were the Orthodox Union, StandWithUs, and the One Israel Fund.

Rabbi Mordechai Biser, Special Counsel for Agudath Israel, said in a statement, “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.”