A Matter of Some Urgency

“When my legislation was signed into law, we put terrorists on notice that if they harm Americans, we’ll hit them in the pocketbook.” -- Senator Chuck Grassley, author of the Anti-Terrorism Act

Under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1990, Leslye Knox of Georgia sued the Palestinians for sponsoring a 2002 terrorist attack in which her husband was killed in Israel. In 2006, a federal judge ordered the PA and PLO to pay Knox and other relatives nearly $174 million in damages.

In another case, the children of Yaaron Ungar (killed in Israel in a 1996 terrorist attack) were awarded $116 million in U.S. courts. The Palestinian Authority has not paid in either case.

The Palestinian Authority has the money - the world just gave them $7.4 billion in December - but Palestinian officials say that such lawsuits threaten to drive them into bankruptcy. Thus they are furiously lobbying the State Department to assist them in “vacating” the Knox judgment by submitting a “Statement of Interest” on their behalf… because of “international ramifications.”

The United States is undoubtedly in an awkward position. On the one hand, we are giving the PA hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, and on the other hand, our courts are legally awarding hundreds of millions of those dollars back to American taxpayers, those tax payers who are seeking justice for family members murdered by Palestinians.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has tried to sidestep the issue, writing that “the United States is not party to these enforcement proceedings.” But the Palestinians have “lawyered up” with American lawyers and are prepared to litigate. (Apparently, they don’t mind spending on legal fees.)

In December, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero put the United States on the spot. He gave the government 45 days to respond as to whether it would indeed issue a “Statement of Interest” in the Knox case. Then, at the government’s request, Marrero extended the deadline until the end of February, which is now rapidly approaching.

Will the U.S. join the side it’s on? Or will it intervene on behalf of the Palestinians against its own citizens who seek justice in U.S. courts? It’s hard to believe it’s even a question.

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Tomorrow I'll add an update here, with contact information for the Justice Department, State Department, and others. We must make it known to our government [This Week] that we know what's going on and that We The People, - the citizens, the voters and the taxpayers whose interests our government is meant to represent and protect - are watching carefully what they do in this case.

Many of us are like-minded in our support for our fellow citizens who have taken direct hits in terrorist attacks. And many of us expect, and in fact demand, that our legal system work for us, not for the PA and PLO.

If a court awards any one of us millions of dollars in damages for the murder of a loved one by terrorists, then we expect to receive that award. This is what was intended by our elected representatives in Congress when they passed the Anti-Terrorism Act in 1990.

No department in the government of the United States of America, not even the State Department or the Department of Justice, has the right to intervene in such a way as to thwart the American legal system on behalf of a foreign entity. Much less this particular foreign entity, which according to our courts is legally responsible for "damages" wrought in attacks on Americans in Israel.

By my count, fifty-four American citizens have been killed by Palestinian terrorists, and many more dozens have been wounded and maimed.

When I get the fax numbers up, you've got to use them. You don't have to be eloquent or long-winded, you don't have to go over the history of this whole mess. You can simply say that you will not tolerate our government forfeiting our rights or betraying our interests... in order to futher Palestinian interests and meet Palestinian demands.

We'll do in the morning (west coast time). Stay tuned.

UPDATE: HERE ARE THE FAX NUMBERS

(10:25 AM in LA - todah rabah to Devorah!)