In a groundbreaking legal move, victims of the October 7th Hamas terror attack are filing a lawsuit against two anti-Israel campus organizations, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP).
The plaintiffs, comprising nine American and Israeli victims, allege that these groups played a part in the attack by acting "as collaborators and propagandists for Hamas."
The lawsuit, lodged in a U.S. district court on Wednesday, accuses AMP and NSJP of inciting a surge of anti-Semitic protests across American college campuses. This marks the first instance of terror victims targeting campus anti-Israel groups for their purported role in amplifying Hamas propaganda and instigating a series of increasingly violent protests that have threatened Jewish college students nationwide.
The lawsuit asserts, "Survivors of Hamass October 7 terrorist attack, family members of those murdered by Hamas, civilians still under fire from Hamass ongoing terrorism, and persons displaced by Hamass ongoing terrorism have been, and continue to be, injured because AMP and NSJP knowingly provide continuous, systematic, and substantial assistance to Hamas and its affiliates acts of international terrorism."
In a collective statement, the terror victims and their families called for AMP and NSJP to be held legally accountable for Hamass terror campaign and face expulsion from the United States. They expressed their desire to expose these groups as terrorists and ensure their operations are halted in the United States and other infiltrated countries.
SJP branches, supervised by AMP, have been implicated in a series of anti-Semitic protests on college campuses nationwide, many of which have escalated into violence against Jewish students. Campus administrators at institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of California system have grappled with containing these protests, leading Congress to initiate anti-Semitism investigations.
The lawsuit alleges that both campus umbrella groups function "as Hamass propaganda division in the United States," inciting protests on campuses nationwide to assist the terror group in its objective of eliminating Israel. The lawsuit states, "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 lawsuit further alleges that AMP and NSJP responded to Hamass call for mass mobilization by disseminating a manifesto and plan of attack, which includes materials that appear to have been created before the attack. Propaganda materials used by both groups identify the campus movements as part of an alleged "unity intifada" governed by Hamass unified command of terrorist operations in Gaza.
The lawsuit states, "As part of Hamass movement, AMP and NSJP state that they seek liberation,' which they describe as a real process that requires confrontation by any means necessary, including armed struggle and other acts of violence." This constitutes material support for terrorism, making both groups potentially liable for Hamass violence, according to the lawsuit.
Arsen Ostrovsky, an attorney and CEO of the International Legal Forum, one of several groups supporting the lawsuit, stated that NSJP "has effectively become the U.S. campus arm of Hamas." The lawsuit is being jointly managed by Greenberg Traurig, the National Jewish Advocacy Center, Schoen Law Firm, and Holtzman Vogel.
Ostrovsky accused these groups of "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." He added, "Enough is enough, we must bring to justice not only the perpetrators of the most heinous massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, but hold accountable all those who enable, support, and collaborate with them, like NSJP and AMP."
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