Israel apparently intends to use a 217-year-old U.S. law as part of a campaign of legal coercion aimed at stopping the Freedom Flotilla II from setting sail for Gaza with its cargo of humanitarian supplies.
The law in question is the Neutrality Act of 1794, which forbids preparation of “the means for any military expedition or enterprise” against countries friendly with the United States. The act was signed into law by President George Washington as a means of blocking individual Americans from assisting France, which had just overthrown its monarchy, in its war with Great Britain.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in a New York court, Dr. Alan Bauer, described as “an American victim of a Palestinian terror attack,” seeks to have all vessels involved with the flotilla confiscated on the grounds that the Free Gaza Movement engaged in fundraising in the U.S., thus violating the law, reports the Jerusalem Post.
One of the attorneys representing Bauer is Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, of the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, who can be seen discussing the matter in the video below. The interview was conducted by James Poulos of PJTV, which has set up a “Flotilla Watch 2011” page on its website.
With the occasional smirk lighting upon her face, Darshan-Leitner explains the enforcement mechanisms Israel may have at its disposal, discussing at one point how the fact that the boats are currently out of U.S. waters may not necessarily pose an obstacle to their impoundment.
“We are seeking for a declaratory judgment given by the federal American courts, and once we have this judgment we can either domesticate it and enforce it in the different countries where the boats actually are,” she comments. “And also in the end of the road, I mean—we hope that this lawsuit will stop the boats from coming, but let’s assume that they do not care, they take the sail and arrive in Israel—because Israel is not going to let them go to Gaza—as happened last year, they’re gonna grab the boats and bring them to the (smirk) Ashdod port—we are going to go to the Israeli court and ask them to hold the boats until the American proceeding will be over. So the fact that the boats are all over the world does not stop us from going to the American court and getting jurisdiction of the American court and enforce it in different places.”
Coming hot on the heels of a somewhat similar lawsuit filed in Canada, this latest maneuver could possibly be viewed as part of a multi-front legal battle—or perhaps bullying campaign—being waged by Israel to shut down the flotilla. In the video below the Israeli attorney discusses how additional “prongs” of the attack are to include putting pressure on maritime insurers to withdraw coverage for the ships, as well as seeking an injunction against Inmarsat, a satellite communications company. The injunction would seek to have the company withdraw communications services to flotilla vessels.
She ends the interview by appealing to Americans to phone Attorney General Eric Holder and Inmarsat to request their cooperation in the action against the flotilla. We can imagine that the Hasbara brigades have already responded to this appeal. Should supporters of Palestine wish to make their own voices heard, the contact information is as follows:
Office of Attorney General Eric Holder:
202-353-1555
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
202-353-1555
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Darshan-Leitner names Inmarsat as an American company. The company’s website lists its global headquarters as London. However, a Washington office is also listed. Here is the contact info for both:
London:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7728 1777
Fax: +44 (0)20 7728 1142
Customer_care@inmarsat.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7728 1777
Fax: +44 (0)20 7728 1142
Customer_care@inmarsat.com
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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