The main point of the plaintiff’s argument is that Palestinian organizations support Hamas, as a rule. This is a dangerous assumption. The court recognized that being Palestinian does not mean supporting Hamas: “The Court refuses to infer that because Dr. Bazian and Ahmad support Palestinian issues they are somehow connected to Hamas, as plaintiffs suggest.” [ii]
Civil Litigation Department Head of CLCMA[iii], Christina Jump, tells us that this kind of lawsuit is often a battle of financial endurance. Someone can sue your organization until your organization runs out of money. Then they can win easily because your organization has no way of fighting back. Or they don’t mind if they officially win or lose because they’ve ended your organization anyway.
From 2017 through 2021, our attorneys at CLCMA successfully defended AMP and got the case dismissed twice. The plaintiffs are still trying to move forward with their claims, and CLCMA attorneys continue to fight back.
AMP has been able to continue to provide culture and education about Palestinian for Americans since 2006 and throughout five years of legal battles. This is only possible because of the donations received from the Muslim Legal Fund of America.
“We are thrilled for our clients after this long and hard-fought battle,” commented Christina Jump, Civil Litigation Department Head for CLCMA, after one court victory in this process. “Without CLCMA’s ability to work for nonprofits like AMP free of charge, due to the generosity of our operating grant funded by many small donations from across the country, a blameless nonprofit would have been forced out of existence solely because of the nationality of its members and the culture which it works to preserve. After many years, many depositions, and a lot of fishing expeditions in discovery, the plaintiffs have still not been able to get past the early dismissal stages.” [iv]
Knowing about your roots empowers you to contribute to the world in a meaningful way. Being able to celebrate where you come from is one of the wonderful things about living in the United States.
Please help us continue to fight for the rights of our communities.
[i] The Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America. “After Three Years, CLCMA Attorneys Win Victory for American Muslims for Palestine”. CLCMA, https://www.clcma.org/after-three-years-clcma-attorneys-win-victory-for-american-muslims-for-palestine. Accessed 6 April 2022.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] CLCMA stands for “The Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America”, the non-profit law center funded by the Muslim Legal Fund of America.
[iv] Ibid.