Unprecedented: A lawsuit was filed against Iran, Syria and North Korea due to the following

The Anti-Defamation League and the Kroll Attorney’s Office have filed a lawsuit to hold Iran, Syria and North Korea responsible for their support of the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 in Israel. This is the largest lawsuit of its kind, with over 125 plaintiffs, and the first case managed by A Jewish organization, in order to hold countries that support terrorism responsible for the terrorist attack of October 7 in Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Crowell & Moring law firm filed a federal lawsuit today alleging that Iran, Syria and North Korea provided material support to Hamas, enabling it to carry out the atrocities in Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed, wounded and terrorizing dozens of US citizens and their families, and demanding financial compensation in accordance with the applicable federal and local laws in the US. The lawsuit includes more than 125 plaintiffs, including US citizens injured or killed as a result of the October 7 attack, and first-degree family members of those injured or killed.

“Iran is the world’s biggest supporter of terrorism and anti-Semitism, along with Syria and North Korea. They must bear responsibility for their part in the largest anti-Semitic attack since the Holocaust. We are doing everything in our power to bring justice to the hands of the Hamas terrorists and the elements that support them, including imposing the full weight of the League Against Defamation for the success of this lawsuit,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, Global Director of the Anti-Defamation League. “In a world where Jewish pain and suffering is all too often erased, we hope this groundbreaking case will bring justice to some of the victims and create a record of the horrific brutality of Hamas, carried out with the support of these state sponsors of terrorism.”

This lawsuit seeks to hold the state sponsors of this heinous attack accountable in accordance with the Terrorism Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Foreign countries that support terrorist activities often refuse to honor judgments against them. The victims will then need support from the Fund for Victims of Terrorism of Countries that Support and Finance Terrorism – a fund created by Congress in 2015 to allow American victims of terrorism, such as those in this case, to receive significant relief from their suffering.

Since its inception, over 18,000 American victims of foreign-sponsored terrorism have been found eligible by the fund. Unfortunately, recently, the fund is not providing meaningful compensation to victims as Congress intended, necessitating legislative action to ensure consistent and meaningful payments to victims. Recently, in May, Representatives Mike Lawler, R-New York, and Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing this lack of funding and helping victims.

The Anti-Defamation League and the Crowell Law Firm are working concurrently with congressional leaders on these legislative efforts while litigating to ensure that the American victims of the October 7th attack receive the compensation they are entitled to at the time of the verdicts.

“There is a broad base of precedents for this case: US courts have repeatedly held that Iran, Syria, and North Korea are responsible for substantially supporting terrorist attacks that harmed US citizens and US-Israeli dual citizens,” said James Fash, senior director for National Anti-Defamation League Litigation, and the League’s lead attorney on this case.

“There is also clear evidence that these countries, sponsors of terrorism, provided material support to the Hamas terrorists, which enabled them to carry out the atrocities of October 7. In a world where the denial of October 7 gained traction almost immediately after the events, this case will put things on Their accuracy in everything related to the horrors that took place that day, and the factors that were responsible for providing material support for this despicable terrorist attack, and will ultimately pave the way for justice, the imposition of responsibility, and compensation.”

Each of the more than 100 plaintiffs in this lawsuit is a US citizen, or a family member of a US citizen, and is therefore entitled to file a lawsuit for the deaths and physical and mental injuries caused by Hamas during the barbaric massacre. The file details the horrors experienced by the victims at the hands of Hamas terrorists in many places, including the Nuva Festival, Kibbutz Bari, Kibbutz Saad, Kibbutz Kissufim, Basis Sofa, Kibbutz Erez, Kibbutz Alumim, Kibbutz Nir Oz, and the city of Ofakim.

Adrienne Neta, born in California, was murdered in an attack on Kibbutz Bari. “My mother, Adrian Neta, was born and raised in California. Her father was an engineer in the Air Force, and the family lived at the Navy bases for most of her childhood. In the early 1980s, she immigrated to Israel and married my father and together they started a family in Kibbutz Bari,” said prosecutor Nahar Neta.

“Nothing will ever heal the unbearable pain that Hamas caused our family or the terrible loss we suffered, but we hope that this case will bring some sense of justice. It is important for us to have the opportunity to tell our stories so that the world can hear how Hamas terrorized Israel, the people The Jew, and for many American citizens. My mother dedicated her life to caring for others, regardless of race or religious beliefs, she was a pursuer of peace and justice, who was engaged in an extensive civic activity aimed at bridging the gaps between Jews and Arabs in Israel.”

The lawsuit claims that the defendants provided material support to Hamas, including military, tactical, and financial support, which allowed the terrorist organization to commit its atrocities.

The Anti-Defamation League serves as co-counsel with Crowell & Moring, a law firm with decades of experience in litigating and winning terrorism cases, with cases opened following events such as the bombing of UTA Flight 772 in 1989, the bombings at the US Embassy in Beirut in 1983 and 1984, and the embassy bombing American in Nairobi in 1998, in addition to several other attacks. To date, Crowell and Moring have won billions of dollars in verdicts related to international terrorism. Crowell and Moring’s anti-terrorism litigation team is led by Aryeh Portnoy and John Moreno.

“It is necessary to fight terrorism with all the tools at our disposal,” Portnoy said. “One of these tools is the courts, and another tool is the state-sponsored fund for victims of terrorism. We are committed to fighting for the victims and their families so that they will never be forgotten, and so that they will receive a measure of justice for the horrors they have gone through.”

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

The Anti-Defamation League is the world’s leading organization that works to prevent hate crimes. The organization, founded in 1913, engraved on its banner “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to ensure justice and fair treatment for all”. Today, the Anti-Defamation League continues to fight anti-Semitism and discrimination in all its forms, using innovation and creating partnerships to drive and create impact. As an international leader in the fight against anti-Semitism, extremism and racism wherever and whenever they occur, the Anti-Defamation League works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all. For further reading: www.adl.org.

Law firm Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell and Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia. The firm has extensive experience in the fields of government, business, industry and law. The firm assists clients in taking advantage of opportunities and provides creative solutions in complex claims and arbitrations, in regulatory and policy matters, and in a variety of corporate and business issues. The firm is continuously recognized for its commitment to free service, and its programs and initiatives to promote diversity, equality and inclusion.