Chicago, IL – Court Reverses Judgment Against Islamic Organizations

Chicago, IL – A federal appeals court overturned a $156 million judgment against several Southland-based Islamic organizations – three years after they were found liable for a 1996 terrorist attack that killed a Jewish teenager outside Jerusalem.

David Boim, 17, was shot in the head, by gunmen affiliated with Hamas, while waiting for a bus after school.

His parents, Stanley and Joyce Boim, Americans who moved to Israel, filed a lawsuit alleging the organizations had supported Hamas and bore responsibility for their son's murder.

With one judge partially dissenting, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago sent the case back to the federal district court for reconsideration. A new trial could result.

The majority concluded that U.S. Magistrate Arlander Keys had failed to require the Boim's a "causal link" between their son's death and any money or support given to Hamas.

"Proof that a defendant helped Hamas, with knowledge of its terrorist activities and the intent that those activities succeed, is not the same thing as proof that the defendant's aid actually caused a particular injury," the majority wrote in its opinion.

"Otherwise, we would be saying that one who aids Hamas … is automatically liable for any and all of Hamas's later terrorist acts, regardless of whether the aid played any role whatsoever in bringing those acts about."

Attorney for the defendants hailed the ruling, saying he was confident it means "this case is over." "It's over for this simple reason … none of these defendants had anything to do with the admitted tragedy," he said.

Lawyers for the Boims said that the appeals court's decision "will harm other victims of terrorism who are seeking compensation, undermines the fight against terrorism and will be reversed by the Supreme Court." [southtownstar]