Israel: International Solidarity Movement ISM Supports Terrorism

The ISM claims that Palestinians were only throwing rocks!

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

Jerusalem----April 5......The Israel Beit She'an Magistrate's Court has dismissed a lawsuit for libel brought by a foreign International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist against an Israel journalist. The American plaintiff alleged that Jerusalem reporter, Judy Lash Balint had defamed her in an article posted on an Israel Internet website which maintained that members of the ISM were in close contact with the Palestinian terrorist organizations.

The Israel Prime Minister's Office declared in June 2003 that the International Solidarity Movement had been directly related to acts of terrorism. In describing the activities of the terrorists who took part in the Tel Aviv suicide bombing of the popular nightclub "Mike's Place", the Israel Security Agency stated: "the two terrorists were careful to base their presence in Judea and Samaria by forging links with members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)."

The report continued: "ISM members take an active part in illegal and violent actions against IDF soldiers. At times, their activity in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip is under the auspices of Palestinian terrorist organizations." "Foreign left wing activists, especially ISM members, who seek entry into Israel, often do so under false pretenses, via cover stories i.e. - entry for matrimonial, tourist, religious, etc. purposes which they coordinate prior to arriving in Israel," the Israel Security Agency reported.

Foreign volunteers in the International Solidarity Movement said in May of 2003 that they had tea with two Britons later involved in a Tel Aviv suicide bombing, but said they had no idea at the time of the assailants' intentions. One of the Britons, Asif Hanif, 21, blew himself up in a Tel Aviv bar in April, killing a waitress and two musicians. The second man, Omar Khan Sharif, 27, fled when his bomb failed to detonate and remains at large. Both were British citizens. Israel's defense minister said that in the wake of the bombing, Israel would have to tighten checks on foreigners visiting Palestinian territory. In recent weeks, Israeli officials have said they intend to be even stricter about letting these activists into the country. The ISM openly declares on it's web site that it recognizes the Palestinian right to resist Israel via 'legitimate armed struggle.'

In June 2003, the IDF arrested a foreign "activist" during its search for arms smuggling tunnels in the Gazan town of Rafah. Army sources said the woman was inside a house that was slated for demolition. The woman was later released and allowed to remain in the country, though she was barred from returning to Gaza. The IDF had also discovered and arrested a member of the International Solidarity Movement who was hiding an Islamic Jihad terrorist (wanted for planning and executing several terror bomb attacks against Israeli civilians) in Jenin.

The plaintiff claimed that Balint had implied in the piece that her presence in the territories assisted the terrorist groups in perpetrating attacks. Balint was defended in the case by Shurat HaDin Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner. Balint expressed her satisfaction with the dismissal of the action viewing it as a confirmation of the accuracy of her reporting: "The judge's decision to throw the libel case against me out of court underscores my assertion about the true nature of the International Solidarity Movement. Hopefully this decision will prevent further frivolous legal action against reporters who try to tell the truth about extremist groups."

The case filed in December 2003, was initially delayed when the attorney for the plaintiff, Shamai Leibowitz, represented to the Court that he had served Balint with a complaint and not received an answer. At the time, however, the Israeli court system was on strike and the time periods for answering court papers had been suspended in place. Nonetheless, the Court mistakenly granted the plaintiff a default judgment. However, after the error was brought to the Court's attention it swiftly vacated the default. The defense then requested that the Court instruct the foreign plaintiff to post a bond to ensure court costs in the event that the case was to be dismissed, as is required by Israeli law. However, attorney Leibowitz boldly stated to the Court that under an "existing treaty" U.S. citizens were not required to post bonds in Israeli courts. The defense, however, researched the matter and discovered, in fact, that the U.S. was not a party to any such treaty.

After being presented with this finding, the Court ordered the plaintiff to post the bond in thirty days. When this period of time passed and the plaintiff still had failed to post the money, the defense moved to have the nuisance suit dismissed. In December 2004, Attorney Leibowitz inaccurately wrote to the Court that the two sides were negotiating a settlement, while in fact no such compromise would be entertained by Balint who insisted that she wanted to take the case to trial and publicly establish the accuracy of her article. Based upon Leibowitz' misrepresentation, however, the Court granted a further extension in time. In January, Attorney Darshan-Leitner wrote to the Court informing it that the defense would not accept a compromise in any event and asked that the suit be dismissed for the plaintiff's failure to post the required bond.

Finally last week, the Israel court dismissed the baseless lawsuit. Leibowitz is the grandson of the late controversial Israeli philosopher, Rabbi Yeshaiyahu Liebowitz. Since the outbreak of the current round of Palestinian violence in September 2000, Israeli troops have conducted thousands of counter-terrorism operations in the towns and villages of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, in the heart of hostile and dangerous Palestinian population centers.

The Israel Defense Forces' ability to operate effectively in these areas against the Palestinian terrorists has been systematically and intentionally obstructed by groups of foreign volunteers, who are used by the Palestinian Authority as "human shields". The most dangerous of these groups is the Palestinian-financed ISM The ISM recruits anti-Israel radicals, primarily from Europe and American college campuses, and sends them to Judea, Samaria and Gaza to disrupt Israeli military operations. The presence of these foreign civilians in the midst of the Palestinian population obstructs the IDF's ability to fight Palestinian terrorists. By interfering with Israeli counter-terrorism operations, the ISM directly endangers the lives of Israeli civilians. In April 2003, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that: "ISM members take an active part in illegal and violent actions against IDF soldiers. At times, their activity in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip is under the auspices of Palestinian terrorist organizations."

In the past, ISM members have been arrested vandalizing and destroying Israeli security fences and equipment. In March 2003, fugitive Islamic Jihad terrorist, Shadi Sukiya, was arrested in a house in Jenin rented by the ISM Shurat HaDin is also representing the family of an Israeli soldier currently on trial for the alleged shooting of ISM militant, Tom Hurndall, in April 2003. The Israel Law Center has called upon the Knesset to outlaw the extremist ISM.

"We are at a time of war and they are going into enemy territory," said Tova Ellinson a spokesperson for the Israeli Interior Ministry, noting that this policy has been in effect for over a year and that dozens of people have been deported "for breaking the law." Danny Seaman, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office stated: "members of the ISM have been knowingly aiding and abetting terrorists and disrupting the activity of the IDF meant to prevent the murder of Israeli civilians." "Far from aiding peace, their behavior is encouraging the terrorist element in Palestinian society, " Seaman said. "Some of them are misguided and being cynically used by the Palestinians and many of them know exactly who they are supporting and what they're doing, and no country facing the terrorist threat of the proportions such as Israel can tolerate this kind of behavior," Seaman concluded. According to a senior security government source, the International Solidarity Movement receives funds from both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.