by Naomi Linder Kahn
"The shocking truth is that the United States is providing material support to a terrorist organization that is waging a brutal war against the only democratic ally the US has in the middle east, and the US-funded and trained Palestinian Authority Security Forces are no different than Hamas. " – Meir Deutsch, Director General, Regavim.
The letter provides irrefutable evidence and undeniable testimony that the humanitarian aid provided to Gaza, ostensibly to the civilian population, is invariably commandeered by Hamas: The letter cites statements to this effect by the US embassy in Israel, the US government itself, the IDF, UNRWA – and even Fatah officials.
"The shocking truth is that the United States is providing material support to a terrorist organization that is waging a brutal war against the only democratic ally the US has in the middle east, and the US-funded and trained Palestinian Authority Security Forces are no different than Hamas. Exposing the terrorist nature of the US's 'partner for peace' is 'inconvenient,' to put it politely, so the Administration has decided to attack the messenger in order to suppress the message." – Meir Deutsch, Director General, Regavim.
Biden Administration seeks to silence consensus civil society organizations in Israel with sanctions typically used against terrorists: "A draconian measure that harks back to the days of colonialist oppression."
A team of legal experts submitted a sharply worded letter to the US State Department following the announcement of Executive Order 14115 sanctioning the Tzav 9 Movement. "The Executive Order is an anti-democratic attack on free speech and the right to protest."
Earlier this week (Monday), following publication on Friday, 14 June 2024 of a US Executive Order imposing sanctions on the Israeli protest movement Tzav 9, a team of lawyers headed by Attorneys Marc Zell, Noam Schreiber, Jerome Marcus and other experts in US and international law, on behalf of the Regavim Movement, sent a request for clarification to the US State Department.
The sharply-worded letter decried the Executive Order as vague and unsubstantiated, describing it as an attempt to stifle free speech and the right to protest. The legal team called upon the US government to explain both the basis for the sanctions and the practical implications for Tzav 9 and Regavim, one of several civil society organizations that helped the Tzav 9 activists organize.
"Our firms represent The Regavim Movement, a public interest
organization dedicated to the protection of Israel's national lands and
resources, as well as Regavim's Chief Executive Officer, Meir Deutsch; a
number of persons who have donated to Regavim and wish to continue to
do so; and ... persons and political advocacy organizations which have
interacted with, supported, and been addressed by Regavim and its
leaders," the letter explained. "The Regavim Movement is active in the
public, parliamentary and judicial spheres, through publication of
opinion and research papers, and through the dissemination of reports,
policy and opinion papers, media communications and, when necessary,
legal action."
"One of Regavim's initiatives is support for Tsav 9, an entity which
conducts nonviolent demonstrations and civil disobedience in an effort
to prevent the transfer of assets to Hamas."
The letter went on to highlight the vast differences between the target of the sanctions – Tzav 9, an apolitical, non-violent, law abiding grassroots protest movement – and the beneficiaries of the aid that the sanctions aim to protect -a US-designated terrorist organization that continues to take pride in the atrocities it perpetrated on October 7th, the very same group that continues to hold men, women and children hostage.
"Tsav 9 is resolutely nonpartisan, and is supported by over 15,000 members and supporters from all walks of Israeli life, and from all points on the religious and political spectra. ...The protest activities in which Tsav 9 has engaged are completely nonviolent, and precisely the kind of public advocacy and civil disobedience of which President Biden and members of his administration have explicitly approved. Hamas is a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and the provision of any financial support to Hamas is a federal crime."
The letter provides irrefutable evidence and undeniable testimony that the humanitarian aid provided to Gaza, ostensibly to the civilian population, is invariably commandeered by Hamas: The letter cites statements to this effect by the US embassy in Israel, the US government itself, the IDF, UNRWA – and even Fatah officials.
The letter further notes that the Executive Order was issued without any prior dialogue, clarification, discussion or communication with the Tzav 9 leadership or with the Regavim Movement, despite the fact that the US Embassy in Israel has an open and active channel of communication with the public policy group.
Meir Deutsch, Director General of Regavim: "The Biden Administration, which claims to be the leader of the world's greatest democracy, has been exposed as anti-democratic. Apparently, both Tzav 9 and Regavim have spotlighted some uncomfortable facts that the American government prefers to hide: The shocking truth is that the United States is providing material support to a terrorist organization that is waging a brutal war against the only democratic ally the US has in the middle east, and the US-funded and trained Palestinian Authority Security Forces are no different than Hamas. Exposing the terrorist nature of the US's "partner for peace" is "inconvenient," to put it politely, so the Administration has decided to attack the messenger in order to suppress the message."
"Regavim extended support to Tzav 9 and to the families of those murdered and captured by Hamas, adding our voice to their call to halt support for the Nukhba terrorists in Gaza – as did 80% of Israeli citizens," Deutsch added. "Particularly against the backdrop of the most recent United Nations report, which determines that there is no famine in Gaza, the imposition of sanctions is a desperate move by American government, a misdirected tantrum targeting a protest movement that expresses dissent through legally protected non-violent free speech, in the most legitimate and justified protest there is. These unprecedented punitive measures hark back to the dark era of the Iron Curtain. Executive Order 14115 is illiberal and anti-democratic."
Naomi Linder Kahn
Source:https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20712/biden-administration-seeks-to-silence-consensus
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