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ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 17 Jul 2024 10:14 am - Jerusalem Time

A Virginia judge rules against a pro-Palestinian group and requires it to disclose donor documents

In a major Virginia court ruling on Tuesday, a judge in Richmond ordered that a pro-Palestinian group, which Israel lobby groups claim has “ties to Hamas,” turn over financial documents about the organization requested by the state attorney general as part of an investigation into its sources of funding. According to a statement issued by his office.


The decision represented a major setback for American Muslims for Palestine, a Virginia-based nonprofit, which may now be forced to hand over sensitive financial records, including donor information that it has long successfully shielded from public view.


Jason Miyares, the Attorney General who belongs to the Republican Party, had been seeking for months to force the organization to hand over his records after his office began its investigations shortly after the Hamas attack on the Gaza Strip on October 7, as part of the harassment that began targeting supporters of the case. Palestinian.


Miyares said in a statement announcing the investigation last October that his office was investigating the group, which has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the attacks, “for raising money without proper registration and potentially violating Virginia’s charitable solicitation laws, including benefiting or providing support.” to terrorist organizations.


The Attorney General had issued a civil investigative request for documents, which AMP's lawyers challenged in a petition.


After a long delay, Miyares' office said a judge on Tuesday ordered AMP to "release the records" it requested and "deny" the group's petition to narrow the scope of the investigation.


In a brief statement to Jewish Insider, Miyares said he was "pleased with the court's decision," which represents the first significant development in one of several cases that are part of a multi-pronged legal effort to extract confidential information from the group's donors.


His office did not comment further, indicating that the investigation is ongoing.


Despite the Attorney General's claim of victory in the case, Christina Jump, an attorney for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) who attended the hearing in Richmond, responded in an email to the Islamic group that “the court has not issued a specific ruling regarding any documents.” Nor about the constitutional protection that we affirm,” noting that donor information “is protected under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.”


Jump, who has represented American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) in other civil lawsuits also targeting the nonprofit, said the judge “held that the Attorney General’s Office had the right to question prior noncompliance and seek compliance” with Virginia law.


She added that the court "did not provide any further clarifications and no order has been issued yet, so we will discuss with the lawyers of the Public Prosecutor's Office what they are requesting."


While Jump said that AMP would "most likely" be able to retroactively correct what the Attorney General's Office cited in the request as its failure to produce required paperwork several years ago, Jump still vowed to challenge the request for "all donor information and transactions, arguing that such... "These documents go beyond the scope of the investigation."


A person familiar with the court hearing confirmed to Jewish Insider on Tuesday that the judge presiding over the case denied AMP's motion to challenge the civil investigation's request for additional records, stating that the prosecutor acted "reasonably" and "in good faith."


The judge ruled that AMP's admission in its petition that it had failed to submit the required paperwork may have justified the order, while also noting that the prosecutor's interest in ensuring that donor funds were not misused had justified the request for the documents, according to the person familiar with the case.


The chief deputy prosecutor who was present at the hearing suggested he would seek an order, which would be legally binding once the judge approves, that AMP respond to its request within 21 days, the person said.


While Jump noted that American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) could appeal the ruling, she said she would wait to see the “proposed language” from the Attorney General’s Office on a written order before making her decision, noting that the judge “instructed the parties to consult.”


It is noteworthy that the organization “American Muslims for Palestine” (AMP) was founded in 2006, and describes itself as “a grassroots organization dedicated to strengthening the movement for justice in Palestine by educating the American public about Palestine and its rich cultural, historical, and religious heritage, and through popular mobilization and advocacy.”


The group has come under increasing legal scrutiny in recent months due to its ties to anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the country, as well as its financial support for Students for Justice in Palestine, which advocates for the Palestinian cause.


The attorney general's investigation is among several high-profile legal efforts targeting AMP, including a recently filed civil suit in Virginia accusing the group of providing material support to Hamas.


The nonprofit is also the subject of an ongoing civil lawsuit in Chicago, which Miyares' office has cited in court filings, alleging that AMP is a "surrogate ego" for groups like IAP and seeking a judgment for a previously uncollected $156 million paid to the family of David Boehm, He was an American who was killed by Hamas in a terrorist attack in 1996 at a bus station in the West Bank.


The judge's decision on Tuesday also comes in addition to letters from Congress requesting records from... AMP.

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A Virginia judge rules against a pro-Palestinian group and requires it to disclose donor documents

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