A legal challenge to the US administration’s sanctions policy was initiated this week in a Texas federal court by Texans for Israel, Professor Eugene Kontorovich reported in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday (Biden’s Unconstitutional Sanctions on Supporters of Israel). The lawsuit cites concerns over free speech, due process, and equal protection. Kontorovich, an expert in international law, is a member of the plaintiffs’ legal team.
Texans for Israel is an American Christian Zionist nonprofit, which filed the lawsuit with American Jews living in Israel (Michael Isley; Regavim, A.R.; Meir Deutsch; Yosef Ben Chaim; and Ari Abramowitz). They argue that the Biden administration has been using an executive order to impose unprecedented sanctions on Israelis who disagree with Biden’s policies.
The initial section of Biden’s executive order allows for sanctions on individuals the administration considers as contributing to the disruption of “peace” or “stability” in Judea and Samaria, even in the absence of criminal activity or violence. This measure is extensive because the administration considers Jews residing in the “West Bank,” as well as those constructing or purchasing homes there, as “obstacles to peace.”
An internal administration memo indicated that the sanctions would focus on those who “disrupt or prevent efforts to achieve a two-state solution.” Additionally, the administration regards Jews visiting their holy sites, such as the Temple Mount or Joseph’s Tomb, as “provocative.”
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury, on July 11 issued an alert that might as well have been written in Tehran. It was titled, “FinCEN Highlights Additional Red Flags Regarding Financing of Israeli Extremist Settler Violence Against Palestinians in the West Bank.”
The body text would also sound better in Persian:
“FinCEN previously issued an alert (February 2024 Alert) to financial institutions related to the financing of Israeli extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. This supplemental alert provides additional red flags to assist US financial institutions in identifying and reporting suspicious activity related to the financing of this violence. Additionally, this alert requests that financial institutions continue to use the existing SAR code (FIN-2024-WBEXTREMISM) when submitting SARs specific to the financing of Israeli extremist settler violence in the West Bank and reminds financial institutions of their Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting obligations.”
SAR, Suspicious Activity Report, is a tool provided under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970 for monitoring suspicious activities that would not ordinarily be flagged under other reports, such as the currency transaction report. The SAR became the standard form to report suspicious activity in 1996.
“As noted in the February 2024 Alert, the United States has consistently opposed actions that undermine peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including attacks by Israeli violent extremist settlers against Palestinians, attacks by Palestinian violent extremists against Israelis, and other acts that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities and risk further escalating tensions and expanding the conflict in the region.”
Texans for Israel upholds the right of the Jewish people to reside in their historical homeland, including Judea and Samaria. The organization offers charitable support to Jewish farmers and communities in these regions and arranges speaking tours in Texas to educate Americans about the significance of the Jewish presence in the Holy Land.
“Sanctions are strong medicine,” Kontorovich wrote. “When the US government imposes sanctions on an individual, his bank accounts and those of his immediate family will be frozen. Anyone who provides any “funds, goods, or services” to them may in turn be subjected to sanctions as well. These are harsh measures typically reserved for terrorists and dictators. Texans for Israel’s support for Judea and Samaria settlements—by hosting speaking events or donating to Israeli advocacy groups—is an exercise of its First Amendment rights. But because of the breadth of the executive order, which sweeps in vast amounts of perfectly legal conduct, it faces massive financial risks that unconstitutionally chill its free speech.”
“If the Biden administration is permitted to do this, a different administration down the line could freeze the bank accounts of Americans who support left-wing Israeli groups simply by deeming their activities bad for peace and stability in the West Bank. Sanctions have never been used to silence policy disagreements like this,” Kontorovich noted.
Last month, the US Treasury froze the bank accounts of Reut Ben Haim, a mother of eight living inside the 1949 armistice “Green Line.” Her offense? She is one of the founders of Tzav 9, a grassroots movement that has protested against US-backed supplies to Gaza, much of which have been stolen by Hamas, since the start of the war. Tzav 9’s protests, which involve blocking traffic (a tactic also used by various protest movements, including pro-Hamas demonstrations in America), have explicitly denounced violence.
One of the plaintiffs, Ari Abramowitz, a U.S. citizen from Texas who runs a sheep farm overlooking the Dead Sea, has been repeatedly attacked by rock-throwing PA Arab terrorists. Since the administration provides no due process to US citizens before imposing sanctions, if Abramowitz, who is currently not sanctioned, is ambushed again, he faces a dilemma between his safety and the risk of financial ruin. PA Arabs, on the other hand, face no such threat, as no PA Arab terrorists have been sanctioned under Biden’s executive order.
