New York, NY, June 21, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, a case in which ADL had asked the nation's highest court to uphold laws prohibiting the supply of material support or providing resources to foreign terrorist organizations.
ADL's brief, which brought the League's substantive expertise on terrorist organizations to the attention of the Court, was cited by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. for the important finding that funds raised for putatively charitable purposes by three major terrorist groups -- the Kurdistan Workers' Party (the "PKK"), the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the "LTTE") and Hamas – have been and can be redirected for terrorist purposes.
Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director issued the following statement:
The Court's determination that material support "… helps lend legitimacy to foreign terrorist groups—legitimacy that makes it easier for those groups to persist, to recruit members, and to raise funds—all of which facilitate more terrorist attacks," is right on target.
Allowing money and resources to flow into a terrorist organization's bank account for any reason whatsoever will help fund that organization's terror activities. One cannot provide "humanitarian" support in the form of training, expert advice or assistance, service, and personnel to a terrorist organization without helping their bottom line and facilitating violence, destruction and murder. Any suggestion to the contrary is naïve and an example of wishful thinking that can have deadly consequences.
ADL is a strong believer in free speech and humanitarian outreach. However, such assistance can and must be prohibited by law when its effect would be to strengthen organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.
ADL's Center on Extremism actively monitors various foreign terrorist organizations, including PKK, LTTE and Hamas. The League's amicus brief argued that all activities of terrorist organizations are inextricably linked, and that a prohibition on material support for these organizations is constitutional. ADL's friend-of-the-court brief was prepared by a team from the law firm Chadbourne & Parke LLP led by David Raim, Kate McSweeny and Joy Langford.